NEW ORLEANS — Tim Hardaway Sr. said his son has become a better shooter than he ever was and Tim Hardaway Jr.’s talent could never fully flourish in the structured environment of the University of Michigan.
Hardaway Sr. envisions his son one day playing in the main event of All-Star weekend — not the preliminaries such as the Rising Stars game and Saturday’s Shooting Stars competition.
Hardaway Jr., the Knicks’ rookie shooting guard, has become one of the team’s few bright spots — and likely will make an All-Rookie Team. He’s a virtual untouchable at Thursday’s trading deadline, having become a building block Carmelo Anthony can envision playing with long-term.
“I knew this all along,’’ said Hardaway Sr., his son’s teammate, along with the WNBA’s Elena Della Donne, Saturday night in the Shooting Stars, though they were beaten by the team of Chris Bosh, Dominique Wilkins and Swin Cash, who went on to win the event. “A lot of people say I’m biased. That’s my son. I know basketball. I played and evaluated it all my life. I said this all along. … I see a lot of my competitiveness in him. He wants to win.
“I wanted that to happen in college. Now you all see it now.’’
Hardaway Sr. had a great weekend — named a finalist for induction to the Hall of Fame and watching his son continue his prominent path after lighting up the Big Easy with a 36-point explosion in the Rising Stars game that included seven 3-pointers. Hardaway Jr. was the 24th pick in last year’s NBA Draft, but his father said it was because of Michigan’s system.
“It’s a college system,’’ Hardaway Sr. said. “Just like Michael Jordan [at North Carolina]. He wasn’t able to show his skills in college. The NBA is a wide open game. It’s fast, move, move show your skills. That’s what he has been doing. College you can’t do that. It’s all about the team — pass the ball. He plays the right way all the time. In a wide-open set, he’s been able to show his potential.’’
Hardaway Jr. said he did “sacrifice’’ as did point guard Trey Burke.
“Everybody did and we made the national championship game because of it,’’ Hardaway Jr. told The Post.
Hardaway Sr., a former All-Star point guard, is a scout for the Heat now, but said he isn’t surprised he’s back amid All-Star festivities.
“When my son made it to the NBA, I didn’t think I was done with All-Star stuff,’’ Hardaway said. “It’s everybody’s dream to play in All-Star weekend. I kind of knew it was going to happen. And for years to come.’’
Anthony was thrilled with Hardaway’s Friday performance.
“I loved it,’’ Anthony said. “He came out and put on a show and did his thing and put his stamp on the weekend.
“Did he think he’d be this good? “Honestly I watched him play a couple of times last year [at Michigan],’’ Anthony said. “I saw him play a game at summer league and got a chance to work out with him at summer league. I saw something. I didn’t know exactly what it was going to be. He’s turned out to be a guy who’ll be very good in this league. He’s smart, very confident. He came to the league already knowing the game a lot better than other guys. His sky’s the limit. I’m, looking forward to helping him out and talking to him.’’
Commissioner Adam Silver, in his first State-of-the-NBA address, said Knicks and Nets executives are in New Orleans getting ideas for next year’s All-Star Game, to be held in New York City. Instead of staging one fan festival, Silver said he hopes to spread the event across the five boroughs and bring events to schools.