Let me take you on a trip down memory lane — December 1986, Washington Avenue Armory, downtown Albany.
Phil Jackson is beginning his fifth season as head coach of the Albany Patroons. His last NBA job was as a Nets assistant coach in 1982. He was dismissed when Larry Brown took over and cleaned house.
Now the former Knicks champion power forward is serving a coaching apprenticeship in the minor leagues in Albany. It is a CBA apprenticeship that has lasted a lot longer than the 41-year-old could have imagined. The Knicks head-coaching job is open. Bob Hill has replaced Hubie Brown on an interim basis. A New York Post columnist has championed Jackson for the job, stating the Knicks need an infusion from the past.
On this day, before the Patroons’ 1986-87 season opener at the beery Armory, Jackson addresses the rumors with a cub reporter from the Troy Record, and says he hasn’t spoken to Knicks general manager Scotty Stirling.
He’s not banking on anything at this point. Jackson sounds as if he’s at one of the lowest points of his career — being turned down for NBA assistant jobs.
“I’m on the outside now,’’ Jackson told the cub reporter, fresh out of the local university. “I’m not in the fraternity. Last year I thought about giving it up. I bumped into some old friends and they said it was crazy. They said sooner or later, things will go your direction.’’
Jackson takes a shot at Brown, saying he “overcoached.’’
“I think basketball is a spontaneous game, and I think you’re overcoaching when you take that spontaneity away from them,’’ Jackson told the young reporter.
Two years before, he had interviewed for the Bulls job.
“They say you’ve got to serve an apprenticeship before you get a chance to move up,’’ Jackson said. “Sometimes guys come in from the outside, but you rarely see it. Most people want an experienced guy, and teams I’ve spoken to in the past have said: ‘We’d really like a guy with three, four years of NBA experience.’
“When I went for the Bulls job two years ago, I was told by the general manager he wasn’t comfortable hiring someone with no NBA head-coaching experience. But he felt comfortable doing it with Doug Collins a year later. That was kind of a bitter pill to swallow.’’
There were rumors in Albany that Jackson, commuting from Woodstock, was being blackballed because of his image. In Jackson’s autobiography “Maverick: More than just a game,” written with Charley Rosen, there are references to Jackson experimenting with hallucinogens during his playing days.
Twenty-eight years ago, Jackson was trying to shake whatever renegade reputation he had. Twenty-eight years ago, Jackson started lobbying for the Knicks job with the young reporter from a local paper.
“They need something for the fans to rally around,’’ Jackson said. “It’s something the Garden is looking for in trying to get people back to the arena and feel comfortable about the team, the coach, the mood. They need to bring positive things back to the Garden, rather than all the negativity that’s surrounding them.’’
Jackson’s Patroons eventually were eliminated in a four-game sweep to Bill Musselman’s Rapid City Thillers. It was the third straight season Musselman had bounced Jackson’s Patroons.
Jackson interviewed for the Knicks job Rick Pitino inherited. Jackson then left for Puerto Rico, where he annually coached in the summer. From the Carribbean, Jackson announced his resignation from the Patroons, and said in a phone interview he was contemplating law school.
Shortly after, Collins hired Jackson as a Bulls assistant. Law school was put off, as far as I heard.