Month: April 2012

Despite recent reports Amar’e Stoudemire hoped to return from his back injury by next weekend, Knicks coach Mike Woodson said he does not plan on having the power forward anytime soon.

Stoudemire has missed the past six games with a bulging disk in his back and originally was given a timetable to return of 2-4 weeks — Wednesday marks two weeks since the diagnosis — but Woodson said he has no new information to suggest a return is imminent.

“At this point, I’m not counting on Amar’e right now to come back,” Woodson said after yesterday’s practice, declining to give a new timetable. “You’ve got to ask the medical people that, but the bottom line is he’s not going to be in uniform for a while.”

— Reported by Howie Kussoy of the New York Post

Once a Knick, always a Knick. Or so the saying goes.

The New York Knicks announced today that Larry Johnson has been named Basketball and Business Operations Representative.

“I consider coming back to work for a franchise that I had so much success with a great honor,” Johnson said.  “As I move onto the next phase of my career, I have been given an opportunity to touch so many different areas of the organization – helping develop young players, connecting with the community and actively involving myself in the business of basketball. I couldn’t be more excited to get going and learn as much as I can.”

In this new role, Johnson will work closely with the basketball operations department, focusing on player development; the community relations department, working to support the Garden of Dreams Foundation and on fan development; and the marketing and partnership departments, with involvement in numerous business initiatives.

The author of perhaps the most famous play in franchise history, “LJ” converted a four-point play with :05.7 remaining en route to a 92-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden on Jun. 5, 1999.

In five seasons in the Blue & Orange, Johnson, a four-time Knicks captain, averaged 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds over 330 games from 1996 through 2001, and led the team into the playoffs each year before announcing his retirement on Oct. 10, 2001. Once acquired from the Charlotte Hornets on Jul. 14, 1996, Johnson’s reputation as being a great teammate and a player willing to sacrifice for the team’s greater-good quickly became evident to the Knicks’ faithful.

Johnson currently joins an extensive list of Knicks alumni employed by The Madison Square Garden Company, including: Mike Woodson (interim head coach), Darrell Walker and Herb Williams (assistant coaches), Allan Houston (assistant general manager/general manager Erie BayHawks), Cal Ramsey (director, special projects and community relations representative), John Starks (alumni relations and fan development advisor) and Walt “Clyde” Frazier (Network broadcaster).