Roni Toppin – like other Knicks fans – will be banned from personally attending rookie Obi Toppin’s Garden debut as Knick on Saturday against the Sixers.
No fans. Not even mothers.
Roni Toppin teaches autistic children at a high school in Washington Heights. During the pandemic, she wants a part-time job with MSG to see her son play live.
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“I watched all the games on TV, but I’m so upset that I’m trying to find the right person to get me a job at Madison Square Garden,” Roni told The Post in an interview on Christmas Eve. “I will be the caretaker for the Garden. I will disinfect the entire arena if they want to. More than anything, I wish I could be there.”
Roni is a personality as alive as his son was in Dayton, earning the honors of college player of the year. Roni still lives in Ossining, where Obi attended high school. He was raised in Brooklyn before moving to Melbourne, Florida.
Before recruiting, she never imagined being able to spend Christmas with her son in the midst of the NBA’s debut season, imagining that he would land in Cleveland or elsewhere. She lives 12 minutes from the training center in Tarrytown, where Toppin had training scheduled for the holiday.
“I will see you at Christmas when your training is over – the whole family goes to my sister’s house in Ossining,” said Roni. “Lobster tail, ceviche, cannolis. He came back from Dayton last Christmas for two days, then came back. Now I see him every day. It’s crazy. I’m still in shock. I can’t believe he’s in the Knicks. This one was his team for the rest of his life. He was born a fan of the Knicks. “
Toppin has a new place in White Plains and his mom is fixing it.
“To think about it now, he lives 10 minutes from me,” said Roni. “I see him every day now, except when they’re out of town. I’m at his house every day. It’s crazy to think about it. His professional career in the NBA makes him work 10 minutes from my home.”
But she still can’t see him playing live – or can she? Six teams will allow limited and socially distant fans, including in Tampa Bay, where the transplanted Toronto is playing.
The Knicks will be in Tampa Bay on New Year’s Eve and Roni is determined to be there.
“I’m working on it – asking everyone and the protocols,” said Roni Toppin. “What do I have to do to get into the arena and buy a ticket? That’s where I want to be on New Year’s Eve. I’m trying.”
Before the August lottery, Roni hoped that his son would become a Knick. But then the Knicks fell from the seed of lottery number 6 to number 8.
“When someone asked me where I wanted Obi to go, I said I wanted him to stay at home, so when the lottery hit, we were really upset,” admitted Roni. “They were saying that he would make it to the top five and there is no way he would be there at eight.”
In fact, the draft simulations were almost unanimous – the Cavaliers would take the six-foot force forward in No. 5. Instead, the Cavs went to the defense with Isaac Okoro.
“All of Dayton’s fans were very excited and anxious and wanted him so much in Cleveland,” said Roni, who watched the draft in Westchester with Obi and his family. “We think that could be it. When Cleveland chose Okoro, that’s when I thought it was possible, but I still didn’t believe it.
“We were like, ‘Oh my God. He can be a Knick. ‘ But I couldn’t get excited because I didn’t want to spoil the moment. I needed Adam Silver to say his name. I prefer it to be in New York, even if it is the 29th choice. “
Roni Toppin, 1.52 m, is a former volleyball player and coached one of Toppin’s youth basketball teams. She is a basketball scholar – her late husband / father of Obi, Obadiah Toppin Sr., played abroad as a former Rucker Park legend.
As such, Roni, has very strong opinions.
“He doesn’t like it when I tell him anything about basketball,” said Roni. “If I do that, he says ‘Just be my mom’. “
Instead, Roni shared his basketball analysis of Obi’s debut on The Post. At the start of the season, Toppin eagerly scored seven points out of three – something he didn’t do much in college. He ended the night with 3 of 12 – 3 of 7 on 3 point ground. However, one of its 3-point marks was an unintended bank hit.
Roni hopes that Tom Thibodeau will establish Toppin, which had an average of 20 points to bring Dayton to the national spotlight, as an internal presence.
“In Dayton, he was more around the edge and now he is more at the perimeter,” said Roni. “I feel like he is a killer in the hoop. He was the national player of the year because of what he did around the hoop. They are pushing him to be a great versatile player, so I trust them. They are not defining him. will fail. They are preparing you to be great.
“So he’s playing three more. I’d love for him to eventually get to that point. But I know where he’s a killer. I know he’s just starting out as a rookie. I love that he’s getting on the court. I saw [Wednesday] he felt more confident than in the preseason games. I will trust the process and hope that Thibs knows what he is doing. But I know he’s a killer around the edge and I want him to go out and kill. “
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Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff paid a great compliment to Toppin. He said he never interviewed a college candidate who looked more like a team guy. Roni says he heard this feeling from other teams.
“I feel that Obi builds relationships with his teammates and that is what helps them to be great when they love each other as brothers, when they play for each other,” said Roni. “They have not yet built these relationships. He is close to his companions, but they only met three weeks ago.”