“Then, I was at the University of South Carolina, as an assistant to Frank McGuire,” said the Riverside [Bronx] native, who is now in his second year as president of basketball operations.  “But, I don’t think Legends Night is limited to New Yorkers.  I know it was really felt here, but throughout the history of basketball, that team exemplified what you’d want if you were a coach.  They were smart and talented –more talented than, perhaps, they were given credit for- and played that way.”

On Monday evening, during halftime of their game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the organization and its loyal fans celebrated the 40th anniversary of that championship squad. The event, formally billed as the Second Annual Knicks Legends Night, also honored Cal Ramsey with the newly-named Dick McGuire Knickerbocker Legacy Award, which is emblematic of the team’s pride and tradition.  McGuire, who had turned 84 just eight days before his death on February 3, was affiliated with the organization for more than a half century.

The on-court festivities occurred six months to the day that another local team was honored for a similar milestone.  But, unlike the Amazin’ Mets ascension to the top of the baseball world in 1969, the older Knicks didn’t surprise anymore.  After all, New York had posted the fourth best record in the 14-team NBA during the previous season, although they somehow finished in third place, three games behind the 57-25 Baltimore Bullets, in the very competitive Eastern Division.  By contrast, the 1968 Mets had finished ninth in a ten-team division, a robust 24 games off the pace.

William ‘Red’ Holzman, the wily coach who posted a franchise-best 613 victories, led the Knicks to a 23-1 start, including a team-high 18 consecutive wins.  A nine-game winning streak, from January 23-February 3, 1970 bumped the record to a whopping 47-11.  New York would win the division by a slim four games over the Bucks, who featured future Hall-of-Fame center Lew Alcindor [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar] and Flynn Robinson, a journeyman guard.

The Knicks placed Dave DeBusschere, Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier and Willis Reed on the All-Defensive Team, and Reed was the first player to capture the MVP trifecta [All-Star, Finals, and Regular Season] in the same season.

Reed’s upper thigh injury in Game 5, and subsequent dramatic entrance during warm-ups before Game 7, remain a signature moment in NBA history.  Though his surprise return to the court inspired his teammates and further juiced the capacity crowd, it was Frazier who sealed the victory with 36 points, 19 assists, and seven rebounds in the 113-99 clincher.  Clyde’s performance is perhaps both the greatest, and most unheralded, in any championship series finale.

All but two of the surviving members appeared.  The first was forward Dave Stallworth, who returned from a heart attack to become a vital contributor.  The other was Phil Jackson, who won a record 10th title when the Los Angeles Lakers bested the Orlando Magic in 2009, was in Memphis as his team prepared for its game against the Grizzlies on Tuesday.  Jackson, who deliberated coaching this season due to “health issues,” ultimately declined an invitation.

Ironically, the 6’8” forward, a noted defensive specialist, did not play any games for New York that season, as he was confined to the injured reserve list with a back injury; Jackson, however, remained close to the squad while assisting George Kalinsky, the famed Garden photographer, throughout his rehabilitation.

Holzman, GM Eddie Donovan and trainer Danny Whelan are deceased, as is DeBusschere and reserve center Nate Bowman.  Debusschere, who had earlier pitched a shutout for the Chicago White Sox in 1963, is best remembered by younger fans for his exuberance after winning the Patrick Ewing-lottery in 1985 while serving as general manager.

Each of the five decedents was represented by family members.

[ John J. Buro is the author of the “Open Court: A Year with the New York Knicks”. The book is only available at www.opencourtbook.com. ]

Except for one problem, it didn’t happen. When the Golden State Warriors, choosing at number seven, picked Curry to replace their recently traded shooting guard, ironically the former Knick, Jamal Crawford, a huge collective sigh of disappointment came from all the Knick fans gathered at Madison Square Garden’s WAMU Theatre yesterday.

Even more telling was Curry’s reaction, dropping his head into his hands upon hearing his name called by Commissioner David Stern as if to mutter, “Oh, crap, missed the Knicks by one pick.”

With the very next choice, the Knicks selected a 6’10” power forward, Jordan Hill from the University of Arizona.

“Jordan was one of the best big men in this year’s draft. He can score, rebound and block shots,” President, Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh said. “He can run the floor. He’s improved each year.”

Hill, 6-10, 235-pounds, averaged 18.3 points and 11.0 rebounds in his junior year with the Wildcats, setting a school record for boards in a single season (375). The Newberry, SC-native finished as the Pac-10 leader in point-rebound double-doubles (20), ranked second in rebounding and blocked shots (1.71) and third in scoring.

“I’m excited to get Jordan here. Players like him are hard to find,” Head Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He is going to help us defensively right away and it is an added bonus that he is a good shooter.”

Forget all the nice quotes and statistics compiled by the young man, Hill. This is not the guy the Knicks wanted nor is he the type of impact player this franchise needed to excite Knick fans. He may be a good player, a very nice guy, and even a useful piece of the puzzle that goes behind building a championship contender. Or, he may turn out to be like past highly-rated power forwards who recently came out of the University of Arizona. People like Channing Frye, whom the Knicks picked at number eight in the 2004 draft and who never panned out. Or, Sean Rooks, an acclaimed forward from the early nineties who evolved into a bench player most of his NBA career.

Suffice to say, Knicks fans in the building expressed their dissatisfaction with the choice of Hill with vociferous booing.

“I’ve been through that in Indiana,” Walsh said. “They booed Chuck Person. They booed Reggie Miller. I can go on and on.”

Walsh seemed bent on improving the Knicks defensive disposition in this draft as he also acquired Florida State guard Toney Douglas from the Lakers for $3 million and a 2011 second-round pick. Douglas, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, was selected at No.29 by the Lakers and was the eighth point guard taken in a draft that saw the Timberwolves take three themselves. The Knicks also finalized their trade for 7-footer Darko Milicic, who like Richardson is in the final year of his contract, will be used as a center and power forward.

Milicic was the No.2 pick of the 2003 draft, selected after LeBron James and before Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But Milicic has yet to find a niche in the NBA. He’s averaged 5.5 points for three teams and has made just 98 starts.