Question: How long have you been a pro basketball player?
7th Grader from East Hampton School, Long Island
Houston: I've been a pro since 1993 when I was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the first round.

Question: When did you join the Knicks?
9th Grader in the Bronx
Houston:I joined the Knicks in 1996, and have loved every minute about playing for them, and playing in Madison Square Garden.

Question: How many gold medals have you won?
7th Grader in Long Island
Houston: I've won one Gold medal - that was this past summer for the USA Basketball team.

Question: What do you like best about your job?
7th Grader in the Bronx
Houston: I just love the game of basketball, and to be able to play all the time is a dream come true. I feel blessed just to have the opportunity to play professional basketball. I love playing in New York too, the fans in New York are the best in the world."

Question: What was it like to win a gold medal and be an Olympian?
7th Grader from East Hampton School, Long Island
Houston: It was unbelievable to win the Gold medal. Our coach, Larry Brown, told us before the Gold medal game that there are only like 100 people in the world that have Gold medals in basketball, so after we won one, it was a really special feeling knowing that I'll be in the history books as one of the only people in the world to win one.

Question: How did you feel when you were named as part of the 2000 Olympic basketball team?
9th Grader in the Bronx
Houston: I was very excited when I was named to the Olympic Team - it really was a dream come true.

Question: How much did you have to train before you were ready for the Olympics?
7th Grader in New Jersey:
Houston: I trained very hard for the Olympics. I stayed in very good shape from the day last season ended until I left for Australia. I basically trained the way I would before the start of Knicks training camp in October.

Question: Can you describe for my students the country of Australia?
Teacher in the Bronx
Houston: Australia was a great experience. The people there were very friendly and made us feel at home. I thought it was interesting that the seasons are the exact opposite as they are here. When we were leaving Sydney, Spring was starting, and when we arrived back home, Fall was just starting.

Question: Do you think you were born with natural talent?
7th Grader in the Bronx
Houston: I believe God gave me the ability to play basketball. God gives everyone a special purpose, and I was created to play basketball. But at the same time, I had great direction from my parents and teachers, and I worked very hard to become a professional basketball player.

Question: Do you think the Knicks can go all the way this year?
7th Grader in Long Island
Houston: Every year when you get to training camp, you always think that your team can go all the way. And I still feel that way.

Question: Is there anyone on the Knicks team that you pal around with the most?
7th Grader in New Jersey
Houston: I'm probably closest to Charlie Ward, but I'm friends with all the guys on the team.

Question: When you were young were you interested in basketball?
7th Grader in Hoboken, New Jersey
Houston: I was interested ever since I was a little kid. My father was a basketball coach when I was growing up, so he taught me a lot about the game of basketball.

Question: How old were you when you started playing basketball?
7th Grader in the Bronx
Houston: I was a little kid when I started playing basketball. My father was a basketball coach when I was growing up, so he taught me a lot about the game of basketball.

Question: How long did it take you to learn to play basketball?
7th Grader from East Hampton School, Long Island
Houston: I've been playing basketball my whole life - and it' something that you have to keep practicing your whole life to get better.

Question: Who did you look up to when you were growing up?
7th Grader in Hoboken, New Jersey
Houston: My father. He has always been my number one role model.

Allan Houston Biography

Allan Houston won a gold medal as part of the U.S. Olympic basketball team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, scoring an average of 8 points per game. In the 1999-2000 season, Eastern Conference coaches voted the Knicks player onto the NBA All-Star team. His dedication is evident in his personal quote: "You set goals because you never know, you may exceed them. You just keep working hard, come to play hard every day."

In 1993, Houston joined the Detroit Pistons. In 1996, he joined the New York Knicks and plays as a guard. During the 1999-2000 season, he started 82 games and averaged 19.7 points per game, a score which is a team-high and a tie for career-high, putting him in 21st place in the NBA. On May 16, 1999, Houston scored 12 points, ending with one of the most memorable shots in Knicks history: a running one-hander that went off both the rim and backboard, then dropped into the basket with 0.8 seconds left, helping New York win 78 to 77. During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Houston scored 17 points against New Zealand, 16 points against Lithuania, and 8 points in the game against France to help the team clinch the gold medal.

Houston is outwardly quiet and unassuming, but likes to make his teammates laugh with impersonations and other comedy material. Sports have always been a big part of his life. He played basketball and ran track at Ballard High School in Kentucky. At the University of Tennessee, he played basketball for his father Wade, who was the head coach at that time. Houston earned a Bachelors degree in African-American Studies from Tennessee.

Houston is also active in community service. He was named as one of The Sporting News' "99 Good Guys in Sports" in summer 2000. "Allan's Courtside Classroom," funded and supported by Houston and the Red Holzman Knicks' Kids Foundation, gives deserving ninth graders Knicks gifts and special seating as a reward for outstanding classroom efforts. Over 800 area ninth-graders were guests of Houston and the Knicks in 1999-2000.

Sydney 2000 Official Web Site: Allan Houston
The official Sydney 2000 Olympics web site has statistics on Allan Houston's olympic achievements.

NBA: Allan Houston
Check out the NBA's web page about Allan Houston to find his Knicks statistics and learn more about his basketball career.