An LIU-Brooklyn basketball star from the early 1970s was killed in a smoky Bronx blaze yesterday morning — just hours after he watched his beloved Blackbirds clinch an NCAA tournament bid.

Walter Jones, 63, a retired MTA bus driver, was a star 6-foot-7 center who was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets in 1972. His NBA career was cut short by a knee injury. Jones was inducted into LIU’s Hall of Fame in 2006.

The fire at 3056 Fenton Ave., was not considered suspicious.