Published: February 05, 2008 05:18 pm            

TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORAL: Knight’s long ride comes to end

‘Coach’ leaves us with memories good and bad

TERRE HAUTE — College basketball will never be the same without Bob Knight.

Many hoops fans undoubtedly breathed deep sighs of relief Monday when news broke that Knight had abruptly stepped down at Texas Tech. All of those sideline, lockerroom and press-conference explosions — triggered by his infamous temper — would no longer be talk-show fodder. A blue cloud over the sport had lifted.

After 42 years of coaching, Knight’s list of transgressions is indeed lengthy and inescapable. But those should not overshadow the glorious memories “Coach” gave Hoosiers from 1971 to 2000 as leader of the Indiana University program, and a virtually unbroken chain of respect he received from his players.

The enduring visions are rooted in that era when Indiana knew him as “Bobby Knight” — curly dark hair, plaid sports jackets swirling as he jumped up to yell directions at his Hoosiers. With most of the state riding on the bandwagon, Knight took the Hoosiers to the pinnacle of college basketball. The cast of characters and their exploits in those three national championship seasons will forever be part of Indiana lore … Keith Smart’s game-winning, baseline jumper to beat Syracuse 74-73 at New Orleans in 1987 … Young Isiah Thomas slashing through North Carolina in the second half of the 1981 title game … That perfect, perfect, 1975-76 season with May, Benson, Buckner, Wilkerson, Abernethy. To the IU faithful, those names are akin to Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln on Mount Rushmore.

The unmistakable common denominator throughout those glory days was Bob Knight. His IU teams posted a 662-239 record. His demand for excellence from his players off the court is legendary too. The list of NBA stars Knight produced is modest, compared to the number of doctors, lawyers, teachers, administrators, businessmen and, yes, coaches who emerged from his squads.

Robert Montgomery Knight refused to hide or contain his personality flaws. That stubbornness led to his unceremonious dismissal from IU in 2000, and spoiled the kind of fond farewell most Hoosier residents would have preferred. A grand final game, when an aging Knight would gracefully retire in front of a packed Assembly Hall crowd never happened. Instead, there were lawsuits and bitterness. He left for another school in Lubbock, Texas, and that was that.

But the great memories won’t go away, and for that, Coach Knight, the state of Indiana wishes you an enjoyable retirement.

Another Indiana coaching icon summed up the thoughts most Hoosiers have of Bob Knight: “I don’t think there’s ever been a better teacher of the game of basketball than Bob,” former UCLA and Indiana State Coach John Wooden told The AP. “I don’t always approve of his methods, but his players, for the most part, are very loyal to him. I would say that no player that ever played for him would not say he did not come out a stronger person.”

        

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