NEW YORK, August 19, 2005 -- A little seven-year-old cutie with enormous brown eyes tugs on a very tall counselor’s shorts in the New York Knicks Basketball Camp at Basketball City. “Do you know who Charles Smith is?” he asks, innocent curiosity practically bouncing off of him. “Yes, he was the big forward with Patrick Ewing on all those good Knicks teams in the 1990-s,” the counselor teaches a tad of hoop history to the kid. “No, he’s my FATHER!” the cutie cracks up in laughter, squealing from joy as the counselor mock chases him across the enormous gym.

Fun and happiness were the theme words on the last day of camp -- and indeed, it couldn’t be any other way with Assistant Coach Herb Williams, along with Smith and Community Representative Cal Ramsey, coming for a visit. Williams is one of those rare human beings who simply emanate kindness and a loving spirit -- and children, of course, possess an antenna that unerringly signals who truly cares about them. Thus the moment smiling Williams entered, he was engulfed by dozens of little people who were literally hanging off of him.

“I enjoy this,” he gasps, finally coming up for breath. “I even brought my own little guy, Jabrille, with me,” he points to a strapping lad of 13 wearing a striped shirt. Does he have Dad’s basketball genes? “Well, he PLAYS,” Williams says. “And he plays the game the right way, too.”

With Herb his Dad, could it be any other way? “The main thing at camp is to enjoy the game, make friends, and have fun,” Williams tells the kids. “But always remember two things: one, take what you learn at the stations in the morning and apply them in the games you play in the afternoon. And two, this is not about doing the ‘I’m a star’ one-on-one stuff: learn to share the ball as this is a TEAM game.”

“If you make your weakness a strength -- and if you learn the fundamentals of handling and passing -- you will be a much better player.”

“And a better person, too,” added Ramsey who made a special point of wishing Happy Birthday to nine-year-old-on-that-day Courtney Clemente. “I tell the kids ‘as hard as you play ball, study just a little bit harder.”

ESPN's NBA commentator Stephen A. Smith answered questions at Knicks Basketball Camp. MSG Photos

Williams then invited the campers’ questions. “Ask any question, basketball or otherwise,” he encouraged the curious kids. “What was the atmosphere in the NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets?” “The atmosphere? It was incredible! There’s nothing like it, to be there at that level was really thrilling. It was the most fun and most rewarding time I’ve had in my career.” “What was it like to play against Scottie Pippen? “It was tough. Scottie and Michael Jordan are probably the top two-man tandem in the history of basketball.” ‘Who was the best you’ve played against?” “That’s a difficult question because there have been so many great players. You could say Charles Barkley, you could say Larry Bird, you could say Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and no one could argue. But ultimately I’d have to say Jordan.” “Do you think Stephon Marbury can play the ‘two’?” “Stephon can play anywhere. He’s so talented, wherever you put him he will make things happen.” “What is the biggest difference between being an assistant coach and a head coach?” “It’s those twelve inches on the bench. Once you slide over to the head spot, people can make recommendations. But every final decision is yours and you are one hundred per cent accountable.”

Williams confessed to be really excited about the Knicks chances in the upcoming season. “We’ve added a lot of size -- exactly what the team needed,” he said. “Sure, we will be young with a lot of new pieces jelling together so it will take some time. But the potential to be good -- maybe even very good -- is there. Channing (Frye) is a good kid, very intelligent, very coach-able. He has the talent to, one day, be as good as he wants to be. Jerome (James) can block shots. He has to be committed to staying out of foul trouble and staying out on the floor.”

“The key to the season will be playing defense,” Williams said. “If the players are committed to playing a certain way -- and Larry (Brown) will stress that at every opportunity -- the defensive development is going to happen. Everywhere Larry has been, the players bought into doing things his way -- and they became winners. I know these players here on the Knicks want to win; they’d do anything to win. And I know these players have what it takes -- the talent, the athleticism -- to play hardnosed defense. So, yes, we’ll be just fine. And it IS going to be very interesting: I can hardly wait for the first day of training camp.”