Bob Knight (official thread)

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Texas Tech 86, Gardner-Webb 74

Associated Press

LUBBOCK, Texas - As Bob Knight moved one win closer to catching Dean Smith, his temper flared once again, when he used his hand to push a player's chin during a timeout, as if to make him look the coach in the eye.
With more than 4 minutes to go in Texas Tech's 86-74 victory over Gardner-Webb on Monday night, Red Raiders forward Michael Prince was called for a foul. During the ensuing timeout, Knight approached Prince, and as the player lowered his head, the coach made contact with his chin.
Knight gave a brief statement at the postgame news conference then answered one question before exiting the room. The incident with Prince was never addressed.
It was win No. 871 for Knight, who is five away from passing Adolph Rupp for second place on the all-time list. He needs nine more victories to surpass Smith for the most wins in Division I history.

[ScriptOhio]

Tech player defends Knight

Posted: Tuesday November 14, 2006 12:41PM; Updated: Tuesday November 14, 2006 2:51PM

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers insisted Tuesday that Bob Knight did nothing wrong when he "quickly lifted" the chin of Michael Prince in the latest clash between the hot-tempered coach and a player.
Prince and his parents also defended Knight, who confronted the forward and pushed his chin upward, as if to make him look the coach in the eye, during a timeout late in the Red Raiders' 86-74 victory against Gardner-Webb on Monday night.

"Coach Knight did not slap Michael," Myers said in a statement. "Michael came off the court with his head down and coach Knight quickly lifted Michael's chin and said, 'Hold your head up and don't worry about your mistakes. Just play the game."'
Knight, with a history of chair-throwing, referee baiting and run-ins with school officials, was not available for comment Tuesday.
Prince told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal after Monday's game that what happened with the coach "was nothing."
"He was trying to teach me and I had my head down, so he raised my chin up," said Prince, who was seen moving his jaw around as he sat on the bench after the confrontation. "He was telling me to go out there and don't be afraid to make mistakes. He said I was being too hard on myself."
Prince's mother, Suzette Prince, told the Avalanche-Journal she and her husband, Mike, were sitting across from the Tech bench and she doesn't feel this should be an issue.
"We talked with Michael and he had just committed two fouls in a row," Suzette Prince said. "He told us that Coach Knight was asking him if he's ready to play. He said they needed him ready to play."
She said she didn't think Knight should be reprimanded.
Knight gave a brief statement at the postgame news conference then answered one question before exiting the room, but the episode with Prince was never addressed.
It was win No. 871 for Knight, who is five shy of tying Adolph Rupp for second place on the career list. He needs nine more victories to surpass Dean Smith for the most victories in Division I history.
Knight's career has featured three national championships, all at Indiana, but plenty of outbursts.
In 1992, Knight kicked a chair on the bench while son Pat, then a player for him at Indiana and now his assistant and successor-to-be at Texas Tech, was sitting in it. When fans behind the team bench booed, Knight turned and responded with an obscenity.
He was accused of grabbing a player by the throat during a practice in 1997, an episode that was caught on videotape and created the whirlwind that eventually led to his firing from Indiana in September 2000.
Knight was fired for what Indiana officials called a violation of a zero-tolerance behavior policy shortly after he grabbed the arm of a student who greeted him on campus by saying "Hey, what's up, Knight?"
His most infamous moment came in a game against Purdue in 1985, when he threw a chair across the court after being assessed a technical foul.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...=si_topstories

[duke_shoot]

I saw the films today it was more like a "hard" push. It looked like Knight said look me in the eyes because the guy wasn't. I could see where it could be construed as a hit.

[smitty03]

E$PiN is overhyping this wayyyyy too much. I know Bob Knight has a history of this, but he didn't hit the kid, he got his attention. The parents dont have a problem with it, the kid doesnt have a problem, so whats the big deal? The kid sounds like he might have a confidence issue, and maybe he needs to look someone in the eye. I agree with everything Bilas has to say about it.

[crazybuckfan40]

Originally Posted by smitty03

E$PiN is overhyping this wayyyyy too much. I know Bob Knight has a history of this, but he didn't hit the kid, he got his attention. The parents dont have a problem with it, the kid doesnt have a problem, so whats the big deal? The kid sounds like he might have a confidence issue, and maybe he needs to look someone in the eye. I agree with everything Bilas has to say about it.

Couldnt agree more...But when doesnt Espin not try and overhype something that is completely stupid.

If this would of happened anywhere else it wouldnt of been a big deal, and if Coach K did it they would probably try to make a coaching video out of it and say that is how you get your kids motivated...

[Bucklion]

Originally Posted by crazybuckfan40

Couldnt agree more...But when doesnt Espin not try and overhype something that is completely stupid.

If this would of happened anywhere else it wouldnt of been a big deal, and if Coach K did it they would probably try to make a coaching video out of it and say that is how you get your kids motivated...

Dead, dead, dead on. If this was Saint K they'd be lining up to shake his dick, er, his hand and say how wonderful it is that he teaches kids to look people in the eye.

The persecution of Bobby Knight by the media has reached ridiculous proportions, though as a big Knight supporter I freely admit he has brought much of it on himself, and has deserved it at times. Still, it is pathetic that this is all they ever focus on anymore, while lining up to defend some of the conduct of NBA players and coaches that are well beyond anything Knight has ever done.

I will say that the guys in the studio (Bilas, Hubert Davis, Phelps) all told Reece Davis it was blown way out of proportion, and didn't take any of his bait.

[crazybuckfan40]

Not sure if anyone saw Gotlieb and Bilas on the 6 oclock Sportscenter, but Gotlieb was being a little baby about it and Bilas was basically putting him in his place...

[Bucklion]

Originally Posted by crazybuckfan40

Not sure if anyone saw Gotlieb and Bilas on the 6 oclock Sportscenter, but Gotlieb was being a little baby about it and Bilas was basically putting him in his place...

I didn't see it, but I'm not surprised considering the pansy-ass Gotlieb is...

[WoodyWorshiper]

Everybody here is exactly right. It's only a story because it's Coach Knight. I love the way he played it up tonight, giving Prince a slap on the back of the head before the game

Coach Knight is what he is. That being said, I would naver have one second of apprehension about ever sending my son to be coached by him.

[BuckWrestler141]

I would be fairly angry if a coach did that to me, as it was more then it needed to be; you can easily push a players chin up he more or less chopped at it. Of course the kid and the parent are going to say it is not a big deal, because they fear the possibility of a lack of playing time and all the other keys that a head coach holds to his future. The high school basketball coach at my school is friends with Bobby Knight and holds practices much like Knight did in the 1980's, I gurentee you that every parent hates it/him, but they put up with it because they don't want their kid to suffer.

Did he deserve headlines? Probably in a Texas paper due to his past, but the incident is not ESPN headline news worthy as it has been marketed.

[NFBuck]

Espin really thought this was worthy of the lead story on sportscenter?

[Okinawa's#1Buck]

As much as I like coach Knight, I am glad he didn't end up tOSU's hoops coach. His name was out there but we are much better off without this kind of crap floating around our campus.

O yea, and that Matta guy is kind-a good too.

[akronbuck]

All great posts. Esucky is such a joke and that kid on the sideline playing with his jaw on the bench was so funny.Like he really got bitch smacked. lol
I would love to be a student and ask him one ? laughing at him

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Athletic director, player, defend actions by Knight
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Betsy Blaney
ASSOCIATED PRESS



LUBBOCK, Texas ? Texas Tech coach Bob Knight says there were times he was wrong when his hot temper got the best of him on a basketball court. Not this time, however.
This time, everyone from the player he confronted to the player?s mother and school officials say what Knight did was no big deal.
It all started Monday night when Knight went after Michael Prince, forcefully pushing his chin upward and telling him to look him in the eye, during a timeout late in the Red Raiders? 86-74 victory over Gardner-Webb.
Athletic director Gerald Myers defended Knight yesterday, saying he did nothing wrong when he "quickly lifted" Prince?s chin. The president of the school?s faculty senate, James H. Smith, said Knight?s action was not "physical abuse or violence."
Knight, with a history of chair-throwing, referee baiting and run-ins with school officials, was not available for comment to the Associated Press before a home game last night against Arkansas-Little Rock.
"I?m sure there were some cases where I have been wrong, but (Monday night) wasn?t one of them," Knight told ESPN.com. "I was trying to help a kid, and I think I did.
"I flipped his chin up and told him to look me right in the eye so he could do the job we want. I said, ?Can you?? And he said, ?Yes,? and I said, ?OK, sit down and let?s go.? If that?s an issue, then I?m living in the wrong country."
Prince told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal after the game Monday that what happened with the coach "was nothing.
"He was trying to teach me and I had my head down, so he raised my chin up," Prince said. "He was telling me to go out there and don?t be afraid to make mistakes. He said I was being too hard on myself." Prince?s mother, Suzette Prince, told the Avalanche-Journal that she was sitting with her husband, Mike, across from the Tech bench. She said she didn?t think this episode should be an issue.

[coastalbuck]

This too, shall pass. I really feel sorry for Bobby to have to put up with that crap. Granted, he did some things to bring alot of it on himself, but, IMHO that's water under the bridge. To me it speaks volumes about his character to still be coaching and teaching at the level he is, even while he has to exist under the "When will Bobby blow up again?" microscope that is, in my opinion, undeserved.