Former Knick Nate Robinson believes Tom Thibodeau is the right man to coach the Knicks

Former Knick Nate Robinson will be back on the court later this month, participating in The 5 Tournament, a six-team, 10-day tournament in Las Vegas featuring dozens of ex-NBA players.

The tournament has plenty of Knicks ties. Robinson, Mike Bibby, James White and Eddy Curry are among the ex-Knicks playing. Knick exec Allan Houston and former Knick great Charles Oakley will be among a group of ex-players serving as color commentators for the games.

The tournament, available via Pay Per View, kicks off on Sunday. Below, Robinson talks about the tournament, his days in New York and his impressions of Tom Thibodeau, a top candidate for the Knicks head-coaching vacancy. The Q&A has been lightly edited.

SNY: What made you want to play in The 5 Tournament?

“I just love hoop man, I love to play basketball,” he said. “It’s something that I cherish and really enjoy doing. Me and my buddies get a chance to compete against each other at a high level, talk a little trash. It’s always fun to be able to compete against other guys that love the game just like you.”

Robinson will share the backcourt with Will Bynum on Team Chicago. He will have Curry in the post. He’s not worried about getting in shape because he trains with his two teenage sons and his brother.

“If I can keep up with 15-year-olds, I know I’ll be able to withstand playing against guys like Mario Chalmers and James White,” Robinson, the founder of the HOLDAT brand, said.

Robinson played in New York for the first four seasons of his career. He was traded to Boston in 2010. While with the Celtics, he played for Thibodeau, who was then an assistant coach. Robinson then played for Thibodeau in Chicago.

Given where things stand in the Knicks coaching search, it’s interesting to hear Robinson talk about his experience with Thibodeau.

SNY: You’ve played for many coaches in high school, college and the NBA. How would you describe your experience playing for Tom Thibodeau?

ROBINSON: “One of the best men, honestly. He’s a student of the game and he’s a teacher – he’s both. He’s like Yoda. He knows his stuff, he really gets after it, he watches a lot of film. He preaches defense-first and if you play defense, you get offense. That’s the reward. I learned a lot from coach Tom Thibodeau over the years when I was in Boston with him for a year and when I was in Chicago for a year. If (there’s) anybody that can change the Knicks, it’s probably him.”

SNY: He has a reputation among coaches as preparing his team well each night. How would you compare his preparation level to other coaches you’ve played for?

ROBINSON: “High. He made sure that everybody on the team knew every play, offense, defense. Every position. Other team’s tendencies. He really helps you become a great student of the game yourself. If you’re not watching as much film as him and you’re not prepared, he’ll let you know about it. That’s one thing I respect, and I love about what coach Tom Thibodeau brought to the table. It’s like, you’ve got to bring your weight – whatever you do well, you do that. And then you have to know every position, you’ve got to know every spot. You’ve got to know the plays from the other team, what they run, their sets that they like to run, the tendencies that guys (have), going right, going left -- he expects you to know those things.”

SNY: You mentioned that Thibodeau is the right coach to turn things around in New York. You know how much the team has struggled for most of the last 20 years. What about Thibodeau makes you see him as the guy who can turn things around?

ROBINSON: “Because he’s that gritty … heart and soul of what New York fans love about basketball. He has that DNA in him. He brings that toughness and that tenacity in coaching; he brings that each and every night that he steps on the floor and (coaches). He gives it his all and that’s all the Knicks want. That’s all they want. And he’s going to go get those types of players. I think that’s what they need – that’s how they need to change – from the inside out. Get guys like coach Thibodeau to come in and revamp the whole organization from the heart. Start from there. I think if they do that, I think they’ll be alright.”

SNY: There’s a reputation that some mention with Thibodeau that suggests he can’t connect with some young players. You’ve been in a lot of locker rooms. Is there a kind of player that might struggle under Tom Thibodeau?

ROBINSON: “The only way you struggle under Tom Thibodeau is if you just don’t want to listen and follow his guidelines. I’m kind of a wildcard, and I fit in just right. So if I can fit in, anybody can fit in. If you can’t fit in with him and just go hoop and do what he asks, you just don’t like basketball. You just don’t know how to adjust. You have to check yourself; you have to look in the mirror and check yourself. Because he’s going to be prepared, he’s going to do everything to make sure his team and his players are successful. So if you don’t just follow and do what you have to do, then that’s on you. I don’t think that’s on anybody else but yourself. You have to check yourself. You have to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘Alright, what am I doing wrong? Because coach is going to give us everything we need to go out and execute.’”

SNY: Is Thibs a coach who can develop younger players or is he best with a veteran group?

ROBINSON: “I think he can do both honestly. Because we had a mixture of young guys (in Chicago); we had Marquis Teague, who played pretty decent under coach Tom Thibodeau. We had great veterans like Carlos Boozer, Rip Hamilton, Luol Deng. We had young guys like Jimmy Butler, who wasn’t a rookie but that was young that was coming up, who blossomed under coach Thibodeau and kind of got his defensive background playing under Tom Thibodeau. You had Kirk Hinrich, who was a great veteran, great leader for our team. Joakim Noah, who was another energy that spoke (in a leadership role). We had a group full of leaders on one squad. It was like, everybody spoke and said what they needed to say. And we went out and we executed and it worked. And if you have a group of guys that can do that, I think they’ll be OK.

“They have a great young core … Mr. (Mitchell) Robinson, a big guy that’s a force in the middle. They got nice pieces and hopefully they can land the No. 1 pick and get a guy like Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball or Cole Anthony – there’s so many different guards that they can go with that can help them in so many ways. They just have to hopefully get the right pick and kind of change the history. Change the atmosphere over there in New York.

“In 2005-06, when they drafted me, David (Lee) and Channing (Frye), I think they had great picks. They had opportunity (to build a young core). But they was still strung out on playing the older guys instead of going younger and going with us to try to give us opportunity to showcase that we can be the face of the Knicks and make change. It’s like, don’t be afraid. It’s like, if you’re going to roll the dice, roll the dice all the way and actually go for it. Don’t do it half in. It’s like if you’re going to come to the pool, and you know the water is cold, don’t dip your feet in. Just jump in and cannonball. I’m all in. That’s something the Knicks need to learn how to do.”