As a player you can have a bad game and come back for the next game. As a coach you really can't do that. You have to dissect games night in and night out and figure what you did wrong.

I only had one year of eligibility and I wasn't getting many offers from other schools. I jumped on it to make a mark. That was the most wise decision I made coming out of Oklahoma junior college.

Also to have someone tell you when you can come and go. When I was faced with that decision, I just drew back on all my past decisions and especially my time in jail that this isn't the road I want to go down. That's why I really made a commitment towards school.

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.

There were butterflies, otherwise, you're not really ready to play. The locker room, I remember, was quiet and we were very focused on playing that game.

[Being a coach] is totally different, but I have a new level of respect for coaching that I didn't as a player. So much is expected of you and from your team. Everything falls on your shoulders.