Yes, basketball is strong in NY. A lot of street ball legends come from the greater NYC area, the Knicks have quite the legacy, and Syracuse, while not in '03 form ('Melo was the greatest thing that happened to the Orange in a long, LONG time, and they won't see anything like him for a while) they're still a part of the upper echelon of the Big East and CBB in general.

Basketball is very strong in the NYC area - very , very strong across the boards from youth level to the Pros. People watch pick-up games near Washington Square in SoHo in NYC. They LOVE the Knicks. Outside of the area, Syracuse BBall is huge. I was gonna rank NY Five Stars, but I think New Yorkers like Baseball more. The Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown NY. Football interest is also very strong. A case could be made for it being #1.