I’m pretty sure everyone up in Saratoga Springs is counting the minutes.

Mike D’Antoni  doesn’t run long practices.

I’m going to be watching camp from a distance. Somebody has to stay down here and cover the Giants, but I will be checking in here from time to time with some thoughts.

And to help pass time, maybe we should talk about the role Allan Houston wants to play.

“I know what it means to wear this uniform, and hopefully, as the culture evolves back into a winning culture, whatever I can do to lend myself to that is what I want to do,” he said. “That’s really the big picture. It’s not like I’m going to be here five more years.”

Unlike last season when he needed to be with family, Houston spent more time preparing for this comeback.

“There were a lot of things nobody had control over last year,” he said. “I wasn’t at a point and time in my career where I was going to miss those days when my child was born. I wasn’t going to do that. The timing was really bad. I prepared my body even before camp better this time. I got my body used to running up and down and playing. I didn’t try to kill myself. I took a day off when I needed it, and I got better as I went on. … Last year, I felt like I had to prove something as well. I felt I had to go out and prove in the first couple weeks that I had to make it and I had to really set myself apart, and that wasn’t the reality. As we go further along into training camp and even into November and December, we’ll have a fair assessment of whether I’m going to be able to help and be able to be a part of things. Knowing that in my mind helps me prepare better.”

Remember, the Knicks will have to waive somebody to make room for Houston.

The 37-year-old admits to feeling a little out of place here. He used to watch Patrick Ewing Jr. and Danny Grunfeld shoot around when the Knicks were practicing at Purchase College, and now all three are in the same layup line.

“It does (feel odd),” Houston said. “You kind of feel like you’re in between, I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. You’re the older guy, and still playing, but you’re part of that older generation, too. I think that’s why it’s important for me to realize as I come in, it’s about what role can I play to help that transfer. When I walked in here, I walked into a very fortunate situation. I walked into Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley and John Starks teaching me what it means to be a Knick, to play in the Garden. I feel like my responsibility is not just to make some jump shots, but to also kind of transfer some of that experience, what that’s like, what that means. And not to impose my will, but when it’s needed, to help, whether it’s practice, or whatever it is.”

We’ll see whether that helps or not.

Malik Rose actually owns championship rings. He’s been preaching about what it takes for the last couple of seasons, and sometimes I wonder if anyone in this locker room bothers to listen to practical advice.

Isiah Thomas used to hang all kinds of motivational notes in lockers, mostly the kind of team nonsense that plays big in Corporate America.

Rarely did it translate.

In one breath yesterday, Jamal Crawford succeeded where his former coach failed, authoring the kind of quote that’s worthy of a t-shirt. There’s no doubt it would sell. Crawford summed up exactly what a lot of the Knicks faithful are thinking.

“I don’t want to put any predictions out there, like we’re going to be in the playoffs and all that,” he said. “We have to go out there and work hard and be exciting. That’s all we really can do. The fans are tired of hearing different things. We’re tired of saying different things. We just have to go out there and do it. Shut up and play ball.”

How good was that?

Welcome to the Garden. Shut up and play ball.

Naturally, there was a great deal of unabashed enthusiasm as I made the rounds this afternoon at Media Day.

Most of the players believe it’s going to be a better season.

We’ve heard it all before, I know. The organization is on a seven-season losing streak and is coming off a 23-win season. Knicks president Donnie Walsh only made a couple of minor roster changes.

So why should anyone believe?

“The one thing I’m looking forward to is kind of having a plan going in,” David Lee said. “We’ve had times in years past where we’ve thrown the ball inside every time down, times where we’ve shot a lot of 3s. It seems like from game to game we’ve done different things. At least this year, we’re going to have a set way to play. Whether we can execute every night is a different story, but I think we’re going to go in with a plan and that’s a positive.”

Somebody give that guy a raise. Back with more later.

Stephon Marbury swears he isn’t taking any of this personally.

He didn’t hand out any headlines this afternoon during the Media Day swarm, but it’s clear his uncertain future is going to affect the Knicks, who are heading up to Skidmore College for training camp any minute now.

Marbury was the center of attention.

And teammates sat at individual tables around the practice gym watching the scene play out. Several wanted updates on how the scene was playing out. Nobody has a clue where this is going.

“I don’t know,” Marbury said when asked to evaluate where this might be going. “This is a business. That’s all it is. Nothing surprises me.”

He would like to know what Donnie Walsh is looking to do sooner than later.

“It would be better if they did that, but you never know what’s going to happen,” Marbury said.

He will not budge if Walsh is ordered to buy out a $21.9 million contract.

“Why would I talk about a buy out for something I’ve earned already,” Marbury said. “The contract is signed.”

The interview went on and on like that.

On several occasions, Marbury fell back on his favorite “next question” response. It would be interesting to see how teammates were treating him in the locker room. And it will be important to see how Mike D’Antoni works Marbury in when he begins to build chemistry on the court.

That will happen in the next week.

“If they decide to waive me, I’m fine with that,” Marbury said. “I’m fine with whatever they do. Basketball-wise I’m ready. As long as I’m playing basketball, that’s what’s important to me. … I’m not taking anything personally. There are no emotions attached to this.”

And that is a problem.

If the players do not have an emotional investment, the season will come apart early once again.

The rest of us get to speak with Stephon Marbury in a couple of hours, and it will be interesting to see how the lame duck playmaker is approaching the upcoming season.

I doubt he’s going to stir up any trouble.

There might be some ruffled feathers in the locker room, but keeping Marbury around makes business sense. Knicks president Donnie Walsh is reluctant to waive a talented player and send him off with $21.9 million to drop 30 and 10 on the Knicks four times over the season.

“Nobody’s come into my office and said, ‘I dont like the guy,’ ” he said.

Walsh is open to dealing Marbury so long as the contracts coming back do not derail the grand plans for the summer of 2010. In other words, this is probably going to be a process unless somebody decides the presence of a player who’s got a history of making headlines might disrupt the latest rebuilding process.

It doesn’t sound like Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni has reached that point.

He knows more changes are coming, but indicated there’s no problem investing valuable minutes in a player who’s not likely to be with the franchise beyond this season.

“I can’t say, ‘Wait until next year,’ ” he said. “That’s not my job.”

Thoughts?

Media Day kicks off at 12:30 p.m. so don’t forget to check back for the greatest hits later in the day. When that mob scene ends, they head up to Saratoga Springs to start the bonding process.

It only takes about three or four minutes to notice the difference.

We used to laugh at past regimes. Right now, we are laughing with Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni.

Here’s a couple of the best moments from our Friday visit:

In a lengthy conversation about Stephon Marbury, somebody pointed out the controversial playmaker had a history or a pattern of clashing with coaches here going back a couple of years to Larry Brown.

“There’s a history or a pattern with Larry, too,” Walsh countered.

Somebody asked D’Antoni whether he thought about the Knicks while he was inBeijing for the Olympics.

“You mean when I was on top of the Great Wall ready to jump off?” he shot back.

Priceless.

D’Antoni cracks himself up at least once in every interview. He’ll want to maintain that sense of humor when the Knicks look lost, which is pretty much inevitable.

“I’m just trying to get Donnie to schedule more games,” he said. “If we could get 120 game we might win a nice number.”

Media Day is tomorrow, we’ll talk more then.

Before we sat down with Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni, we got to see a rendering of how the Knicks locker room will appear when the renovation is complete a couple of years down the road.

LeBron James was nowhere in the picture.

And since training camp isn’t officially open until a slogan is printed on a t-shirt, here’s a good one courtesy of Walsh:

“If you have a problem with Mike, the problem is probably with you,” he said.

Perfect, no?

Walsh got grilled about Stephon Marbury, but wasn’t specifically talking about the controversial playmaker when those soon-to-be-famous words were uttered.

On that subject, don’t expect a buyout.

Bassically, it’s just the way that Walsh does business. He’s old school when it comes to throwing money away.

“I can only tell you this,” he said. “I was doing this in Indiana for a long time and I can’t ever remember buying out a contract. I did it through trades. (Buying players out) just isn’t good management.”

So if you’re not a Marbury fan, it sounds like you have to hope a contender loses a point guard to injury before the season gets under way and makes a reasonable offer to Walsh.

D’Antoni went 1-on-1 with Marbury this week, and isn’t dwelling on the past.

“I don’t care what he did in Minnesota or last year,” he said of Marbury.

Everybody has a clean slate.

“I’m kinda in a unique position in that I’m not tied to anybody,” D’Antoni added. “We have a chance to remake this team.”

Danilo Gallinari will not be ready for camp. D’Antoni figures it will be a couple of weeks before the rookie is up and running. The cranky back has prevented any kind of basketball activity for the last two months.

The early reviews indicate David Lee, Wilson Chandler and Jared Jeffries have made a strong impression on the powers that be. And yes, there’s plenty more to discuss, but the cars are clogging up the West Side Highway, and it’s time for me go.  I’ll check in later.

I’m sure Eddy Curry will look pretty good on Media Day.

He’s always in shape and ready to go when the Knicks recovene to discuss the upcoming season. The jersey hangs a little loose. And we always check to see how much weight the middleman dropped in the offseason.

Somebody needs to buy the man a cheeseburger.

Order up some room service, go heavy on the carbs. The last thing Donnie Walsh needs to deal with is a breakhout season. Seriously. I know the point can be argued, but Curry still has a lot of potential. He’s also got an opt out clause.

Think about it.

Curry might respond very well to Mike D’Antoni this season. The personalities match up well. He could eventually adapt to playing a new style and provide a true inside presence when the offense slows down.

What happens if he puts up 18 points and eight rebounds a game?

The phone will start ringing and Curry would have to consider hitting the open market in search of a raise. He’s down to earn $10.5 million in 2009-10, and Walsh really can’t afford to be writing big extensions

A bad season makes Curry untradeable.

So when the Knicks sit him down to discuss how things are going to play out, Curry needs to know it would really help the club if he doesn’t suddenly begin to collect All-Star votes.

It’s been a while, but I’m killing time by covering a winning team.

Heck, if the Giants beat Cincinnati this weekend that’ll be three in a row. In all honesty, it’s fun seeing how the other half lives, but I really do miss the constant swirl of controversy.

I actually have to think before I write.

Anyway, it sounds like many of the Knicks are getting warmed up. I checked in today and Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, David Lee, Nate Robinson, Danilo Gallinari, Zach Randolph and Chris Duhon have been working at the MSG Training Center on a regular basis.

Stephon Marbury hasn’t been running with the in-crowd, but there’s a growing belief within the organization that he will be in camp up at Skidmore. It would make a lot of sense for the organization to cut the controversial playmaker or commit to him for one more season before the players sit down on Sept. 29 at media day.

It will become a nagging story line if they allow it.

Allan Houston is logging a lot of court time, as well, and is apparently deciding whether he’s up for another comeback attempt. It seems the Knicks will always make room for him, as they should. He’s got enough ability left to stretch a defense and enough wisdom stored up to lead a group that’s never learned how to win.

Nobody seems to know whether Gallinari is capable of bending over and tying his shoes. There are going to be questions about his back until he proves to be healthy.

That’s it for now.

Again, sorry about disappearing, but you can always check me out at our Giants blog until I get back to basketball. And check out the new poll.