I don't want to blame it on not having a father figure in my life, but that has a lot to do with it too.

Coach [Pat] Riley's record speaks for itself. What makes him so special is he is a coach clearly concerned about winning. His whole thinking when he wakes up every day is how can I make this team [ New York Knicks] more focused and going through 82 games during the regular season and the playoffs.

I think the media makes it tough to play in New York. There are so many papers and TV channels covering the Knicks and the expectations for the Knicks are so high.

It was a lot of fun playing against one of the best players to ever play this game in Michael Jordan. For me it was a dream to play against him night in and night out in the NBA with the New York Knicks.

[Spike Lee ] went to a game six playoff game at Indiana which was a hostile environment believing we could bring it back to New York for a game seven. That's just the kind of person he is. Also his commitment to the team and our friendship.

There were mistakes that I made that I did learn from. When you don't have responsibilities, the only responsibility is for yourself, but when you have someone there to mentor you, then you don't make stupid mistakes.

He was a great individual. People that don't know Patrick [Ewing] and only see what they read in the paper don't know this is a man of great integrity, love for his teammates, and love for this organization.