I only had one year of eligibility and I wasn't getting many offers from other schools. I jumped on it to make a mark. That was the most wise decision I made coming out of Oklahoma junior college.
That was always a dream of mine to play division one basketball. Not knowing that I wasn't going to get the opportunity because of my past and previous couple of years in college. The opportunity to play with only one year of eligibility was great.
Also to have someone tell you when you can come and go. When I was faced with that decision, I just drew back on all my past decisions and especially my time in jail that this isn't the road I want to go down. That's why I really made a commitment towards school.
Spending time in jail really helped me stay away from what my brother did because I got a taste of jail time. I realized this isn't the life I want to live being locked up 24 hours a day.
I had a lot of maturing I had to go through. I consider myself a smart individual in seeing that this is not the road I want to take.
My favorite Knicks moment was when we beat Indiana in Game 7 to reach the NBA Finals. We worked so hard as a team to reach that moment that it was very satisfying to beat Indiana and reach the Finals.
I want to thank all the fans for their support over the years. Keep supporting the Knicks, we're moving in the right direction here and we will be exciting to watch and competing against the best in the NBA. Come back to the Garden for those exciting games.
I think the media makes it tough to play in New York. There are so many papers and TV channels covering the Knicks and the expectations for the Knicks are so high.
A lot of kids were involved in such things as smoking weed and doing things illegal. I kind of fell into the crowd so to speak. Guys got tangled in some of those activities, and like I said I should have stayed away from it.
[Spike Lee ] went to a game six playoff game at Indiana which was a hostile environment believing we could bring it back to New York for a game seven. That's just the kind of person he is. Also his commitment to the team and our friendship.
I don't want to blame it on not having a father figure in my life, but that has a lot to do with it too.
