http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-spknix134005084oct13,0,271471.story?coll=ny-knicks-print
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- His days starring in commercials with "L'il Penny" long behind him, Penny Hardaway is merely hoping to get a little more out of Penny this season.

"I can't wait to see how I'm going to perform in game-like situations against guys," Hardaway said after Knicks practice yesterday. "Last year, I was way slower."

He's still admittedly far from the multi-talented superstar he was with the Magic in the mid-1990s, but Hardaway, 33, said he feels as good as he has in a long time. After five surgeries on his left knee, the last in November 2000, the road to recovery seems to be finally reaching an end. He said the player he was last season as a Knick - he came from Phoenix in January in the Stephon Marbury deal - wasn't close to what he thinks he still can be.

"I couldn't move as smoothly as I can now," Hardaway said of last season, when he averaged 9.6 points and 29 minutes in 42 regular-season games as a Knick.

Smooth has been a Hardaway trademark since he was a dynamic rookie in 1993. Versatility is what the 12-year veteran offers the Knicks, who certainly need him during Allan Houston's continued injury absence. From a peek at yesterday's end-of-practice scrimmage, it seems a given that Jamal Crawford will start in Houston's spot in tomorrow night's exhibition opener against the Nets in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

But expect the 6-7, 215-pound Hardaway to resume the critical role he had in last season's playoff sweep by the Nets. He took on big minutes, averaging 42 and 16.5 points after Tim Thomas was lost to injury. Hardaway can play the point, shooting guard and small forward, and he can defend in the low post as well as on the perimeter.

Hardaway said there's not much he can't do after an offseason of conditioning, not having to recover from surgery or rehabilitate his balky knee.

"I've regained a lot of what I used to have as far as playing basketball on the floor; quick moves, first step and all that," he said. "It's just the leaping ability that I don't have consistently."

The Knicks won't mind that Hardaway isn't a slam-dunk champion. What they need is scoring, defense and stability off the bench. When Houston returns, the Knicks can use Hardaway and Crawford in various combinations off the bench. Coach Lenny Wilkens is pleased with what he's seen in training camp from Hardaway.

"He's healthy, he's feeling good," Wilkens said. "He's been at all practices. He didn't sit out or anything. I think he looks good."

Good, yes. But not as good as he used to look. Hardaway admits he has wondered what might have been.

"Oh yeah, you always wonder 'What if?' " he said. "I've gone through five surgeries on the same knee. If I didn't have those five knee surgeries, I would have been the same me. Top of the NBA, top of my game and playing well."

Instead, he accepts the challenge of transforming his game from Superman to Super Sub.

"All the hard work I put in it, I want to see how it pays off," Hardaway said. "I can't wait."

Notes & quotes: After a relatively light practice schedule at camp in Charleston, S.C., Wilkens put the Knicks through a two-hour workout yesterday. "We're trying to get to that point where we're ready for a game," he said. "Today I wanted to really go hard. And they responded. They went hard." ... Houston took part in drills but not in scrimmaging ... Second-year power forward Michael Sweetney on his competition with Kurt Thomas for a starting spot: "I'm not going to ask for more minutes or to start.
I'm just going to work for it. Wherever Coach Lenny puts me, that's what I'll take."