The New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that Kenny Atkinson has been hired as an assistant coach. As per club policy, terms of the contract will not be disclosed.
Atkinson joins the Knicks after spending the 2007-08 season as the Director of Player Development with the Houston Rockets where he was responsible for improving player performance through on-court, one-on-one skill development and the use of video analysis.
Atkinson joined the Rockets after three years serving as the Director of Player Development/Assistant Coach with the Paris Basket Racing Club in France from 2004-06. While in Europe, Atkinson also was a Reebok EuroCamp Coach in Treviso, Italy during the summers of 2005 and 2007. He spent the 2006 summer as the Director of Player Development for the national team of the Republic of Georgia.
Following a standout collegiate career at the University of Richmond where he led the Spiders to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Northport, NY-native and St. Anthony’s HS (South Huntington) graduate played professionally in Italy, France, Holland, Germany and Spain from 1991-2004.
The New York Knickerbockers will open the team’s 63rd season of NBA basketball on Wednesday, Oct. 29, facing Eastern Conference-rivals Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden at 7:30 p.m.
New York’s regular home schedule is highlighted by two visits from the World Champion Boston Celtics on Sunday, Jan. 4 and Friday, Feb. 6, one visit by the Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, Feb. 2 and one appearance by the Chicago Bulls and the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Derrick Rose, on Monday, Jan. 19, in its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day game. The team will play five total afternoon games at home.
The Knicks will play 18 back-to-back sets and four-games-in-five-nights on three occasions.
Prior to the 82-game regular season, New York will participate in six preseason games, including three at Madison Square Garden. Tickets for the preseason home games at MSG go on sale Thursday, Sep. 4 at 9:00 a.m. and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, nyknicks.com, (800) 4NBA-TIX and TicketMaster outlets. The preseason schedule will be released later this month.
Knicks 2008-09 ticket plans are now available, including Season Subscriptions starting as low as $25 per game. For more information call (877) NYK-HOOP or log onto nyknicks.com.
Media Day is scheduled for Monday, Sep. 29 at Madison Square Garden Training Center in Greenburgh, NY.
