• Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005   STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE     

Burns thisclose to scoop of year

Mickey Burns, right, figured he was interviewing the Knicks' head coach when he and Herb Williams got together two weeks ago.

DANNY COLVIN / Name Game

If you think Herb Williams is devastated about not getting the Knick job,  you should talk to Mickey Burns.

The former McKee HS basketball coach and great running back on New Dorp High School's classic football teams thoughthe had the scoop of the year only to have it become a losing Lotto ticket.

Burns, as many of you know, coached Kenny Pageon those fab Sea Gull quintets of the mid - seventies, Page moved on to Ohio State University and became a teammate of Williams. "To this day, he knows me as Kenny's coach".

In fact, it is that reason he got the interview, which it appeared the NBA's third-longest playing member might be named to the sport's pinnacle coaching  position.

"Just hours away," Burns said recently of the 6 foot 11 Williams who went from becoming the tallest head coach to the tallest assistant.

It's a reflection of the basketball  industry. All the prospective coaches were no longer there. Negotiations in Detroit (with eventual Knick pick Larry Brown) did not look good. Herb felt he was the guy". However, as they say on Broadway - or is it 8th and 33rd? - that's show business.

Anyway, Mickey has an incisive, 30-minute chat with Williams, which will air next week on his "Profiles" (Ch. 76) show.

Among the topics covered are the rebuilding of the Knick program, the pressures of coaching in New York and the Garden, the New York basketball fans, his relationship with GM Isiah Thomas, the longevity (18 years) of his NBA  playing career, and the keys to becoming a successful  NBA coach.

Burns managed to get a couple of chuckles when he edited in some footage of Williams playing high school football in Columbus. For some odd reason, he was discouraged from playing pigskin in the Big Ten.

I'm sure Herb is heartbroken; who wouldn't be? Knowing the guy and what a wonderful person he is, I'm devastated. But he'll make a great assistant and move on to be a head coach someday. It's only a matter of time.