Now that Reggie Miller has officially closed the book on his possible return to the L, Allan Houston takes center stage as the best veteran jumpshooter trying to make a comeback. Just in case you forgot how nice H20 was before his knee troubles, this is the Allan Houston File:

Unless Chris Lofton goes totally berserk in his senior campaign, Houston will remain the leading scorer in the history of the Tennessee program. He broke former Knick GM Ernie Grunfeld’s mark of 2,249 points before finishing his career with 2,801. When his college career came to a close, he ranked as the 13th leading scorer in the history of college basketball.

Incredibly, his numbers are actually put him in the same conversation as the greatest college scorer ever, Pete Maravich (3,667 career points in three years at LSU). And Allan’s the only player ever to notch 2,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists at Tennessee.

When he got to the NBA, the buckets continued. Houston smoked the Lakers for 53 on February 16, 2003. One month later, he dropped 50 on the Bucks at MSG, going 18-for-18 from the stripe, falling one short of Bill Cartwright’s NYK record of 19 free throws made without a miss.

Houston was selected as part of a USA Development Team that ran against the first Dream Team in 1992. Eight years later, he suited up as an Olympian and got himself a gold medal.

Though 2003 is probably his most impressive year in the stat books, the seasons from ’98-’00 mark his greatest impact:

- In 1998, he eliminated the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs with the oh-please-just-drop-in leaner with 0.8 seconds left to seal a 78-77 victory. Houston followed that up with a 34-point explosion against the Hawks in the first game of the second round. The Knicks ran the table against Atlanta before squaring off versus the Pacers. In a Game 6 victory against Indy, Houston dropped 32 points, including a dead-eye performance in the second half on 8-of-9 shooting from the field.

- Houston owns a career average of a little more than 17 ppg – a number that would be higher if not for his last two active season from 2002-2004, where injuries saw his games played and numbers take a serious dip. And even with those down seasons, he’s still a career 40% shooter from behind the arc – better than Reggie Miller’s career numbers.

If and when Houston does come back, will he be anywhere close to the player he once was before his injuries? Most likely not, but who knows?