NEW YORK -- Former University of Richmond basketball standout Kenny Atkinson has joined the coaching staff of the NBA's New York Knicks.

Atkinson, named an assistant yesterday, joins the Knicks after spending the 2007-08 season as the director of player development with the Houston Rockets, where he was responsible for improving player performance through on-court, one-on-one skill development and the use of video analysis.

Atkinson joined the Rockets after three years as the director of player development/assistant coach with the Paris Basket Racing Club in France from 2004-06.

While in Europe, Atkinson also was a Reebok EuroCamp coach in Treviso, Italy, during the summers of 2005 and 2007. He spent the 2006 summer as the director of player development for the national team of the Republic of Georgia.

Following a standout collegiate career at Richmond, where the point guard led the Spiders to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament, the native of Northport, N.Y., played professionally in Italy, France, Holland, Germany and Spain from 1991-2004.