When Knicks President, Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh and Head Coach Mike D'Antoni joined the organization after the 2007-08 season, both were the first to admit they needed to learn more about the roster they had inherited and why New York has struggled in recent seasons.

While both have experienced success over their careers, even Walsh and D'Antoni assumed that a Knicks rebuilding project would be a work in progress that would come about slowly but surely.

Just a few months later, however, on the eve of Training Camp for the 2008-09 season, both say the are pleasantly surprised with what they have to work with, now that they've had a chance to fully examine the team's roster. They're also optimistic that they can bring the Knicks back into prominence.

"The thing that excites me is that there is a nucleus of good stuff that we have," D'Antoni said on Friday. "There's enough stuff there where we can win some basketball games. We don't have to go get somebody. It's up to me to figure out how to do it... I would not be excited if I thought there was no way that we can do this. I really think that the talent (here) surprised me. There's a lot of young guys that are very good, and we can do well with what we have. I don't know all who's included, but I do know that I am excited about certain elements of our team and we'll build on that."

Pressed to explain why the team had struggled previously since he believes it has enough talent to win, the new head coach was brutally honest in his answer.

"I just think last year they got into bad habits," he said. "The NBA is hard. Once you go in the wrong direction, it's tough to get it back on track. I think that's what happened last year, so we're starting off fresh. I just have to make sure we stay on track and don't get off that.

"It has to count for something that you are a New York Knick, and that you are representing New York. When it doesn't count for anything, then everybody should be in question. And that's what we're going to get to. Every time we put the jersey on, we should be proud to represent New York City. If we do that, we can accomplish a lot of things, and we have enough talent in that locker room to do that."

Walsh fully agreed with D'Antoni's assessment.

"We need to show the city that this franchise is for real," said Walsh. "I'm out there, and I've got people talking to me all the time. I'm not sure they were convinced we were (for real). This city has had a great history of basketball, and I grew up in it... This history of the Knicks, when people look at the city, they want the team to play for real. And we've got to do that. The best way to do that is to win the games. I think that they'll embrace a team that does that if they see there's a future, a direction and hope down the line."

He also fully believes that he has found the right man for the job in D'Antoni.

"I've bought into Mike D'Antoni," said Walsh, who made it clear he believes D'Antoni is among the NBA's very best at his job. "I like the way his teams' interrelated with each other and with him. Since he's been here, I've discovered why. The way he approaches players and contact he has, it's very positive and open, but definitive... The end result is if you have a problem with Mike, the problem is probably with you."

In six NBA seasons with the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets, D'Antoni compiled a remarkable .608 winning percentage (267-172). Named NBA Coach of the Year in 2004-05, he guided the Suns to 54 or more wins in each of the last four seasons while earning a reputation as one of the most innovative offensive minds the game has ever seen. His seven-seconds-or-less philosophy of a fast pass, constantly moving offense took the NBA by storm, and it is a style he feels New York can excel in.

"I have a philosophy on how to play, and we're going to play that way," he said emphatically. "I want people to play hard, share the ball and be in very top condition. I'm not telling what 29 other coaches are saying... But we are a little bit more unique because we don't have roles that are defined. Nothing is defined, and we are going to take this and mold it into something really good.

"It's not like we're a team that's been together and have won more than 50 games, and you add that piece and that's it" D'Antoni continued. "We've got to mold the whole thing... You might find Jared Jeffries at center. You might find David Lee at center. You might find Wilson Chandler at the four, or he might be at the two... You've got to put guys into a different light. Boris Diaw for example (who I had in Phoneix). He flourished. There are some guys who you change them a little bit, change their position a little bit and get their confidence up, and they're completely different basketball players, whether they are young or old."

So far, D'Antoni believes the players are amped up about this new opportunity.

"Watching Chandler play, or Jeffries or Lee, they've been (working hard at the practice facility) since September, so they're working," he said, "They're foaming at the bit, and they are going. I just used three guys, but those are guys that just jumped off the page and are ready to roll, and I just think there's a lot of things we can build upon and get into there... We're going to try a lot of different combos and see what happens. That's what training camp is all about."

D'Antoni said he'll begin turning the Knicks around by committing himself to players that give him the best chance of winning, and not worry about things such as a players' contract, or making him happy.

"The guys that need to get the minutes will get the minutes," he said. "My job is that every night, we want to be competitive and win. You can't just say to wait until next year. My job is to win every night, and I'm going to play the guys that give me the best shot to win... I'm going to believe in nine or 10 guys, and that is who we are going to battle with. They'll love me, and a few of the other guys will hate me. So that's just how it's going to be."

Walsh summed up his coach's comments by saying that the Knicks would begin to carve out a new style for themselves in 2008-09.

"We have a new coach who I have a great deal of respect and admiration and faith in," said Walsh. "So we're going to start and see who on this team is going to be able to fit into a team that competes, can play together, can play hard and will represent our franchise and our city."

Click Here for more information on tickets to catch the new era of exciting Knicks basketball.
Ticket plans start as low as $99!

Individual tickets are also available for purchase. Click here for more information.