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**USSKittyHawk** · 09-10-2006, 10:57 AM

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"His whole career, John has been told, "No you can't do it". It developed his unique temperament: one of innocence combined with a defiant, combative competitiveness."

- Pat Riley, former New York Knicks head coach

Ask any New York Knicks fan the most memorable moment in franchise history and time stands still.

It starts and ends with John Starks in the 1993 playoffs against the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls defense had Starks trapped on the baseline. The only place to go was up. So that's where the undersized Knicks guard went, with a little help from a Patrick Ewing pick-and-roll. The next move was instant vintage: Starks flying in left-handed over Horace Grant and Michael Jordan for the dunk in the Garden.

Now it's simply known as "The Dunk".

Thanks to "The Dunk" and the lasting image of jawing in MJ's grill during those playoffs, John Starks forever holds a special place in the heart of New Yorkers. Through his gritty intensity, Starks came to embody a city and franchise that longs for a return to the days of Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, and Pat Riley.

"Everybody on my team was always focused on one thing...Winning!," Starks said in a recent email exchange with Basketball News Services.

"We all knew there were no hidden agendas. Coach Riley made sure of that. We found that the key to staying successful was to make sure the focus was on "the team" and not on ourselves."

After 13 season in the NBA (Starks averaged 12.5 points per game with the Knicks, Warriors, Bulls, Jazz ) and a brief head coaching stint with the Westchester Wildfire of the USBL, Starks remains true to the orange and blue. For the past two season Starks has worked in the Knicks front office expanding alumni relations, community relations, and fan development. And during home games, old #3 finds his way back on the court as a pre-game and post-game analyst for the MSG network.

But it's Starks' presence alone at the Garden that reminds us what once was.

With the Knicks coming off a 23-59 freefall and Isiah Thomas taking over the helm this season, many wonder if the Knicks will ever return to the heights Starks once took them.

"The younger guys want to know what it takes to make it in New York. My answer has always been, "never read the papers"! That is something I was taught by Trent Tucker when I first started and it has stuck with me throughout my career. I try to tell them to just be confident in their abilities and only concern themselves with what they can control and the media is something that does not fall in that category."

With his words of wisdom, Starks speaks with heart from the heart.

He knows all about confidence, something easily missing from last year's Knicks team under Larry Brown. Starks' assurance took him from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to undrafted out of Oklahoma State, to the journey of the CBA, to the World Basketball League, to the NBA, to dunking over Grant and Jordan, to the Knicks front office.

And every step along the way Starks knew where he was going.

"I was always comfortable with the fast-track I was on and knew I was a very a talented guy that would have no problem competing with the NBA players."

It's this raw emotion and confidence that can't be expressed thru the scoring sheet or stats. And it's the same mentality Starks sees in one current Knick. When asked if Starks saw himself in anyone on today's team, his answer was the same as many.

"Absolutely Jamal Crawford."

"For one obvious reason, he plays my position. But, more importantly, he plays with no conscience. That is one of the best ways to play. He just goes out there and leaves it all on the court. He is not afraid of being the "go-to" guy, win or lose. That is something I can always respect."

In 2004, Starks released John Starks: My Life, an incredible story describing the poverty and violence of Starks upbringing and his inspiring road to greatness with the Knicks. It truly is the backdrop to a Hollywood script from the hardships of a single-parent home to the heroics of the Madison Square Garden hardwood. And as much as Starks may respect Jamal Crawford's game, we are the ones who should respect all Starks has done for the Knicks and the love of the game.

A love that pales in comparison to the adoration New York will always have for John Starks

http://www.hoopsworld.com/member/article_10863.shtml

Crawford isn't afraid to be the go to guy, but he isn't the type of player to be an enforcer on the defensive end. I just can't see him headbutting Reggie Miller, or getting into a scrap with the entire Bulls team like Starks did. To be honest with you, I think the majority of the team is soft with the exception of Nate Robinson. We need to start kicking people's ***. ::awaits refutable comments::

**Dre™** · 09-10-2006, 11:22 AM

EDIT: Clown

Real · 09-10-2006, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitty

http://www.hoopsworld.com/member/article_10863.shtml

Crawford isn't afraid to be the go to guy, but he isn't the type of player to be an enforcer on the defensive end. I just can't see him headbutting Reggie Miller, or getting into a scrap with the entire Bulls team like Starks did. To be honest with you, I think the majority of the team is soft with the exception of Nate Robinson. We need to start kicking people's ***. ::awaits refutable comments::

I agree.

That was a trademark of the Knicks teams from the 90's. Ewing, Oakley, Starks were all badasses.

I think Jay Bilas said it best at the Draft, the Knicks are going to be in a dogfight all year to get better. They need people that they are going to take into a fight.

**USSKittyHawk** · 09-10-2006, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Real

I agree.

That was a trademark of the Knicks teams from the 90's. Ewing, Oakley, Starks were all badasses.

I think Jay Bilas said it best at the Draft, the Knicks are going to be in a dogfight all year to get better. They need people that they are going to take into a fight.

Thank you, at least you know what I mean by the word "soft".

**Da Grinch** · 09-10-2006, 03:29 PM

this may seem like swearing around here but if toughness is needed the answer is jerome james , he has to become the enforcer.

he doesn't mind laying his 6 fouls on some1, he is a lane defender and a shot blocker and he is a guy who the team would rally around as he is surprisingly among knicks one of the most popular people on the team.

the perimeter guys are for the most part on the tough side. marbury , nate, francis, richardson , none of these guys have toughness issues and make up for jalen and jamal's sometimes soft play ...and jamal and jalen are really only soft on the defensive end , they both put their bodies on the line and draw fouls well. but toughness reputations are built on the foundation of interior players

curry and fyre are not tough guys but frye to me is not a problem , i put him in duncan like category of he wont pick a fight but he isn't very likely to get picked on either same to a lesser degree for curry but i dont see them really coming to the aid ofother teammates like jerome james can and would. Mo T is kind of a tough guy he'll fight but he isn't an enforcer either ...ditto malik and david lee and jared jeffries...

to me you only need an element of toughness , the whole team doesn't have to be a bunch of tough guys they need to stick up for themselves and hustle on defense and they will be fine. there are a bunch of good defensive teams who may only have 1 or 2 guys who you would describe as "tough" but the teams really defend and to me thats all that matters.

billfindlay10 · 09-11-2006, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Real

I agree.

That was a trademark of the Knicks teams from the 90's. Ewing, Oakley, Starks were all badasses.

I think Jay Bilas said it best at the Draft, the Knicks are going to be in a dogfight all year to get better. They need people that they are going to take into a fight.

I will give you Oakley and Starks...hell even Derek Harper was tough....but Ewing...come on....he is no badass! If he were hard he would not have let Jordan, Pippen, and Grant dunk in his grill multiple times.....Starks had one Dunk.....Scottie and Mike had one each per game over Ewing.

Edit.....Ewing was a great player...I am not taking that away!

**cpawfan** · 09-11-2006, 08:59 AM

There is this guy on the Sonics that likes to push people around....

EwingStarksOakley94 · 09-11-2006, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billfindlay10

I will give you Oakley and Starks...hell even Derek Harper was tough....but Ewing...come on....he is no badass! If he were hard he would not have let Jordan, Pippen, and Grant dunk in his grill multiple times.....Starks had one Dunk.....Scottie and Mike had one each per game over Ewing.

Edit.....Ewing was a great player...I am not taking that away!

You most certainly have a point. Ewing wasn't exactly the badass that Starks, Oakley, Mason, etc were. But he was true competitor. He may have not made some of the greatest decisions at crucial times (like doing a finger roll instead of a dunk, aaarrghh!), but he played with a lot of heart. He only cared about winning. I think that's what is meant when it's said that Knicks fans want to return to the days of Ewing, Starks, and Oakley - you just don't get that competitive, lay-it-all-out-on-the-line nature from today's Knickerbockers.

billfindlay10 · 09-11-2006, 11:08 AM

I forgot about Mason....he was a brute! Even Larry Johnson was pretty tough....those NY teams were pretty nice.

EwingStarksOakley94 · 09-11-2006, 02:05 PM

Yup, and KT was the last of 'em

**Gotham2krazy** · 09-12-2006, 02:26 PM

Are we going to live in the past forever? Sorry guys, truth be known, those days have been long over. Don't think about, "Why's" and "What if's", but rather more "HOW." But anyways, everyone on the New York team is tough, because apparently there's ALWAYS SOMEONE who wants to play Fight Night with Stephon.

**Hakeem** · 09-13-2006, 03:07 AM

By "toughness", you guys seem to be talking about defense. The Knicks didn't win because Mason shoved people around. They won because they were a terrific defensive side. Their style of defense certainly was physical, but if they'd played defense of the same quality without being all that physical, they would have done just as well.

EwingStarksOakley94 · 09-13-2006, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hakeem

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