We all have our favorite Bob Knight memories. Mine was a Senior Day game one night in Bloominton. After the game, Knight addressed the crowd and did a little rant about the media. I'll never forget the look on this kid's face.
He was about 8 or 9 and he looked at me with such disdain, bordering on hatred. He shook his head slowly from side to side as his hero talked about how bad the media is. It really was comical.
That was just one memory that always comes to mind first. I've got a bunch of them.
I grew up in Indiana as a huge Knight/IU fan. I still have a memento of the unbeaten '76 team.
But as I got into sports journalism I became less of a fan, which is natural.
Still, the guy's accomplishments speak for themselves. Most wins ever; 3 titles and a gold medal.
Best coach ever? He is in my book.
Bob Knight is a bully and he always will be a bully. Good riddance to him.
My favorite moment was that time he heaved a chair at one of his players. Wasn't that so great? I mean, that's the moment that defines Bobby Knight to me!!! Wow, the motivational tactic of throwing furniture at a child. I never thought of that.
Best Coach Ever.
IU never has and never will be the same
Myles Brand is a homo
Good luck, Knight.
I hope you get the help you need.
Choking players, berating them, throwing chairs and other things, doing things that if a parent did to their child nowdays DCFS would take the kids away!!!
Sorry, no hero in my book. I don't care how many titles he won. Or the counter-argument, Bill B. is the best coach in the NFL now and if they woulda won the best in the history of the NFL, even with spygate.
Not... buying.... this.... from a child (sorry adult in a compromised position) abuser. Most of those kids came to I.U. hoping to be respected as men, not treated as punching bags. Verbal and Physical.
Sorry Roman, but I'd take Izzo or Coack K over this clown any day. In addition to being winners and brilliant coaches, they aren't misogynists (if so, it's not public knowledge), and haven't (to my knowledge) been arrested for assault. As for championships, Izzo has one while coaching 30 years less than Knight, while Krzyzewski has 4 in approximately 10 fewer seasons. Krzyzewski only needs to coach another 5-6 seasons and he'll pass Knight on the all-time wins list, while Izzo's teams are in the Final Four in what seems like every other season. Hell, Krzyzewski has already shown he's the best coach in the modern era (I'll reserve comment on guys like Allen and Rupp).
As for the next idiot that tries to defend Knight's behavior by saying it's because of his passion for the game, don't waste our time. I'm doubtful they'd think so highly of him had their mother, sister or wife been the secretary at IU he threw the potted plant at, had he tried choking them, or had he berated them in public.
Hey, I was running the pool for my buddies based on the Sun-Times Second Annual Ultimate Super Bowl Pool and the sheet said you'd have the answers up on your blog by noon today, but I don't see it. Can you help me? Thanks. 773.562.7772
I see Bob Knight's legacy just about everywhere...
in the Little League baseball coaches who "work" the teen-age umpires over balls and strikes...
in the PeeWee League football coaches who think they are the show, not the game...
in the basketball coaches who moan and rant and rave over every whistle, shot, dribble, timeout, and so on. And often greet the kids coming off the court with a "how could you miss that" instead of a "we'll get them next time."
Bob Knight has spawned a generation of coaches who think their red faces, beer guts and bile that spills forth from their yawning gaps has somehow qualified them to be "molders of young athletes." Maybe the Bob Knight of 30 years ago deserves some respect, but the one who has haunted the sidelines for the past 10 years is an angry, mean, often delusional, bully who thinks his bluster and complete lack of personal responsibility are somehow endearing qualities.
I say so long, farewell and good riddance.
Don't let the door hit you in the a** on the way out.
PS. Trim your freaking eyebrows.
He certainly has credentials. And you have to respect that. I like tough guys, and appreciate what knight has done for the game. He is a tough guy. Unfortunately I think he is a bully. And that I dont like. Somebody tell Skiles there's an opening at Texas Tech!
The best? Yes, despite the temper tantrums and the way he treated his players.
Coach K and Izzo have had superstars throughout their programs. Knight has taken mostly very good division 1 role players and made them winners. I'm 46 and the only superstar I can remember Knight coaching is Isiah Thomas. Kent Benson, Buckner, Alford...were all good players, but not superstars. I believe the measure of a coach is what he does when he doesn't have the super star talent.
Oh yeah, choking - I forgot that one! Thanks, Chuck. That memory really rounds out my opinion of this truly awful human being. Isn't it funny how everyone (with the strange exception of Roman) so far cannot stand this guy? Nice legacy, Coach. Everyone knows about your record, but your winning personality is all anyone can talk about.
Might I mention that Seedy brought up the eyebrows, not me.
Sorry, Roman, but I can't agree with you. Many responses have pointed out Knight's many shortcomings, but the view is simpler than that. In a world fortunate enough that a gentleman like John Wooden is still alive, Bob Knight has never been the best coach. The role has been filled by the Wizard of Westwood.
Roman responds: I won't argue. But you would have to agree that Wooden had more talent with which to work. And he made the most of it.
Oh, and another thing. One who does not finish his season is by definition a quitter. The basketball world got classier today.
The "he had less talent" angle is often brought up. Well, who's job was it to get that talent? Part of the job description of college basketball coaches is recruiting. If he had less talent, it was his own doing. Plus, he had plenty of talent, anyway. Another job description for college basketball is to help their players to earn a degree. Why do we put coaches on a pedstal for doing what is expected of them?
Its just amazing how many Indiana families dreamed that their kid could play at IU under Coach Knight.
But I suppose they were a little demented, sadistic and abusive too.
My favorite Bob Knight story: After Texas Tech lost in the sweet sixteen a few years back one of Bob's seniors told the press, "I came here a boy, I left a man."
Ask that kid's mom and dad what they think of Coach Knight.
From Pago Pago, American Samoa
John
"Coach K and Izzo have had superstars throughout their programs. Knight has taken mostly very good division 1 role players and made them winners."
Superstars on MSU??? Please indulge us with a list of these superstars you allege Izzo's had on his teams. Seems to me, like Knight, Izzo's had "very good division 1 role players". Jason Richardson is probably the best player he's coached and even he doesn't qualify as a superstar. I guess he's had one superstar less than Knight.
Max, who here has him on a pedestal? ESPN does, but their butt-kissing doesn't count. They probably want him to be an analyst on College GameDay or something. Nary a mention all night about anything remotely negative. Did anyone else notice that?
"Somebody tell Skiles there's an opening at Texas Tech!"
Why? Do they have under-performing, under-achieving, soft bball players there also?
Max Power | February 5, 2008 12:23 AM - Great Post!
This guy is an icon (like a rebel flag unfortunately), and a winner. He should have been able to get the best kids to play for him. He always got the opposite kind of kids that Illinois got. That is why their games used to be epic battles. Lou Henson and Bobby Knight aged eachother 10 years. I used to look at Knights squads and say - Illinois is going to smash them! But he always had teams that resemble the present Chicago Bulls - a scrappy bunch of jump shooters with a physical beast in the post. And Illinois always had a team resembling the Pistons. With at least 2 players headed for the draft. Those were the days. And Knight won his share of those battles with fundamentals. Sometimes I rooted for his kids because they played the game with fundamentals. It was when they would get those "questionable calls" that I turn to other teams.
FEAR is a great tactic for kids. But not for professionals, that is why Knight never coached in the professional ranks. And trust me - it was FEAR that kept him at the college level. FEAR of NBA players. Bet he woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat "let me go spree"!!!! (breathing very hard)
Best coach ever?
Imagine you have a top flight bball player as a son. He has his choice of schools. If that's my son, there's NO WAY I would have sent him to play for Knight at any point in his career, especially the last few where it appears Alzheimers in setting in.
Did you see that disgraceful performance with his grandson at the post game conference? That was REAL creepy...
I see all the negative comments about Knight on the bulletin board. Get real people. Most of you probably have your own demons that we'll never know about because you aren't in the spotlight. Having less talent and winning is a real thing and a real accomplishment - to win 900+ without blue chip talent. Why didn't he have the talent? Because he did NOT cheat in the recruiting process. We put Bob Knight on a pedestal because alot of coaches in the game are NOT doing it without cheating. Bob Knight did it all without cheating. C'mon people, do your homework before you post. Take a look in the mirror. Next time you lose your temper, think about Bobby Knight. In 40 or so years of coaching and 900+ wins, we really only have a handful of outlandish examples of his temper and a veritable encyclopedia of examples of outstanding leadership. That's pretty damn good.
When will the illinoise fans get over the stinging issue that, Knight got more out of less than Lou(doo) ever did? Maybe a few mental health appointments,(jersey grabbing and all¹), with Coach Knight, will alleviate all the pent up frustration.
¹. Anybody fictionalizes the throat instead of the jersey, is a bold-faced FIBBER.
Razor42:
We may have demons, but we neither unleash them on unsuspecting 18-22 year olds, nor do we display them in the workplace. Why is he different? Because of the wins? That's lame.
With every new season, Knight became more arrogant and childish. When that didn't succeed in getting him the attention he so clearly cherishes, he began making regular outlandish statements -- most of which were tasteless.
I am happy to shower praise on Knight because he got a lot out of his talent and saw a high percentage of his players earn a degree. Those are laudable achievements, but... it... simply... wasn't... enough... for... his... unsatiable... ego.
10 years ago, someone should have stuffed a sock in this guy's mouth and told him to shut the f*** up.
PATINO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best Motivator EVER!
His philosophy of believing in a player more than they did was ground breaking..
You should buy his motivational tapes.....truly inspiring!
Did Bobby Knight do more with less talent than others have done? Yes, give him credit for that but why couldn't he recruit more talent? Because of his "endearing" personality? That can be answered with one simple example: Larry Byrd! Transfered to ISU because of Bobby Knight. As the winningest coach in NCAA play he desrves that recognition but as a human being he has failed miserably. Can I see a show of hands from those willing to go hunting with Knight and Dick Cheney?
As an IU alum, I have mixed emotions about B.K., as does every other college basketball fan. However, Roman is right. You don't have to be the nicest guy in the world to be a great coach. He's in the Hall of Fame for good reasons. One thing to look at is the graduation rate of his players; another is how many of them became great coaches in their own right by using what they learned from him. One would wish that he wasn't such a vociferous ass at times.Still,one of his best qutes was about why he would not coach at the pro level. He said he wouldn't because he liked basketball, implying that the pro game is not really basketball at all.
This guy was a maggot who prayed on young college kids.
If he had been a professor and had pulled this child abuse stuff. He would have been in jail. Why did this sick sick person be left alone with young impressionable kids is beyond me.
Only in the sports world run by mental midgets is he herald as a savior of greatness. How small of all of you to even consider this extremely disturbed individual without any remorse is criminal. He should banded from sports for what he has be able to do to the many young kids he hurt. His is more to be pitied then honored or perhaps the trouble lays with those of you who even consider him to be any more the he is other then a sick human being who was left to run rapped on young kids. Indiana finally came to their senses and got rid of him. So should the rest of ut.
So, because others are doing wrong, he should be complemented for not? Hey, I didn't drive through any red lights today! I want an award! Where's my cookie?
And by the "others are doing wrong, so he's special because he's not" theory, does that make all coaches who don't choke their teenage players special, too?
Capitalist, here's your list: Zach Randolph, Morris Peterson, Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell, Shannon Brown, Alan Anderson, Maurice Ager. Paul Davis.
I know you didnt just call Mateen Cleeves a superstar JB?
SuperJaw....maybe!?
I've played for, and worked for scrotums like Bobby Knight, and you can take that arrogant, pompus ball-sack and shove him where the sun never shines.
We are talking about college superstars and Cleaves was a superstar at MSU. Izzo named his kid after him.
Tim asks: "Can I see a show of hands from those willing to go hunting with Knight and Dick Cheney?"
Raising my hand; with the stipulation that I'm the only one with bullets in his gun.
I Love Bob Knight...and the coach I had who was just like him, too.......I got the same but worse than Neil "can't walk on the wild side" Reed from my Football coach ... I deserved it...I mouthed off...everyone saw it...I woulda beat someones a$$ if they woulda narc'd out Coach....and the clip board over my helmet...I deserved that too....I ran and would still run thru brick walls for that guy...not out of fear...but knowing that Man was right for caring enough about me to "make" me 'Man the bleep Up'...Every "boy" has those days that make him a Man....Sorry, but I look at it as just being "Part of it"...as I have said before...it's the intent...say it again....Intent....and that's why the Loyalty you hear about to Bob Knight and every coach who is just like him. 15-22 is when Man happens, Ladies and Dents...Bob Knight made Men....you can disagree vehemently if ya want....or did already......but I dare you to do it around his x players......Landon Turner was MY favorite, btw.....but the biggest mistake I think BK made....... Bob Knight shoulda let DelRay shoot the way DelRay shot...yes culzie..Go Friars (Hey, how come the Monks don't get pizz'd off about being a mascot?...or are they?...and that vow of silence thing....)
and BTW.. "none" of my little league games ended in a tie....let alone all of them....lame
No more thrill of Victory and Angony of defeat?....are you kidding me!?....Sorry, but I think everyone should experience that
I Love Bob Knight....He's a teacher... and you guyzzzzzzzzz....are a bunch of doody faces;)~
Brand is a homo
Just throwing my name randomly into your random thoughts...does not a good post it make...
Without a doubt, the most expansive love-hate relationship in any sport, at any time, anywhere in history.
Wooden was the Red Auerbach of college basketball. Helen Keller would have coached those teams to titles.
Bobby Knight brought basics, discipline and toughness to the game like no other. Unfortunately, he also brought in the worse case of STRONG-ARM tactics. The Spanish Inquisition had NOTHIN' on Knight, but the guy did more with less talent than anyone ever has. Take it for what it is?
Pitino and 'K' are two other excellent college coaches. I love the way Pitino presses and works strengths and weaknesses into his strategy. Coach 'K' has been accused in the past of just having the most talent, but N.B.A. statistics show Duke alumni to not be very productive at the next level. Poor development or just good coaching? I think he's just a damn good coach. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Thank goodness he wasn't as sour as the tree from which he fell!
Bubba's mom no comprende "Doody face." I need to brush up on my understanding of testosteronian, or whatever language that is.
Anonymous, thank you for your contribution to the blog. I was a little surprised when that hand jumped out of my computer monitor, grabbed my neck and shook me back and forth. And even more surprised when that folding chair flew through the screen and hit me in the forehead.
I guess I should tip my hat to Roman - you just never know what's going to happen on this blog.
Thanks Julie B.
Had a coach like Knight about 7 years ago. It was a church league, and he berated everything we did. He quit, we won the championship next year, our coach did not make men, he disrespected men, and men do not take disrespect. Talking about Bob Knight making men?
I had a father at home, he lived until I was 29, he made me a man, that is how it should be. No coach can ever be my father. My loyalty is to my father, who raised me as a single man, the real man to me.
And Razor42, yes I do have skeletons in my closet, but I don't take them out on college kids. Anonymous, you play for him then.
No, he did not cheat the system, he cheated these MEN of their dignity, they are grown men, some with kids, they do not need this abuse from some old fart, who can't control his temper.
True Seedy, True.
Mark V., I'll go too, we'll say it was an accident, and put a deer colored coat on both of them.
Mark Villano you're a very brave man but consider this, Bobby Knight would propably choke you til you gave him your bullets!
Julie, I'll give you Cleaves, as he's one of my all-time favorite point guards and was a fantastic floor leader. As for everyone else you mentioned . . .
Zach Randolph:
MSU 10 pts /6 bds per game (in one whole season!)
Pros 16 pts /8 bds per game
Mo Pete:
MSU 11 pts / 5 bds per game
Pros 14 pts / 4 bds per game
Paul "Highly Overrated/Inconsistent/Mr. Sensitive" Davis:
MSU 13 pts / 7 bds per game
Pros 2 pts / 1.7bds per game
Charlie Bell:
MSU 10.5 pts / 4.5 bds per game
Pros 9 pts / 2.5 bds per game
Shannon Brown:
MSU 12 pts / 3.5 bds per game
Pros 4.7 pts / 1 bd per game
Alan Anderson:
MSU Can't find; we know, however, they weren't "superstar" numbers
Pros 6 pts/ 2 bds per game
Maurice Ager:
MSU 12.7 pts / 3.5 bds per game
Pros 2 pts / .6 bds per game
Most of these guys were athletic, but none were superstars by any stretch. And while Randolph could have become a top-flight, dominant big man in college, he certainly wasn't in his one season at MSU.
Seems to me that Izzo recruited a lot of very good division one players. Just like Knight.
A good sign of greatness is the amount of passion one arouses, both pro and con.
Mark V - great idea!
I think Tim Little is right!
Bobby's KNIGHTMARE on Elmstreet! The coach thats famous for a different kind of tournament choke...
Can I see a show of hands from those willing to go hunting with Knight and Dick Cheney?
Posted by: Tim Little | February 5, 2008 10:18 AM
**************
With Knight, yes! Dick Cheney, NO! I don't need to be shot in the face! A chair thrown at me is a hell of a big
difference than shot in the face from a guy with his own Secret Service to protect me from retaliating! (Do you think any
of you could have shot back at Cheney and still be alive today?)
Amazing some people think Bob Knight would have been intimidated by a Sprewell or Ron Artest type. I just don't see it!
He didn't get a chance to coach in the NBA because he would NOT have accepted the child-like excuses some on this blog
have given to certain Chicago Bulls players or NBA players in general. NBA management knows this!
Just as Eddie Robinson did not get a chance in the NFL as a Black man, Bob Knight did not get a chance in the NBA
as a no-nonsense coach. (Please do not compare Black and White, it is simply a parellel to describe an item.
A FEW QUESTIONS TO SOME POSTERS IS: Would Bob Knight be good for ALL THESE FREAKING high schoolers leaving college
early or straight out of high school? But don't produce worth a damn!
Would Bob Knight be a productive coach with a young in-experienced NBA team busting to play hard versus a
veteran-laden (where is my pacifer) team or I will pout and don't play hard every night?
Punchy - are you Bobby Knight? That sounds like a good blogname for yah. The NBA is the ultimate test for all coaches, just like it is for the athletes.
So Keith...Is Boylan passing the test?
Culzie - he doesnt have a solid body of work to give him an accurate grade, but so far you have to say yes. He is past the honey moon, and the players are still scrapping. They are 500 or better vs. the ASSYLUM the media has been trying to pin on them.
All of the dictators are getting their comeuppance! Skiles, Knight, and even Bilicheat (who I rooted for). So I am happy. Now if we can get rid of this president and those republicans, I think this will round into a fine year.
In my humble opinion, Bobby Knight is and was one-half of a great man.
Pros: excellent teacher, had an admirable perspective--however classlessly related--about sports even to the point of recognizing that he was "just a basketball coach...not a curer of cancer,etc.," a kind of "light" in the midst of collegiate sports' darkness in that he wasn't just another "prostitute" who allows sporting achievement to supercede academics, he graduated most of his players and still saw to it that Landon Turner (remember that?) graduated even after he became a paraplegic from a horrible car accident, sardonically humorous, highly intelligent, was pretty accurate when he labeled sports reporting "just one or two steps above prostitution," one-half of a superb disciplinarian
Cons: BULLY!!!, full-of-himself, needs gross quantities of humility, classless, one-half of a superb disciplinarian
If not for the cons, Bobby would have been not just a great coach, but a great man.
Punchy sez: "Amazing some people think Bob Knight would have been intimidated by a Sprewell or Ron Artest type. I just don't see it!"
The difference between Knight shoving around college kids, and Knight "trying" to shove around men like Artest, is that the latter would beat him to a bloody pulp, and he's smart enough to know that.
No way he pulls that kinda crap (and lives) if the guy he's arguing with is some creature like Kermit Washington.
But disregarding his obvious physical disadvantages, what, if any, leverage would he have over players already signed to multi-million / multi-year contracts that are guaranteed?
They'd either tune hime out, kick his a$$, or tell him to go pound sand.
Mark for someone who accused me of acting like this is my personal blog, you apparhently are renting out the rest!
All of the dictators are getting their comeuppance! Skiles, Knight, and even Bilicheat (who I rooted for). So I am happy. Now if we can get rid of this president and those republicans, I think this will round into a fine year.
Funny how the ONE TRUE DICTATOR we did get rid of...SADDAM...you actually wanted to keep!!!
I wish Knight would have retired a few years ago. Face it to all you who question him CAN KISS HIS YOU KNOW WHAT.
I would love for my kid to play for Knight because at least I would know that he would go to his classes and graduate. Not like other schools that take advantage of there athletes.
To all you who say athletes should be paid to play College athletics that is the biggest joke. They are getting a chance at a Free education that many kids would die for.
Bobby is and will always be the face of College Basketball. The record speaks for itself. 3 NCAA Championships, 1 Olympic Gold and Pan Am Gold.
Also lastly to all you na sayers when did you ever hear one of Knight's ex players say anything bad about him? They all say that Knight is the first to call whenever they are in trouble or they need anything. To compare Knight to Saddam is craziness. No wonder why this Country is in trouble. I would love for the youth of today to spend a couple of days with Knight then maybe they would quite being such Big Cry Babies.
I cant wait till Bush leaves either...
and then we can elect a democrat...
and finally make the transition to SOCIALISM that everyone so desperately craves..
GO CUBS!!