ORLANDO — Allan Houston looked as fit as he did during his playing days Saturday night at Amway Center when he sank two halfcourt shots to help the New York squad win the “Shooting Stars’’ competition.
But Houston, the Knicks’ 40-year-old assistant general manager, making an NBA comeback is probably as unprobable as Jeremy Lin becoming a worldwide phenomenon five weeks after his D-League stint with Erie. Houston was named GM of Erie last summer.
Lin played one game for Erie and posted a triple-double. Lin has credited that game for lifting his confidence and leading to his Linderella story.
“I watched it live on Futurecast,’’ said Houston, who is running the Erie team after the Knicks finally got their own affiliate. “One of the things you want to make sure, if you have an affiliation with the D-League, is have a coach that’s trying to run the same style, same terminology, and fortunately our coach Jay Larranaga was doing that. They were running the same things.’’
Houston, being groomed to one day take over the presidency, said of Lin’s meteoric rise, “I don’t know if anybody has seen anything quite like this. Again, he’s brought a humility to the team and everyone is just happy not for him but happy for the energy and excitement of playing as a team unit. That’s what’s exciting.’’