Knight in, Knight out

by Brant Thurmond, sports editor

In case you haven’t heard from numerous interviews on ESPN and other local media, Bob Knight, Texas Tech University’s head men’s basketball coach, has resigned.

The announcement came on Feb. 4, and it was a shocker to the sports nation. Knight said that his resignation comes in the middle of the season because he has been really tired throughout the season and thought that it was time to step down. Knight said that he wanted to give his son Pat a chance to step up and become a head coach and follow in his footsteps. Pat Knight made his head-coaching debut on Feb. 6 against Baylor.

Many people have judged Knight’s resignation as a bad decision and say that he should have waited until the end of the season to resign. So how will people remember Knight and the impact he has had on the game of basketball?

 I believe that even though Knight has been known for his constant yelling and temper tantrums, he has still taught athletes how to be competitive and be successful in life. Knight has changed many lives by making players realize that in order to be successful, you need to be successful in the classroom as well.

Knight is the winningest coach in men’s Division I college basketball, with 902 wins amassed at Army, Indiana, and Texas Tech. There is no way that you can tell me that 902 wins doesn’t make you a great coach, regardless of how many things are written critically about you.

Think back to Feb. 23, 1985. The Indiana Hosiers were playing the Purdue Boilermakers when Knight threw a chair across the court during the game. This is just one of the incidents that Knight has been remembered for.

Also, Knight has been known for his intense behavior during press conferences. I think that some of the things he has done could be out of aggravation.

There are numerous events that have happened during Knight’s 42 years of coaching. I think that the most over blown incident by the media was when Knight clipped a Texas Tech player under the chin to get his attention a few years ago. I think that if it would have been any other coach in the world, it wouldn’t have been such big news and widespread.

Knight became the head coach at Texas Tech in March of 2001. In 2004, Knight recorded career win 800 against Nebraska, and broke the record with career win 880 on Jan. 1, 2007 against New Mexico in Lubbock.

So what does the future have in store for Bob’s son Pat? I think that Pat will do a great job with Texas Tech. Within a couple of years, or maybe sooner, he will have the Red Raiders in the hunt for a conference title and possibly a Final Four appearance.