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Larry Brown says Allan Houston was ``best player'' on Knicks last season
By CHRIS SHERIDAN, AP Basketball Writer
September 29, 2005
NEW YORK (AP) -- Allan Houston was the ``best player'' on the New York Knicks last season.
At least that's the opinion of incoming coach Larry Brown, who plans to have the chronically sore-kneed shooting guard ready to go when training camp begins next week.
Meeting with reporters Thursday for the first time since he was hired, Brown had only complimentary things to say regarding nearly everything Knick-related -- from Jerome James' desire to Nate Robinson's potential to Maurice Taylor's enthusiasm.
Brown even said he anticipated working again with Stephon Marbury, although he may have slighted the self-proclaimed best point guard in the NBA during the process.
Asked to give his impression of what went wrong for the Knicks last season after they ended December with a 16-13 record, Brown brought up the knee injury that has kept Houston sidelined for the better part of the past two seasons.
``They started out pretty darn good, but when you lose an Allan Houston, you know, your best player, it's pretty difficult to overcome that,'' Brown said.
Houston was indeed the Knicks' best player a few years back, but it's been a long time since the two-time All-Star consistently displayed the smooth shooting stroke that earned him more than $150 million worth of contracts over a 12-year NBA career.
Chronic knee soreness ended Houston's season Jan. 19, causing him to miss New York's final 44 games, and he averaged only 11.9 points while shooting 41 percent from the field -- his lowest numbers since his rookie season of 1993-94.
Houston's last good year came in 2002-03 when he averaged a career-high 22.5 points.
The 34-year-old has been working out recently at the team's suburban practice facility, taking part in shooting and agility drills but not yet scrimmaging.
``He told me that he'll be ready on Tuesday,'' Brown said.
Still, it won't a surprise when the team arrives for camp in Charleston, S.C., if Houston decides to recuperate at his own pace as he did last season when he also missed the first 18 regular-season games.
``It's huge if he's able to go from Day One,'' said team president Isiah Thomas.
Brown coached Houston on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team and the 1999 Olympic qualifying team, developing a comfort level he couldn't duplicate last summer while tutoring Marbury on a U.S. team that lost three times in Athens and finished a disappointing third.
Brown and Marbury feuded to such a degree on the team's pre-Olympic tour that Brown wanted to replace Marbury on the roster just before the team went to Greece. The two eventually had a meeting to clear the air, and Marbury broke the single-game U.S. scoring record with 31 points in a quarterfinal victory over Spain.
``After that conversation everything was very positive,'' Brown said. ``I thought he really bought into what we were trying to do. It was not a great experience for me, the fact that we lost, but it was a great experience to see his growth.''
With the Knicks last season, Marbury averaged 21.7 points and 8.1 assists while shooting 46 percent -- number that Brown pointed to in discussing Marbury's talents.
Thomas denied rumors over the summer that he was shopping Marbury around the league, although it was impossible to tell if the team president -- who upon taking the Knicks job promised reporters he'd lie to them -- was being entirely truthful.
Brown certainly said nothing Thursday to disparage Marbury, but there was a discernible fondness when he spoke of Houston that was absent when the subject turned to Marbury.
``Basically he's told me he'll do whatever it takes,'' Brown said. ``He has this burning desire to be successful here and see the Knicks win, and I think we feel the same way.''
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9/29/2005 9:16 PM
