The Mag's Anne Marie Cruz only wanted to ask Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy a few questions about Marcus Camby. She ended up playing defense.

Jeff Van Gundy was finishing up a TV interview in the hallway outside the gymnasium at SUNY Purchase. It was almost noon, and Knicks practice had let out. Van Gundy was wearing track pants and a plain black sweatshirt with "Knicks Basketball" written in white. He was wearing socks but no shoes. It was endearing, like Dad shuffling across the kitchen linoleum in search of his morning cup of coffee.

The subtler message: This is my house. Welcome.

After the TV guys snapped off the camera lights, I introduced myself and lobbed him some questions about Marcus Camby. Away from Manhattan and the crush of game night, Van Gundy seemed relaxed. Serious, of course, but relaxed. He answered each question leisurely -- a college prof holding office hours.

I thanked him for his time. Then, as he began to walk away, he paused and turned around.

"Can I ask you a question?" he said, looking a bit puzzled.

"Of course," I said.

"What's with The Jump and that list of names?" he asked, Dad-like. "What is that?"

I grinned. "Oh, that's just a catalogue of all the people referenced in the next three or four pages," I said.

"Oh," he said, nodding. "That's all it is? It's a little confusing. Do you ever find it hard to follow?"

Sure, sometimes.

"How old is the staff? Everyone in their mid-thirties?" Van Gundy asked.

"Well, the ages range from early twenties to late thirties..." I trailed off before I could say "to fifty-somethings."

"Oh, that young, huh?" he said, seeming relieved. "It's not always clear to me. Is it sarcasm?"

The Jump? The last beacon of Lux et Veritas, training its blistering beam upon the sporting landscape? The smartly-dressed stylist of wisdom painstakingly unsewing epaulettes from the foppish uniforms of chicanery?

"Sarcasm?" I said, flashing a sympathetic smile. "Yeah. I'd go with sarcasm."

Anne Marie Cruz writes for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail her at anne.marie.cruz@espnmag.com.