“This was awesome,” Marc “Little Nate” Anthony glowed, holding on tightly to the genuine, real article Little Nate lest he’ll disappear. “HE’S awesome. He rises above, overcomes everything. I want to be just like him. And I want to be in the NBA just like him.”

Things were great for ”Little Nate” and over 100 other kids at the East Harlem Children's Aid Society as Robinson and forward David Lee came to visit. “These pro athletes came here to show you how it’s done,” Recreation Director Joseph Cruz told the children. “They did it -- and you can do it, too.” “Just the fact that you’re here already tells me that you are on the way to success,” agreed Knicks Vice President of Community Relations and Fan Development Karin Buchholz.

Lee and Robinson proceeded to hold a basketball clinic of fine detail, breaking down the art of shooting, passing the ball, and low post power moves to a science. They began by talking about warm-ups: “Right before every game, I shoot the ball with one hand from five different spots. Then I go to two hands. I start close to the basket then move gradually out. That’s just to get my touch going, get in a rhythm,” explained Robinson. Lee then broke down the footwork on his pet spin-power move to the hoop, punctuating the lesson with a thundering dunk.

The kids next broke into two groups, with Lee at one basket and Robinson at the other palling around, teaching, instructing, always encouraging. “I just scored on David Lee!” 13 year-old Victoria Ortiz shouted. ”I’ll never forget this. I’ve got to tell all my friends! It’s a little intimidating but, wow!” Victoria was from the Manhattan Country School, about to play the Children's Aid Society in a showdown. “I’ve been telling the kids many of the same things,” Manhattan Coach Jermaine Lloyd shook his head. ”But coming from NBA personnel? You know that now it’s going to stick.”

The game began, with Lee coaching Manhattan Country and Little Nate mentoring the team from the Society. Soon it was hard to tell who had a better time, the Knicks players or the kids. Lee was smiling like the cat who just ate the canary as Manhattan was pulling away early on, even surreptitiously reaching in from the sidelines to steal the ball at one point. Robinson was showing off his 46-inch vertical as the Society team conducted an amazing comeback led by the diminutive Anthony, shouting “here we go!”, “shoot that thing” and “give it to them, Little Nate!” until he grew hoarse.

After every great basket he scored, every funk-adelic move he executed, “Little Nate” ran to the sidelines for a high five and a hug from, well, Little Nate.

A lengthy autograph session closed out the ton-of-fun afternoon. “Hey, it’s Christmas time,” smiled Lee. “What better way to spend it than with these kids? Every time you go out to the community and see their joy, make someone’s day better, it’s good for your soul. They are Future Knicks fans, hopefully.”

“It’s all about the kids and showing love,” smiled Robinson. “They have so much fun -- but, you know what, it’s an even bigger blessing for me to see THEM. I mean, really, how about that ’Little Nate’? Was he something, or what? A kid like that, he inspires me to want to give back even more.”