LOS ANGELES — For most of the Knicks players, practicing at UCLA held no special allure other than presenting them with a leafy green campus to stroll through in the middle of winter. The days of the school’s basketball program being a powerhouse predates the birth of most of them.
But for Knicks coach David Fizdale, who grew up in South Central Los Angeles, his high school a 20-mile drive from the UCLA campus, there is still something magical about the place. While the Bruins just fired head coach Steve Alford in midseason with struggles far less daunting than what Fizdale is enduring, it is the history and legendary head coach John Wooden that holds the allure.