Assuming the contract details will be a formality and the mutual interest that Phil Jackson and Jeff Hornacek have expressed to each other leads to Hornacek’s becoming the next Knicks head coach, here is what fans will be getting, aside from their wish that it be anyone but the interim incumbent Kurt Rambis:

Not an A-list media star. Not an interview room entertainer. But someone who does fit Jackson’s stated preference for a candidate with whom he has some spiritual or philosophical familiarity.

“For as long as I’ve known Jeff, he’s been more on the quiet side, but a high-character guy, a leader by example who will represent your franchise really well,” said Jerry Colangelo, who drafted Hornacek out of Iowa State in 1986 for the Phoenix Suns with the next-to-last pick in the second round.

It is the longstanding relationship between Colangelo and Hornacek that tangentially connects to Jackson, the Knicks’ team president, whose coaching search had become a “Where’s Waldo?” mystery based on his clandestine wanderings while reaching out to a small sampling of candidates.

Hornacek, 53, grew up and played high school basketball in the suburbs of Chicago, Colangelo’s hometown. Colangelo knew Hornacek’s father, John, during his own playing days in Amateur Athletic League games around the city.