Has Bob Knight Officially Lost It?

[miami_fan]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=1725735

The results of the investigation that the school is conducting is going to be presented to who? The chancellor right?

[SackAttack]

All I can say is, when you bring home a rabid dog, don't be surprised if it bites. For Texas Tech to even be considering firing Knight, well...they knew what they were getting into when they hired him. So far, he's delivered outstanding results on the court for them. If they let him go, that probably won't continue.

If they keep him, they may have to deal with more instances like these.

As SkyDog is so fond of saying, when you call the tune, you have to pay the piper.

[tucker342]

EXACTLY

They knew what they were getting when they hired him...

[JeeberD]

Knight likes to toss the salad...

[Kodos]

I'm glad he's not embarrassing my school anymore...

[Comey]

Yes, Bob Knight has officially lost it.

Signed,
Six years ago

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Knight likes to toss the salad...

To explain my comment, on the radio this afternoon they were saying that Knight threw a salad at the dude he got into the arguement with...

[Fonzie]

I think the fact that Knight was at a salad bar is by far the most surprising aspect of this story.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

To explain my comment, on the radio this afternoon they were saying that Knight threw a salad at the dude he got into the arguement with...

I like jokes that need to be explained.



*Sigh* Any news that involves a college basketball coach makes me sad because it reminds me of what the Gophers don't have.

[JeeberD]

Well, there was no mention of the salad throwing in the article, so my comment made no sense. I guess I should have read the article before I posted... :o

[corbes]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Knight likes to toss the salad...

We all knew what you meant.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I like jokes that need to be explained.



*Sigh* Any news that involves a college basketball coach makes me sad because it reminds me of what the Gophers don't have.

I dunno. You guys were really good at making headlines a couple of years ago and not the good kind. No news is better than that kind of news.

SI

[miami_fan]

Tuesday, February 3, 2004

ESPN: TEXAS TECH@KANSAS Sat., 4:00 PM ET


ESPN.com news services
Contrary to Tuesday's earlier reports, Texas Tech coach Bob Knight was not suspended by the school and would coach the Red Raiders tonight against Baylor, his son Pat Knight told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.


As originally reported by ESPN, and confirmed by Pat Knight, Bob Knight faced a three- to five-day suspension starting tonight as a result of his verbal confrontation with university chancellor David Smith on Monday at a grocery store in Lubbock.


After reviewing all the facts in the altercation, officials in the school's president's office decided to reprimand Knight, but saw no grounds to suspend him, a source told ESPN's Dick Vitale on Tuesday night.


Tech athletic director Gerald Myers said in a statement that "appropriate personnel action" was taken regarding Monday's verbal spat.


"I regret that the situation turned out the way it did," Knight said in a four-paragraph news release.


"I look forward to finishing this season in a strong fashion and I am glad the situation is behind me so that I can return to the business of coaching," Knight said.


Pat Knight told Katz that what changed was that after the decision on a suspension had been made by the chancellor, Bob Knight was subsequently given an audience with the school's Board of Regents. There, Knight was allowed to give his side of the story to a body that was not directly involved in the incident.


According to Pat Knight, during the audience in front of the Board of Regents, Bob Knight disputed reports that he followed the chancellor out the door of the grocery store to his car. In fact, Bob Knight said it was the chancellor who followed the head coach. Knight told the board that he was not instigator.



Knight received a rousing ovation when he came onto the court a couple of minutes earlier than usual.



Even a Baylor assistant, standing under the basket during warmups, applauded as Knight walked out and shook hands with the coach.



A row of students near the Tech bench wore red T-shirts with white lettering that read, "Lettuce Support Coach Knight" -- a reference to rumors that lettuce had been thrown during the spat.



Armen Williams, a 20-year-old sophomore, painted his bare chest and arms in red acrylic and put in black: I (Heart) Coach Knight.



"There's been so many rumors it's hard to say if he got the right punishment," Williams said. "We'll definitely let coach Knight know we support him, so he'll stay and he can continue to work his magic."


This is the first time Tech has punished Knight in his three seasons at the school. He was hired in March 2001, six months after he was fired by Indiana for what then-school president Myles Brand called his "pattern of unacceptable behavior."


Pat Knight, told ESPN.com earlier Tuesday that his father had been suspended and would not have contact with the team during that period. Operating under that assumption, Pat Knight said he would coach the Red Raiders against Baylor, and again on Saturday when the Red Raiders visit Kansas.


Myers, the only one of the three people most instrumental in hiring Knight who still works for the university, was with Knight on Monday when the spat occurred. Myers is a former basketball coach who has been friends with Knight for roughly three decades.


"This is a misunderstanding and has now been rectified," Myers said in the statement. "The matter has been resolved in the best interest of the university."


Pat Knight informed ESPN.com of the change just hours before tipoff to the Baylor game.


Knight said that his father was very upset over the incident and that his knee-jerk, heat-of-the-moment reaction was to quit. But Pat told him "you've gotta stay the rest of the season" and then decide.


After calming down, that is ultimately what Bob Knight decided to do, Katz reports.


Pat Knight also said that the players were not shocked by any of the news and were conducting business as usual, which included their afternoon shootaround, which Pat led.



Knight has no behavior clause in his contract. At the time of his hiring, Myers and then-school president David Schmidly said they felt that none was needed.



Schmidly has been replaced by Jon Whitmore. Smith replaced John Montford, a former state senator from Lubbock and a prolific fund-raiser.



In the statement, Smith said he applauded how Whitmore and Myers resolved this issue.



"We look forward to the continuation of what is already a successful season," Smith said.


One eyewitness told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that Knight raised his voice to Smith after the chancellor approached him at a salad bar to compliment the coach on his recent good behavior.


Pat Knight said his father and Smith have had a strained relationship, divided mostly by "petty" issues, but that ultimately the chancellor felt slighted, Katz reported.


The witness told the paper that Knight flew into a rage and accused Smith of being a liar, saying that there had been nothing wrong with his demeanor this year.


Smith turned to leave the area, the Avalanche-Journal reported, but Knight followed. The chancellor then told Knight that he deserved more respect than Knight was showing him, according to the Avalanche-Journal.


The newspaper reports that no physical contact took place before Knight left the establishment after the confrontation, got in his car and pulled into traffic. According to the Avalanche-Journal, Knight stopped his car then and briefly got out before getting back in and driving away.



The grocery-store incident occurred six weeks after Knight went into a profanity-filled tirade upon being asked by an ESPN reporter about his relationship with former player Steve Alford, now the Iowa coach, who was also participating in the interview. Knight later apologized for his behavior.



A Hall of Famer, Knight was hired at Tech to revive a downtrodden program. He did that by getting the Red Raiders into the NCAA tournament his first season, but wasn't able to get back last season. In response, he returned his $250,000 salary to the school, saying he hadn't earned it.



Tech won 12 straight this season, the school's best streak since reaching the Sweet 16 in 1995-96. The team is 4-2 in the Big 12 this season. The Red Raiders had been unbeaten in the league until last week, when they lost to Texas and Oklahoma State.



His overall record at Tech is 61-26, making him 825-315 over 38 seasons. He has the most wins among active men's coaches and he's 54 from tying Dean Smith for the career lead.



Yet Knight's fiery temper has often overshadowed his on-court success.



In his 29 years at Indiana, he won three national championships and 11 Big Ten titles. Yet he's also remembered for throwing a chair across a court, punching a police officer in Puerto Rico and kicking a chair his son, then a player, was sitting in. He also was accused of choking a player.



Knight's hiring was widely hailed in Lubbock, except for a group of faculty worried about the possible problems his sometimes volatile behavior could bring. Many recanted and have since become supporters, noting the money he's raised for scholarships and the library.



There have been some run-ins, though.



In January 2002, Knight and the general manager of the Compaq Center in Houston exchanged words after Knight complained about the small size of the locker room. The GM later apologized.



Almost exactly a year ago, Knight earned win No. 800, one of his top moments in Lubbock. It was later reported that he kicked in a television screen during halftime of that game. Knight downplayed that incident, saying he was "apparently the first coach in the history of coaching to ever kick anything or break anything."



Also last season, reserve Nick Valdez left the team after he and star Andre Emmett were punished for oversleeping and missing a morning shoot-around before a game at Texas.


Information from The Associated Press and the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal was used in this report.


I guess they just felt this is just Knight being Knight.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

ESPN.com news services
Contrary to Tuesday's earlier reports, Texas Tech coach Bob Knight was not suspended by the school and would coach the Red Raiders tonight against Baylor, his son Pat Knight told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.

Keep in mind, this is from the world's most unreliable and slimy source, Andy Katz. He's that type of journalist who smears first and checks his facts later.

SI

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I dunno. You guys were really good at making headlines a couple of years ago and not the good kind. No news is better than that kind of news.

SI

Yes, that sucked. Though I also have a vauge recollection of a time when we actually played defense. Oh, those were good times...