Carmelo Anthony wants the Knicks to have a gold medal mindset.
The Knicks forward said that he wants to bring the mentality that Team USA had during its gold medal-winning effort in London to Madison Square Garden this season.
“I’m excited to get this thing going,” Anthony said during a ProCamps event at St. John’s University. “Especially coming off this run we just had with the USA team and all the fun we had. To be able to put that team together and still be able to accomplish something. I want to bring that mentality back here to the Knicks.”
Anthony and teammate Tyson Chandler played together in London alongside superstars such as Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, cruising to a second straight gold medal, even with a wealth of superstar talent.
The Knicks have been criticized since the acquisition of Anthony in February 2011 because of chemistry issues that have seemed to plague him and Amar’e Stoudemire. In addition to the trio of Anthony, Chandler and Stoudemire, the Knicks added veteran point guards Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton as well as Marcus Camby to fill out a roster that hopes to contend for an NBA title.
“I’m excited, everybody’s working,” Anthony said. “Amar’e is in the gym, Iman [Shumpert] is getting his knee right, Tyson was out there with me. We have veteran guys who we don’t really have to teach the game to. It’s a matter of putting it all together and making this run.”
While Anthony and Chandler were in London, Stoudemire has been in Houston training with Hakeem Olajuwon to help improve his post game. Anthony hasn’t seen his teammate since returning from London, but knows how hard he has been working.
“I’ve been looking for [Stoudemire], but I haven’t seen it yet,” Anthony said. “I’m ready to see what he’s added to his arsenal. I’m excited by the fact that he even went down there to work with [Olajuwon]. That’s a big step forward.”
In a scoring eruption during Team USA’s record-setting win over Nigeria, Anthony scored 37 points in 14 minutes. The star forward is looking to drown out his critics with a similar approach when the NBA season starts.
“I just played basketball,” Anthony said. “At the end of the day it’s all about playing basketball, the only thing different over here is that we play 82 games, so someone can criticize you more often. My mentality, my mindset is to just play ball and not worry about what anyone says.”
Anthony can start with former Knick Charles Oakley, who in a Post report criticized him and Amar’e Stoudemire for not making their teammates better.
“I didn’t really hear exactly what [Oakley] said,” Anthony said. “At this point it doesn’t really matter.”
Anthony also downplayed the arrival of the Nets, who will open their season and new arena in Brooklyn against the Knicks.
“There’s no rivalry between us and Brooklyn right now,” Anthony said. “It’s going to happen in that first game, but as of right now we’re focused on ourselves, not anyone else.”
Anthony made his comments as he joined over 360 kids at Carnesecca Arena for his ProCamp event. Along with Anthony, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul have been hosting similar camps around the country to help educate youths and help them hone their basketball skills.
“To get 360 kids here is a great thing,” Anthony said. “I have been working with ProCamps for about seven or eight years now and it has gotten better every year. This way we can start something in New York, I’m excited for the opportunity.”
The Knicks star also paused to try out the upcoming video game NBA Baller Beats, which allows players to dribble an NBA-sized basketball to match the on-screen music prompts.
“I’ve been hearing about [Baller Beats], I heard that [Kevin Durant] has the record, I’m going to try and beat him today.”
asulla-heffinger@nypost.com