[NY Post] FRAZIER: RAISE '20' TO RAFTERS

rady

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, i know lately a lot of Houston topics were started, but here's something else to debate:

Knicks great Walt Frazier said Allan Houston deserves to have his number 20 hanging from the Garden ceiling alongside his own.
"I think they should retire his jersey," Frazier told The Post, referring to Houston, who announced his retirement on Monday. "It's the next number that should be hanging from the rafters. He had an impact here. He left a legacy. They should honor him."

Frazier's opinion isn't universal. One Houston-hater suggested that a $100 million check should be raised to the rafters instead of his "20" jersey.

His last two seasons became a nightmare because of arthritic knees, but the Knicks are still considering ways to honor Houston. Knicks owner James Dolan will have to sign off, and he's recovering from bypass surgery.

The club could do worse than having "20" in the rafters.

Other Knicks to have their jersey retired are Dick Barnett (12), Patrick Ewing (33), Frazier (10), Earl Monroe/Dick McGuire (15), Dave DeBusschere (22), Bill Bradley (24) and Willis Reed (19). Only Ewing played after the 1970s.

"Like [Patrick] Ewing, he had his critics," Frazier said of Houston. "He was also stigmatized by his big contract and was injured at the end. It still shouldn't take away from what he did here — the good times, the good years he had.

"We're not talking about the Hall of Fame," Frazier added. "We're talking about the team and a player contributing to the organization."

Houston leaves the Knicks after nine seasons as their fourth all-time leading scorer, a two-time All-Star and an Olympian; he was still their best player as recently as the 2002-2003 season, when he scored 53 points in a victory over Kobe Bryant's Lakers at Staples Center.

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Do you think retiring his jersey would be too much?
 

datruth

Your Best Bet is B Ez
not really...he is up on the list on franchise record....aslo he was big down the stretch of the game...he was the guy we went to in the clutch
 
i don't know if i'd retire his jersey. Before 2000 he was an inconsistent player, he was at his peak from 2001-03, and we all know what happened after that. yes, he was a true knick and a great player. However, in like, say, 20 years will he be remembered for anything other than that one shot against miami?
 

NYKnicks15

Starter
this is going to be hard for me, im not the biggest allan houston fan in the world..but here it goes...yes hang number 20 in MSG..

i have no problem with it. he was a huge part of the organization up until his injury, he was our leading scorer-our go to guy. for 9 nears he started for us every single game he played, the mans scored 11,165 points in his career as a knick..dont let his salary and injury fog your memory..when you hang that jersey ur respecting someone who was great for the community, a great person all around and who gave back (a type a person we need more of in NY!!!)..ur respecting someone did all he could for this organization until his body gave out, even when he wasnt healed fully he came back and tried to help the team...

just do it..theres 101 numbers u can pick from on a jersey, 7 already retired make it 8 and ull still have 93 to ponder over still!!!

will we remember anything besides his game winning shot against Miami in 20 years? hmm without looking anything up, can you tell me what you remember PERSONALLY about Dick Barnett, Dick Mcguire or Dave DeBusschere?? have a memory?! dont think so. its about honoring and being able to remind kids of the past..you think kids remember any of the names mentioned above until they sit at MSG and look up asking their dad to ask "hey dad, who was Willis Reed?"...its another name to represent us through another generation, the 90's, so in 20 years somekid can look up and say to his dad "hey dad, who was Allan Houston?"...its not the hall of fame, its about telling a story about OUR organization..
 

H20 OFFdaHizZLe

Benchwarmer
they should retire his jersey. as a man, as a basketball player, as a shooter, he contributed so much to new york and in the nba. i know "retiring" a jersey is based on how much someone starred on the team, but i think allan houston deserves to have his jersey retired anyway for everything he has done for the organization. the new york knicks should honor him for that and i think getting your jersey retired is like one of the biggest honors you can recieve in the nba
 

rady

Administrator
Staff member
will we remember anything besides his game winning shot against Miami in 20 years?
you can also remember those games from 2 seasons ago with the lakers and the bucks :)
 

ny3nyk

Rotation player
im tired of all these critics hating on houston. one thing to remember to all you cynical allan houston hating assholes, if you had arthritic knees and couldnt play yet gave it your all to come back for a couple of months do you think you could keep playing? he dedicated so much to the knicks yet people hate him because of some contract he signed when he was healthy. so i say he deserves having his number up there with all the other legends.
 

NYK Way

Benchwarmer
Did Houston ever play good D did he grab boards? All Houston was as a Knick was a pure shooter and can make the clutch free thorws.... Im nit going aganist Allan but he wasnt anything else but had one of the purest shots in the NBA and his free throw...
 

H20 OFFdaHizZLe

Benchwarmer
you're absolutely right nyk way. allan houston couldn't do anything else but shoot. but considering his impact on the game and the amount of leadership he brought to our team for 9 long years, hey why not hangin his jersey up? like i said before, i don't think we should judge allan based ONLY on his game. what separates houston from every other nba player is his dedication towards the club and also his leadership off the court. he was nothing less than the perfect citizen. AND his heroics on the floor is something we can't forget. overall, houston had a huge impact on our team in many many positive ways.
 

hoop115

Benchwarmer
I love Allan Houston for what he was able to contribute to the franchise during our playoff years. But are you going to honestly say that he should be honored next to Ewing and the rest of the Knick greats? As much as Allan did for us he did not do what Ewing and some of the old Knick legendary's have done for us. Remember, Ewing is the only Knick to be honored since the 70's!!! If you put Houston up there you would be taking away some of the honor that this franchise has give to the others up there. We can all name a few players that have contributed to the franchise as much as Houston has...Oakley & Starks to name a few.
 
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