Knicks Value Oakley for Things Fans and the Media Don’t See

What the Knickerbockers think about Charles Oakley first are things they think only they appreciate. Things they think nobody else knows or cares about.

Like the episode at the video studio in Phoenix on the interminable last trip. Or the incident the first time he played Philadelphia while wearing a New York Knicks uniform.

They say, “He’s a whole lot better than I thought he was,” as Kenny Walker did. That means on one level, he’s a better basketball player. That’s apparent. More than that, they believe he’s made them a better basketball team. “Stuff that doesn’t show in the stats,” Walker said.

In the eighth game of the season, when Oakley was still making his transition to the Knicks from his reputation with the Chicago Bulls, Walker’s spindly body was menaced by the burly Charles Barkley. “I remember it vividly,” Walker said. He and Oakley had Barkley trapped in the corner, Walker absorbed an elbow and was charged with a foul as he lay on the floor. And Barkley flung the ball into Walker’s body and glowered over him. Few basketball players glower like Charles Barkley.

“The first one there was Oakley,” Walker said. “He was terrific. Some guys say what they’re going to do; he doesn’t just talk.”

He showed that quickly. “I’m a role player,” Oakley said. “I had to prove to them I can play. I think I’ve proved that.”

One of his roles is that he is an enforcer. “A cop,” Oakley called himself. The good teams have somebody who stands over everybody’s shoulder to make sure the bully doesn’t pick on the little guys. Oakley is 6-9 and he plays as wide as he is tall. He will not be moved, which is also the nature of his game. He says he fears no man without a gun.

He is a rebounder. “He is a house,” said Mark Jackson. “He can’t jump out of the building, but he wants the ball.”

His first news conference after being drafted by Chicago in 1985 was to declare that some day he would lead the league in rebounding. And he did that the last two seasons. “I like banging,” Oakley said. “The things I do, I can’t be stopped. Rebounding.”

Being the cop and the rebounder go together like iron and paint: When the ball comes off the iron, Oakley is poised in the paint. Being an enforcer and a rebounder are functions of desire and effort.

The strong chemistry of the Knicks has grown from that. It’s not coincidence that they are in first place. What they saw of Oakley was what an opposing team sees in a handful of games. Sometimes they ask how come he does those things against us. And sometimes what he can do goes unseen. “You don’t appreciate what he does until you see him night after night,” Jackson said.

What he does, Walker said, “are things the fans don’t see, things the media doesn’t see.”

Like last weeks’ visit to Phoenix. Oakley pulled Jackson, Walker and Pete Myers out of the hotel to make a tape, lip-synching and gyrating to rap lyrics. Oakley has done that before, sort of as traveling social director. “On the road, the walls have a tendency to close in on you,” Walker said. “It’s good to have somebody to get you out.

“It’s easy to do if you’re going well. I like guys who can come out when they’re going bad. He gives everybody a lift.”

He is also playing very good ball, which is really where it all begins. When Al Bianchi made the trade, he identified Oakley as a rebounder, which was what he showed in Chicago. “I was trying to tell them I could do more,” Oakley said. “I said I should be more involved. In Chicago, they said I had a bad attitude. In two years, no play was ever called for me. They said I was a rebounder and shouldn’t need a play called for me.”

He is still a rebounder but Rick Pitino calls a postup for Oakley from time to time. “He lets me know he cares,” Oakley said. That’s part of the art and craft of coaching. Last season Oakley got nine shots a game and felt unappreciated; this year he’s averaging 10 shots a game and feels in the middle of everything.

He is a rebounder. But it’s one thing to get the ball off the boards and another to do something with it. “In Chicago, they said I didn’t do anything with it,” he said. “I don’t know who they were watching.”

With the Knicks, he has established himself as a skillful passer, first on the outlet to begin the break and then in the half-court offense. “He’ll throw the ball underhanded or throw a baseball pass,” Walker said. “That stuff you don’t see in the stats.”

The stats say he went into Thursday night’s game with Cleveland averaging 10.9 rebounds and 12.8 points a game. They blew out the Cavaliers. Oakley had his basic game with 16 points and 13 rebounds, eight off the defensive board where the break begins. He has had double figures in both in 29 of the first 45 games, which is in line with his career figures, but in less playing time.

He also dresses better than his teammates knew, which is part of his contribution to this team. He is what Jackson defined as “a juicer.” Oakley is the arbiter of style. Like if Sidney Green’s garb doesn’t meet the demands, Oakley will tell him, “Nice suit.”

“It means I got a messed-up suit,” Green said.

Oakley, of course, denies that role. “Mark,” he said. “He’s a juicer’s juicer.”

But Oakley reaches out to needle all of them. “Patrick, myself or Greg Butler,” Walker said, slicing across the strata of the team.

“The only way we can repay him is to work as hard as he does.”

And to be there if he needs them. That time came at Atlanta when Oakley got in a scuffle and Walker went to his aid. “I can’t do as much for him as he can for me, but I’ll be there,” Walker said. “I threw my little body out there.”

That’s appreciation.