BOSTON – Nets assistant coach Lawrence Frank majored in Bobby Knight in college and never once saw his mentor use anything other than verbal abuse to reprimand his players.

“I never saw him be physical with anyone,” said Frank, a Jersey guy who went from Teaneck High School’s team manager to Indiana’s team manager from 1988 to 1992. “I never saw him touch anyone. Oh, he got ticked off, but you can’t box him as this or that. If a player screwed up, he may make a joke of it, or be on your butt. He’s unpredictable.”

As the Nets’ newest hire, the 29-year-old Frank has been on the job nine days and is the embodiment of the youthful staff under new coach Byron Scott. Frank has played the role of advance scout during the Shaw Summer League at UMass-Boston that ended last night when the Nets faced Boston, charting plays of the Nets’ upcoming opponent across the week.

Frank, who is so young-looking he can be mistaken for a U-Mass Boston intern, was fired along with the rest of the Grizzlies’ staff earlier this summer. The Teaneck native sent a blind resume to Nets new GM Rod Thorn and became the first outsider on Scott’s staff that presently consists of leftovers Mike O’Koren and Eddie Jordan.

Frank sheepishly says he was “more of a Knicks’ fan” growing up, but he also rooted for the Nets.

“My family’s excited but it wasn’t so much as coming home as joining a program headed in the right direction,” Frank said.

Frank, who knew he wanted to be a coach at age 13, was the last cut on Teaneck High’s basketball team. When he explored colleges, he didn’t care about the school’s academic curriculum. He searched for a spot where he could be the team manager and learn from a great college coach.

“When you want to go into the business world, the best place to go is Wharton School,” Frank said. “I knew I wanted to get into coaching and I wanted to learn from the best. A lot of managers at Indiana have gone into coaching.”

He knew it was a risk because the alleged player-choker received 60 applications each year. Had he not been selected, Frank would have transferred. Instead, he absorbed Knight’s knowledge and landed his first job out of college at Marquette.

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Isiah Thomas won his first game as a head coach yesterday when the Pacers routed the Wizards by 17 points. Jeff Van Gundy believes Thomas’ complete lack of coaching experience won’t hinder him.

“It worked the last time they did it with Larry Bird,” Van Gundy said. “I’m sure he’ll do a very good job.”

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The Nets lost their summer-league finale 90-71 to the Celtics last night, finishing the schedule at 1-5. Tremaine Fowlkes led the Nets with 14 points and nine rebounds.