Derek Fisher was never the best player, certainly not the tallest or quickest. But whether on the court with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeal, or across the bargaining table from David Stern and Adam Silver, he never feared taking the shot, speaking his mind, or doing whatever else was expected of a leader. So he has every attribute the New York Knicks need -- except experience as a coach, the job they hired him to do. "But I am experienced," Fisher said Tuesday. "Basketball is a game that I am experienced in playing, understanding, leading in, guiding in, helping another group of people achieve the greatest gift in the world as a professional athlete, and thats being a champion. That I have experience in, and thats the experience that I plan on sharing with these players, sharing with this organization." Thats what made Phil Jackson turn to one of his most trustworthy former players for his first coaching hire. Just days after finishing his 18th season, the 39-year-old Fisher was tabbed to replace Mike Woodson, whom Jackson fired in his first major move as team president. Fisher won five championships playing for Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers and was known for his knack for hitting clutch post-season shots while playing an NBA-record 259 playoff games. But some of his most important work came in the locker room, just as it will now. "He made some incredible shots in the playoffs, always stepped into the vacuum of leadership, but more than anything else it was the ability of Derek to speak the truth from what the sense of the group was," Jackson said during a press conference at the Knicks training centre in Greenburgh, New York. The Knicks went 37-45 and missed the playoffs, just a year after winning the Atlantic Division and advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Jackson, who declined an original offer to coach the team, was instead hired to run the front office in March and fired Woodson the week after the season ended. He was seeking someone familiar with the triangle offence and someone with little or no coaching experience that he could teach. The Knicks had nearly closed a deal to hire Steve Kerr, who instead left the TNT broadcast table to take the Golden State Warriors coaching job. Jackson then turned his attention to Fisher, even getting fined $25,000 last week when he was too open about his interest in the point guard who was still under contract with the Thunder. Terms of Fishers deal were not released, but a person with knowledge of the details said it was worth $25 million over five years -- the same length of Jacksons contract and about the same deal Kerr signed with the Warriors. Fisher won three straight titles from 2000-02 on the Lakers teams led by ONeal and Bryant, and helped them win again in 2009 and 10. He is respected among players around the league and was the president of the Players Association during the 2011 lockout. The 6-foot-1 Fisher was still a key contributor for the Thunder this season, helping them reach the Western Conference finals. Fisher, who is tied for third on the career list for 3-pointers in the NBA Finals, said thinking like a coach helped him play so long despite never being the most athletic or talented player. And now, like Jason Kidd in Brooklyn, he is prepared to make the leap right from the court to the bench without any coaching experience on any level. They Knicks won titles in 1970 and 1973, when Jackson was a player in the organization, but have had little post-season success in this century. Fisher, dressed sharply in a brown suit and purple shirt, believes he and Jackson can bring winning back to New York. "We know without a doubt that we can re-establish what that means, what that is," Fisher said. Fisher said he likes the triangle but would run what was best for the team. Jackson said he would always be available to help. The Knicks hope the duo can reach a group that admittedly tuned Woodson out at times. And perhaps can help persuade Carmelo Anthony, who can become a free agent in July, to remain in New York. Fisher, a former first-round pick from Arkansas Little-Rock, will certainly give New York a credibility that only champions can bring. "Thats why Im here," Fisher said. "Thats why I took advantage of this opportunity, to be a part of that process." Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Authentic . Paul, MN (SportsNetwork. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys .Y. -- Syracuse guard Trevor Cooney was mired in a shooting slump, and his woes coincided with a late-season swoon by the Orange. http://www.cheapcardinalsjerseyselite.com/ . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys China . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.Storrs, CT (SportsNetwork.com) - The seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns play their first true road game of the season, as they tangle with the Connecticut Huskies in non-conference action on Sunday afternoon. Texas is a perfect 5-0 this season, the team having recently whipped visiting Saint Francis-PA last Tuesday, 78-46. That triumph came on the heels of the Longhorns winning the 2K Classic with championship-round victories over Iowa (71-57) and California (71-55). This bout is the first of three tough ones UT will play before starting up Big 12 Conference action on Jan. 3, 2015, as games against No. 1 Kentucky and Stanford loom over the next several weeks. The defending national champion Huskies opened the 2014-15 campaign with three straight wins. Unfortunately, the team suffered its first setback in last Sundays 78-68 final at West Virginia, which happened to the be the title game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. UConns wins have come against Bryant (66-53), the College of Charleston (65-57) and Dayton (75-64), but tougher bouts are on the horizon, as in addition to todays tussle, the Huskies will square off against Duke (Dec. 18) and Florida (Jan. 3, 2015) before getting into the meat of their American Athletic Conference schedule. Connecticut owns a 5-2 lead in the all-time series with Texas, which includes an 82-81 win in the most recent encounter in Austin back in 2011. Texas got a monster effort from freshman Myles Turner in the recent win over Saint Francis, as he recorded his first career double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. He also added three blocks to his impressive stat line, and tied a single-game school record for FG percentage (min. 10 attempts) by going 11-of-12 from the floor. Cameron Ridley helped out with 16 points, Kendal Yancy had 12 and Connor Lammert 11 for the Longhorns, who made good on 57.1 percent of their total shots, which included a 7-of-14 effort from 3-point range. Defensively, Texas turned up the hheat in allowing the Red Flash a mere 31 percent success rate on their field goal attempts, with only 5 of their 21 long-range launches finding the bottom of the net.dddddddddddd A 43-21 rebounding advantage and a 42-18 edge in points in the paint also played major roles in the lopsided outcome. Isaiah Taylor is one of three double-digit scorers for Texas coming into this contest, as he is netting 15.0 ppg, while also contributing with 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest. Jonathan Holmes (13.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Turner (12.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.6 bpg) have been highly productive as well, with the rookie Turner doing all his damage off the bench. Overall, the Longhorns are putting up 78 ppg while permitting just 52.2 ppg, and they are easily outshooting their foes (.496 to .298 FG percentage, .393 to .274 3-point FG percentage), while laying claim to substantial rebounding differential (+14.2). Ryan Boatright scored 17 points, and freshman Daniel Hamilton logged a double- double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but those efforts went for naught as UConn dropped a 10-point decision to West Virginia last Sunday in Puerto Rico. Kentan Facey chipped in 10 points for the Huskies, who matched the Mountaineers in field goal shooting (45 percent), but were outscored at the foul line (16-9), while making good on only 3-of-17 3-point attempts (.176). A whopping 19 turnovers also cost them a chance at the win. Boatright has been the teams go-to scorer here in early going, as the senior is averaging an even 20 ppg in hitting his shots at a 45.5 percent clip. He is also an 81.3 percent free-throw shooter, having made more than twice as many foul shots as his closest teammate has even attempted. Hamilton (13.3 ppg) is the squads only other double-digit scorer at the moment, although Amida Brimah (9.5 ppg) and Rodney Purvis (9.3 ppg) are close to joining the ranks. As a team, the Huskies are netting 68.5 ppg while allowing 63.0 ppg. 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