Strickland Responds to Pressure for Spurs

Rod Strickland was about three weeks removed from the intense, pressurized, difficult situation in New York when the sound of bullets rang out and he had to duck in the front seat of his car.

During his season and a half with the New York Knicks, Strickland thought he had been victimized by a few pot shots from the Knicks’ hierarchy and the New York media, but this was the real thing -- a latter-day wild west shootout.

“Oh man, that was unreal,” said Strickland, who was in the car with the Denver Nuggets’ Jerome Lane. “I’m in the car and I’m on the corner. I’m stopped at a red light and all of a sudden this car comes up next to us and then this cop car comes up. The cop pulls out his gun, but the car kept going, and it was like, ‘pop, pop, pop.’ He shot three times and I was like, ‘Where are the bullets going?’ Luckily, he hit the car, because the car was right by us.”

So much for life in slower, more relaxed San Antonio. Strickland had found himself in the middle of a chase scene with police pursuing a man suspected of vandalizing cars. The man was struck by the police bullets and died.

“I’ve never seen anybody shot in New York,” Strickland said. “I’m from the Bronx and I’ve never seen anyone get shot. That was a little scary there.”

That was not, however, the first time Strickland experienced fear, although his initial fear when arriving in San Antonio was much less threatening than gunfire.

Strickland had been granted his wish when the Knicks traded him to the San Antonio Spurs for Maurice Cheeks Feb. 21, and he was elated. He had tired of the point-guard controversy -- who should play, Strickland or Mark Jackson? He had seen how Jackson, once the darling of Knicks fans, had lost favor. He wondered if the same thing could happen to him. If he ever did become the Knicks’ starting point guard, how long would the honeymoon last?

“There were times I would go on the court and think, ‘I’ve got to play well or I’m going to get booed,’ ” Strickland said.

So he was relieved when he arrived in San Antonio, where he would finally get the chance to run his own team.

And then, reality hit.

The Spurs had a 34-17 record -- fourth best in the West. They had been successful without him. And the fans and media were not interested in taking a step backward. Strickland knew he had to come in and perform well.

“When they made the trade, I was relieved because I wanted to be traded,” Strickland said. “But as soon as I got here -- the way the media played me coming in -- it kind of scared me a little. I knew I had to play well or something would be said and it would be back to the same situation.”

Strickland responded impressively to the challenge. In his first 19 games, 12 as a starter, he averaged 13.6 points, 8.8 assists and shot .465 from the field. More importantly for Strickland, he was averaging 34.9 minutes. And most importantly for Strickland and the Spurs, the team had a 13-6 record. Their winning percentage with Strickland (.684) was better than their winning percentage before he arrived (.667).

“He’s been amazing,” Spurs Coach Larry Brown said. “I can’t think of anybody coming into a situation with more pressure on him. Like so many people reported, we were going good with Mo and I think the consensus was, ‘Why fix something that’s not broken?’ So this kid came into our situation in a tough spot.

“He’s fit right in. Mo really helped us get some confidence and establish a work ethic and set some standards for us. This kid has come in and just continued it.”

Strickland’s success has made it easy to put his Knicks past behind him. He says, with a couple of exceptions, he is not bitter about the way he was treated by the Knicks.

He still doesn’t believe he was given a fair chance to win the starting job from Jackson. “Mark was their point guard,” Strickland said. “They showed me that. There was no sense in me being there. It was hurting me, and it was frustrating me.”

Strickland also said he resented questions from Knicks General Manager Al Bianchi about drug use simply because he often was late for practice.

“Al brought it up to me a couple of times, and I didn’t appreciate it,” Strickland said. “I told him that there were no drugs. I’m clean cut. I told him if they felt that, they could write it (drug testing) into my contract. Lateness doesn’t mean you’re on drugs. I think sometimes when you’re a little different, it’s hard for people to accept.”

Strickland also doesn’t miss the intense scrutiny of the New York media, although he admits that when he wanted to send a message to management, he was not reluctant to use the media to his advantage.

“I did that, and I did it for that specific purpose,” Strickland said. “When I made the statement about being traded, some people didn’t like it. But I was in the situation where I thought I was going to have to say something, or sit there for who knows how long. So I said it one night, and I didn’t have to say it anymore.”

Strickland also criticized the Knicks after he left. He said his statements “were blown out of proportion.” But he didn’t mind.

“Al made a statement in the paper that I would be lucky if I was in the league for five years,” Strickland said. “That bothered me, and I responded to it. I said he was crazy if he thought I was going to be out of the league in five years. And it just came out that I said he was crazy.”

Strickland smiled. “Stuff like that happens in New York,” he said. “But, you know, you get your point across. Sometimes you have to do that as far as I’m concerned.”

Strickland is happy that now all he is required to do to get his point across is play basketball. He enjoys playing for Brown, who was his coach during an Olympic festival in New Orleans and who tried to recruit Strickland when Brown was at Kansas.

“I heard about Rod when he was at DePaul,” Brown said. “And then people from the NBA would call me before he was drafted and ask about him. I heard he was in trouble academically and this and that. But you know, since I’ve known him, he’s a typical New York kid that just wants to play basketball.”

Strickland likes his new surroundings so well that he has purchased a house in San Antonio, and he says he plans on moving in as soon as the deal is closed. During the offseason, Strickland said he will spend time in New York and San Antonio.

“I had good teammates in New York,” Strickland said. “I was close to them -- Gerald (Wilkins) and those guys. There were a lot of them. But here, everyone has one goal -- to win.”