Bob Knight

Fiery college basketball coaching legend Bob Knight.

Robert Montgomery (Bobby or Bob) Knight (born October 25, 1940 in Massillon, Ohio, USA), known as The General, is the head men's basketball coach at Texas Tech University. He previously held the same position at Indiana University and the United States Military Academy. Knight is one of NCAA Division I college basketball's most controversial coaches but is the third all-time winningest coach in the men's division, behind Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp. With only 10 wins separating him and all-time leader Dean Smith, Knight will probably break the all-time record in the 2006-2007 season.

Playing career

Bob Knight began his career as a player at Orrville High School and continued under Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor at Ohio State University in 1958. He was a reserve on the Buckeyes' 1960 NCAA Division I National Championship team, which featured future Hall of Fame players John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas. Knight graduated with a degree in history and government in 1962.

Coaching Career

Army

After graduation in 1962, Bob Knight coached at Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio) High School for one year, then accepted an assistant coaching position at Army in 1963, where, two years later, he was named the head coach at the relatively young age of 24. In six seasons at West Point, Knight won 102 games. One of his players was Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Indiana

Knight was noticed as a rising star, and when Indiana University was seeking a new coach in 1971, they turned to Knight. Knight immediately endeared himself to the basketball-mad state of Indiana with his disciplined approach to the game. Educated in military history, Knight was given the nickname "The General" by former University of Detroit and Detroit Pistons coach-turned-broadcaster Dick Vitale.

Within two years, Knight turned a mediocre team into a Big Ten Conference powerhouse. Indiana reached the Final Four in 1973, losing to UCLA. In 1975 the Indiana Hoosiers were undefeated and the number one team in the nation, when leading scorer and All-American Scott May, the father of former North Carolina star and current Charlotte Bobcats player Sean May, broke his arm during the Hoosiers' historic defeat of arch-rival Purdue on Purdue's home court. Indiana subsequently suffered a heartbreaking 92-90 loss to Kentucky in the regional finals of the NCAA tournament despite a determined, but ultimately ineffective, May gamely playing with a heavily-braced arm. The final game between UCLA and Kentucky was historic, as it was Indiana-born UCLA head coach John Wooden's final game.

In 1976, the Hoosiers made history, posting a perfect 32-0 record and winning the championship, beating Michigan 86-68. Immediately after the game, Knight lamented that "it should have been two." No Division I men's team has replicated the feat since. Under Knight, the Hoosiers would also win championships in 1981 and 1987. The 1981 team featured future Hall of Fame NBA point guard Isiah Thomas, and the 1987 team featured guard Steve Alford. That championship game was won on an exhilarating last-second shot by Keith Smart.

Additionally, Knight's Hoosiers won the 1979 NIT championship, and Knight won the Olympic gold medal as coach of the Michael Jordan-led 1984 team. He also won eleven Big Ten Conference titles. Knight is only one of four coaches to win NCAA, NIT, and Olympic championships, joining the legendary coaches, Dean Smith of North Carolina, Adolph Rupp of Kentucky, and Pete Newell of California in that achievement.

The Indiana Hoosiers were undefeated in Big Ten Conference play from 1974 to 1976, and, in fact, only lost one game during the period (the aforementioned regional final against Kentucky).

Apart from the 1975 Men's Division I tournament loss, many fans and pundits consider Bob Knight's only other true failure as Hoosiers head coach was his inability to convince future National Basketball Association legend Larry Bird to stay at Indiana. Bird, who was raised in the small southern Indiana town of French Lick, could not acclimate himself to the massive IU campus. He left Indiana never having attended a single practice and transferred to the far smaller Indiana State University, where he led the Sycamores to the 1979 NCAA championship game against the Earvin "Magic" Johnson-led Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans won 75-64.

Knight's basketball philosophy

Bob Knight's teams feature an offense with players in constant motion, with an emphasis on having his post players set screens and his perimeter players passing the ball until a teammate becomes open for an uncontested jump shot or lay-up. On defense, Knight's players are required to both tenaciously guard opponents man-to-man and to help teammates when needed. This requires tough, selfless, and intelligent play by players and the sacrifice of individual glory for the sake of the team's success. Inarguably, this has become difficult in an era when underclassmen began leaving college in greater numbers for the greener pastures of the NBA. However, Bob Knight has consistently had among the highest graduation rates among the college coaching fraternity.

Bob Knight was very mindful of the great coaches who had preceded him, such as John Wooden, Pete Newell, and Hank Iba of Oklahoma State. In 1991, Bob Knight joined them by being elected to the James A. Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame — his first year of eligibility.

Controversy

Bob Knight is, undisputedly, a disciplinarian. His long coaching career is replete with incidents where his volatile temper has come to the surface.

Not only have his own players borne the brunt of Knight's behavior, but so have opposing players, reporters, referees, and Indiana University officials alike. Moreover, bizarre incidents involving him have often made national and international news.

In 1974, during a regular-season win over Kentucky, Knight, after a conference and discussion with Wildcat coach Joe B. Hall, slapped Hall in the back of the head after Hall turned to return to his bench. This caused a rift between the former friends, although they have since reconciled.

In 1979, Bob Knight was arrested for assaulting a police officer during the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. Knight was angry that a practice gymnasium was not opened to his team, which featured future NBA stars Kevin McHale of Minnesota and Ralph Sampson (who was then a high school player) at center, and his own Isiah Thomas. The team swept through the tournament, posting a 9-0 record. Bob Knight was later convicted in absentia in a Puerto Rican court. However, the charges were later dropped when Indiana Governor Otis R. Bowen refused to cooperate in extraditing him to the island commonwealth. Knight's reception in the US was initially sympathetic, as witnesses suggested that he had been provoked. However, he soon lost much of the good will after a number of ill-considered public comments about Puerto Rico and its inhabitants.

Other notable incidents include Knight pulling guard Jim Wisman off the court by his jersey in 1976, throwing a chair across the court to protest a referee's call during a 1985 game against the rival Purdue Boilermakers , allegedly kicking his own son, Pat Knight, during a 1993 game (Knight claims he actually kicked a chair), and berating a NCAA university volunteer at a 1998 news conference, for which the school was later fined $30,000.

Women's groups nationwide were outraged by Knight's comments during an April, 1988 interview with Connie Chung in which he said, "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and let it happen." Knight's comment was in reference to an Indiana basketball game in which he felt the referees were making poor calls against the Hoosiers. Knight claimed he asked Chung not to use the comment in the story immediately after saying it. Knight claimed Chung said it would not be used, while Chung denied ever agreeing to that. A crowd of about 300 protested on the Indiana University campus.

Indiana University was once again fined in 1999, this time for $10,000 for Knight's derogatory remarks about a referee. Knight paid the fine himself to avoid being suspended by the university for a tournament game.

An Indiana University secretary also accused Knight of throwing a potted plant at her, and assistant coach Ron Felling claimed Knight threw him off a chair and punched him in the chest after an eavesdropping Knight overheard him criticizing his program and methods on the telephone. (Felling allegedly said "Knight's ranting and raving ... takes the fun out of winning"). Felling sued Knight for assault and received an out-of-court settlement of $35,000 from IU. Many feel it was Felling who precipitated Knight's 2000 firing by Indiana University president Myles Brand by leaking a video of a private practice session to the media in which Knight appears to strike and hold the throat of player Neil Reed. It is believed that Felling leaked the video in retaliation for being fired by Knight for disloyalty.

Reed was later voted off the team by his own teammates.

But, arguably, the most controversial incident involved Knight feigning whipping a black player named Calbert Cheaney in 1992, an incident which made national headlines and resulted in howls of protest by civil rights leaders. Although supporters of Knight point out that several white players had received similar treatment, this instance was the only widely reported incident. Knight apologized for the incident; however Cheaney later revealed that the incident was staged for the benefit of the press after Knight's players tired of being repeatedly asked about how tough it was to play for Bob Knight. The whip, in fact, was a gift from his players. Cheaney feigned whipping Knight with a towel as a reponse to this.

In 1999, Knight was involved in a hunting accident in which long time friend Thomas Mikunda was shot by Knight in the back and shoulder with a 20 gauge shotgun while shooting grouse. Two years later Bobby Knight would be sued for the event where Mikunda claimed he coerced him into lying to investigators. They reached a settlement out of court soon after. Knight was cited for failing to report a hunting accident and hunting without a nonresident small game license, in which he plead no contest to each count.

Most recently, in March, 2006, a student's heckling at Baylor University resulted in Knight having to be restrained by a police officer. The incident, though, was not severe enough to warrant any action from the Big 12 Conference.

Knight's supporters

Despite the controversies, Bob Knight has tremendous support among many Indiana basketball fans especially those who are aware of his many accomplishments off the court and the positive influence he's had on former and present players. They cite his honesty and exacting ethical standards, the fact that the Indiana University program was never charged with NCAA violations. He was intolerant of behavior of other people, on court or off, that would taint the team or the school in any way. The majority of his players earned degrees. Many parents of Knight's players praise the coach for instilling ethics and a drive to succeed in their sons and are grateful to him. Knight has also raised countless dollars through his charity work and volunteer efforts.

One of the best indicators of Knight's positive influence is how some former players, assistant coaches, and even student managers have gone on to successful coaching careers. Examples include Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Iowa coach Steve Alford.

The end of an era

"Zero Tolerance"

On March 14, 2000, just before Indiana was to begin play in the NCAA tournament, the CNN/SI network ran a negative piece on Knight featuring former players and critics. The most notable claim was that of former player Neil Reed, who claimed he was choked by Bob Knight in a 1997 practice. Knight denied the claims in the story.

On April 11th, 2000, CNN/SI aired a tape of an IU practice from 1997 which seemed to show Knight "choking" Neil Reed. Knight's supporters claim the tape is blurry, it is unclear whether Knight was choking Reed or placed his hands under the neck, and that the tape was repeatedly shown in slow motion and not full speed (where the incident only lasts a couple seconds). The actual video tape differed greatly from Reed's earlier account of the incident. The Indiana University Board of Trustees started an investigation into Knight. As the investigation continued, media in Indiana leaked to the public various alleged negative incidents involving Knight, most of which were over five years old.

In May, 2000, Indiana University president Myles Brand announced that he had adopted a zero tolerance policy with regard to Bob Knight.

The fall of Knight

In September, 2000, a freshman student named Kent Harvey reportedly said, "Hey Knight, what's up?" to Bob Knight. According to Harvey, Knight grabbed him by the arm and berated him for not showing him proper respect. Knight later told the media that Harvey was exaggerating the incident; he only placed his hand on his shoulder and quietly lectured him about manners and respect. Knight's assistant coaches backed his version of the story.

Although IU President Myles Brand states that even after a zero tolerance policy was placed on Bob Knight, the Harvey incident was only one of numerous complaints that occurred after its issuance that led to Knight being fired on September 10th. Harvey was supported by some, but vilified by many Knight supporters who claim that he intentionally set Knight up. Knight's supporters contend that he was the victim of a media smear campaign orchestrated by enemies in the Indiana University administration and that the majority of Brand's reasons for firing Knight were not credible. That evening, a crowd of thousands of students swarmed Bloomington in protest [1].

On September 12, 2000, Knight scolded ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap for interrupting him and accused Brand and other Indiana administrators of distorting facts. The interview received mixed reactions, with some blaming Schaap for being disrespectful and others further criticizing Knight for childish behavior and praising Schapp for his handling of the incident. The interview also resulted in Jeremy's father, Dick Schaap, publicly asking Knight to apologize, especially for the comment, "You've got a long way to go to be like your father."

The next day, Knight said goodbye to a crowd of some 6,000 supporters. He asked that they not hold a grudge against Kent Harvey, and that they let Harvey get on with his education and his life.[2]

Two years later, Knight sued Indiana University, claiming the university violated his employment contract. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed.

A new start

After taking the next season off, all the while on the lookout for vacancies, Bob Knight accepted the head coaching job at Texas Tech University. At the press conference introducing Knight as coach, he quipped, "This is the most comfortable red sweater I've been in five years." Knight quickly turned the dormant program (which hadn't been to the NCAA tournament since 1996) back into a winner, leading them to three NCAA tournaments thus far, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2005.

Since joining the Red Raiders, Knight has won his 800th game. He has 869 wins through the 2005-06 season.

Books about Bob Knight

Several independent books were written about Knight during this period, and although they noted his temper, they were not entirely uncomplimentary. Three of the best-known are "A Season on the Brink" (ISBN 0-02-537230-0) by John Feinstein, "Bob Knight: His Own Man" by Joan Mellen (ISBN 0-380-70809-4), and "Playing for Knight: My Six Seasons with Bobby Knight" (ISBN 0-671-72441-X) by former player and current Iowa head basketball coach Steve Alford.

"A Season on the Brink" was a national phenomenon, topping bestseller lists for many weeks and is one of the highest selling sports books in history. Knight became not only the most famous sports coach in America but also one of the most recognizable celebrities in the country. Both supporters and detractors feasted on a wealth of inside information about Knight and the workings of a major college basketball program, as John Feinstein (recommended to Knight by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski) was granted full access to the program and Knight's personal life for an entire season. This book led to a trend of season-long coverage of sports teams by prominent authors. The novel later was made into a television movie by ESPN, with Brian Dennehy portraying Knight.

The episode portrayed in the book most often cited as proof of Knight's lack of sanity is when he takes assistant coaches to see an elementary school basketball game and tells them that the star player of the team is a better player than any guard on the current IU college squad. When journalists, after reading the book, asked Knight if he really believed that, he famously replied, "I'm paid a lot of money by IU to know about such things." That player, Damon Bailey, was later voted the greatest high school player in Indiana's storied basketball history (even beating out Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson) and went on to star at Indiana University for four years.

In 2002, Knight and longtime friend and sports journalist Bob Hammel wrote his biography, "Knight: My Story" (ISBN 0-312-31117-6.)

In Bob Knight, His Own Man, Mellon characterized Feinstein's book as being banal (21).

In 2006, an "unauthorized" biography on Knight, written by Steve Delsohn and Mark Heisler, was released. (ISBN 0-7432-4348-X)

Film and television

Many aspects of the teaching style and basketball philosophy of Coach Norman Dale (played by Gene Hackman) in the 1986 movie Hoosiers are obviously derived from Bob Knight's real history.

Blue Chips is a 1994 feature film about Pete Bell, a volatile, but honest college basketball coach under pressure to win who decides to blatantly violate NCAA rules to field a competitive team after several sub-par seasons. It starred Nick Nolte as Bell and NBA star Shaquille O'Neal as Neon Bordeaux, a dominating once-in-a-lifetime player Bell woos to his school with gifts and other perks. Several incidents in the film are clearly inspired by Knight's history. Current NBA guard Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway co-stars as another "blue chipper" recruited by Bell. NBA legend Bob Cousy plays the school's president. Knight himself has a cameo alongside other collegiate and NBA legends such as Larry Bird and Rick Pitino.

In 2002, veteran character actor Brian Dennehy portrayed Knight in A Season on the Brink, a TV film adapted from John Feinstein's book. It was ESPN's first feature-length film.

Knight made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2003 film Anger Management.

Knight School

It was announced in mid-2005 that Knight would be the central character of a new reality show for ESPN. The show, titled Knight School, followed a handful of Texas Tech students who will compete for the right to join the Red Raiders as a non-scholarship player.

References

• "The Archives". 2004-05 Army Men's Basketball Media Guide. Retrieved Dec. 23, 2005.
• "History". 2005-06 Indiana Men's Basketball Media Guide. Retrieved Dec. 23, 2005.
• "Texas Tech Record Book". 2005-06 Red Raider Media Guide. Retrieved Dec. 23, 2005.

External links

• Bob Knight's page at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal website