Knicks Re-Sign Allan Houston

• VIDEO: Houston Returning to Knicks

The Knicks brought a familiar face back into the fold on Wednesday when they signed Knicks great Allan Houston as a free agent. Houston had been forced to retire from the NBA in 2005 due to a chronic knee injury.

"After much thought and prayer, I have decided to return to the NBA as a member of the New York Knicks," Houston said. "I have worked extremely hard in the last year and a half to accomplish my dream of playing in the NBA again."

Houston said playing in New York and this Knicks squad as is led to his decision.

"I realized that New York is where I am supposed to be, and the Knick uniform is the one I want to wear," he said. "I have seen the Garden in some of its best moments, and I truly believe that this team is on the verge of experiencing that again. This team is hungry and energetic. I hope to contribute in the weeks and months ahead."

In 839 regular season games, the former Knicks captain averaged 17.3 points per game, shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from behind the arc. Houston is also the team's fourth leading scorer in franchise history with 11,165 points.

"When you talk about playing in Madison Square Garden every night here in New York, I didn't know what to expect, but it was 10 times more than I could have ever dreamed," Houston told NYKnicks.com over the summer. "I have people from all over the world, even today, talk about how much it meant to see us play. When you go all over the world and people notice you, and that's cause you've been in New York, that's pretty special. That is something I will never take for granted."

Knicks fans aren't the only ones excited about the return of one of the team's all-time greats.

"He's a great teammate," said Jamal Crawford, the team's starting shooting guard. "Alan's also an even better teammate off the court than he is on it, if you can believe that. He's just as good of a guy as you can find. It's also great for me having him here because now I can learn from one of the best two guards in Knicks history. I'm excited."

Small forward Quentin Richardson, who went head-to-head with Houston early in his career, agrees.

"I've been up against him a bunch of times in this league when I was younger when I was with the Clippers," Richardson said. "He's tough to guard. He's been the finals, and none of us have been there, so that's an experience all of us can learn from."

The Knicks youngsters who have yet to play an NBA game agree they can learn a lot from the former University of Tennessee star.

"He's been one of my favorite players for a while," said Demetris Nichols. "He can definitely teach me. He played a lot of years in this league so I know he knows some things that I don't know. It will be good to get some advice from a player of that caliber."

The sharpshooting guard provided many highlights during his nine-year tenure with the Knicks, none more climatic than his game-winning, series-clinching bucket with seconds remaining against the Miami Heat. That come from behind victory eventually propelled the Knicks towards the NBA Finals.

"I really didn't (think that ball was going in)," said Houston. "Not at all. That's why I jumped and tried to time my jump before everybody else to tip it in. That's happened before where its short and I've timed it to tip it in. Then after that I didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to go or where to run. I probably would have ended up in the locker room if they hadn't caught me. All those emotions just caught up with me at the same time."

By signing with the Knicks, it is clear Houston hopes to rekindle the magic he once produced on Broadway.

"Thank you to all of the Knick fans and those that have supported me," Houston said. "I will always be a Knick, and I am committed to helping this team compete for a championship."