The NBA didn’t begin that season until Feb. 5, 1999, the result of a lockout. The Rangers were struggling and didn’t qualify for the playoffs.

The winter of 1998-99 in New York City, instead, was all about St. John’s basketball.

Celebrities such as Jay-Z and Spike Lee frequented games at the Garden. The Johnnies were one of the top teams in the country, and eventually would go further in the NCAA Tournament than any team since.

“It was rock-star status,” recalled team manager Anthony Doran, now a Manhattan College assistant coach. “That ’98-99 team painted the town red.”