New York Knicks: Can Zion Williamson save New York City basketball?
By Ed Stein
At one time New York City was the center of the basketball world and the New York Knicks were the city’s team. After decades of failure, a superstar is needed to turn it around.
There was a time when New York City was the mecca of all basketball. Madison Square Garden would sell out college doubleheaders every Saturday. College coaches tripped over themselves to sign recruits from the city and surrounding areas. St. John’s, under Hall of Fame coach Joe Lapchick, won back-to-back NIT Tournaments. The New York Knicks were competitive and drew big crowds, partly because they hired Lapchick away.
At one point you could have gone to Rucker Park in Harlem and found five guys to build an all-star team around. That era’s magic was killed during the CCNY point shaving scandal of 1951.
Fast forward to the late ’60s and early-to-mid ’70s. Pete Axthelm wrote a marvelous book about the era, “The City Game: Basketball from the Garden to the Playgrounds.” It’s a must-read for basketball fans in general, let alone New York City fans.
In that era, the New York Knicks won two titles, 1970 and 1973. Earl Monroe, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, and Willis Reed were household names. Their coach Red Holtzman, a legend. On Long Island, the New York Nets won ABA Championships in 1974 and 1976, led by one of the greatest ever Julius Erving. Dr. J was a local guy hailing from Roosevelt in Nassau County.
During the mid-’80s, NYC basketball fans had their flame reignited by the formation of the Big East Conference. St. John’s may have been the only local team, but their rivalries at the time with Syracuse, Georgetown, and Villanova were epic. Those battles became must-see television on Saturdays. The SJU faithful were in full voice at the Garden. St. John’s coach Louie Carnaseca, and forward Chris Mullin regained the back pages of local newspapers.
The Knicks had a good run under Pat Riley then Jeff Van Gundy throughout the ’90s. Patrick Ewing was a bonafide superstar and was complimented by fan favorites Larry Johnson, Charles Oakley, and John Starks. MSG was rockin’ on a nightly basis and things were good again.