As much as PATRICK EWING was the superstar of the 90’s Knick teams, CHARLES OAKLEY and JOHN STARKS were the heart and soul.
JOHN was just a simple ‘Bama boy from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He wasn’t drafted by any NBA teams after his college career and he was languishing back in Tulsa bagging groceries as a supermarket clerk. But JOHN was a hustler in the true sense of the word and he had a dream of playing professional basketball. NBA scouts spotted JOHN during a stint in the Continental Basketball Association and he was signed by the Golden State Warriors. It was in 1990, when JOHN brought his played out flat-top haircut, his ‘Bama accent and his insurmountable well of energy to the New York Knicks that he took over this city. MICHAEL JORDAN ruled the NBA and he loved to PWNED! the Knicks PATRICK EWING. All the rest of the Knicks were cowed in deference to JORDAN except crazy JOHN STARKS.
People will always talk about that 7th game of the 1994 Finals where JOHN shot only 2 for 18 from the field. What most people don’t remember about that game was that the rest of the Knicks squad were the ones that choked up. OLAJUWON turned EWING into a church mouse with his dazzling efficiency in the paint. The way OTIS THORPE was grabbing boards made OAKLEY look like a tree, or better yet a bump on a log. The only Knick that had any heart left was the streaky STARKS. I ain’t mad at’cha JOHN. Plus, do you remember the STARKS headbutt on REGGIE MILLER?!? Classic shit homies.
Dig this YouTube retrospective on your boy STARKY LOVE.
