Summary

The chapter “Red” is dedicated to Red Holzman, the coach of the Kincks when Jackson joined that team in 1967. In the chapter, Jackson calls Holzman his mentor. He describes the unstructured mess he believed the NBA was when he first joined the team. He compares one of the first professional games he watched to his own college team’s games at the University of North Dakota. While the university team had a system to its play, Jackson indicates NBA play seemed undisciplined and sloppy, there was even physical fighting on the court at times.

Jackson refers to Holzman as the man who taught him the most about leadership, then details his basketball experience up to joining the NBA team. He then describes the changes in the Knicks, including the addition of Holzman as the coach, right around the time when Jackson...