Bob Knight May Coach Again | All-Time Winningest NCAA Mens Basketball Coach

This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, but you can officially count me among the legion of Indiana University die-hards who would love to see Bob Knight get back into coaching. And according to a recent interview given by Bob Knight, the possibility is certainly there.

Speaking to Mickey Maurer on the Indianapolis TV show “Mickey’s Corner”, the all-time winningest coach in history of NCAA Division I Men’s College Basketball said the following, according to ESPN.com:

“I got nothing else to do. It would just depend on the circumstances.”

Admittedly, this is not much to go on and perhaps this post is filled more with wishful thinking than plausible conjecture. All I know is that, for me anyway, college basketball is more entertaining, interesting, and ethical universe when Bob Knight is actively involved. Actually, another quote of Knight’s from the interview is even more interesting:

“In college basketball, if you get caught cheating, they should shoot you because you’re too dumb to be alive.”

Hmm…anyone know how we could arrange a hunting trip with Bob Knight, Dick Cheney, and Kelvin Sampson? That ought to be funny. Tricky Dick could pop a few “accidental” rounds in the direction of Slimeball Sampson. Many Indiana fans already has questioned on numerous occasions whether Sampson deserved to live after assaulting our once proud basketball program to the point of life support.

(Of course, the interesting thing would be to see if Bob Knight backed up his own words once it was only he and Cheney out there, considering Cheney has proven to be a liar and a cheat while in office as Vi–you know what, let’s save the politcal talk. Damnit Jerod, sports! This is a sports blog!)

Look, Bob Knight has 902 career victories. He has forgotten more about basketball than 99% of current coaches even know. No one has ever questioned his acumen or coaching ability. He has had a more difficult time recruiting in the current era because he does not pucker up and place his lips squarely on the behinds of 5 Star recruits and their AAU coaches. And, while he is scandal free from an NCAA ethics and academics standpoint, he certainly has dealt with his share of bad press and controversy — almost all self-inflicted.

But surely there is a lower profile Division I program, even lower profile than Texas Tech, where Bob Knight could ride off into the sunset of his life still doing what he loves to do and what he does best: teach basketball and life skills (minus anger management, of course) to college kids. Someplace out of the spotlight, out of the consistent eye of the media, and away from the scrutiny that he probably just does not want to deal with at this stage of his life.

If Bob Knight coached for five more years and won just under 20 games per season, he could reach 1,000 wins. Many of his haters and detractors would probably not like to see that, but what an amazing accomplishment it would be.

I disagree with many of Bob Knight’s actions, and in hindsight think the timing of his departure from Indiana University was good — though the circumstances were egregious and somewhat unfair. And you can call me a Bob Knight apologist or a sycophant, but I don’t really care. I grew up in Assembly Hall, sitting about 13 rows back from the IU bench and loving every minute of every game. If I were to list out ten of my most cherished memories from childhood, something tells me at least five of them would include IU basketball.

Bob Knight is the Godfather of my most beloved team: the Indiana Hoosiers. He brought us 3 national championships and never even a whiff of anything unsavory. Plus, as a fan, I always had a constant feeling that no matter what the state of our team was or who we were playing, that we had a chance to win.

In my perfect world, Bob Knight never would have left Indiana University and he would still be producing 25-win seasons and Final Four berths in Bloomington. In my perfect world, Assembly Hall would already be named after Bob Knight and if he wasn’t coaching, at least he would be a constant presence during the Tom Crean Era. None of those things are a reality, and they may never be. Bob Knight is stubborn and proud, maybe overly so. It is one of his greatest strengths of character, and can be one of his worst.

Say what you will about his manners and temperament, but in an era of Kelvin Sampsons and O.J. Mayos, I think college basketball needs Bob Knight to provide an ethical barometer for how basketball programs should operate. He can’t do that while he’s hunting and fishing, and he can’t do it as an analyst on ESPN. College basketball is better when Bob Knight is roaming the sidelines, and this college basketball fanatic would love nothing more than to see him back on a college basketball court as soon as the right opportunity comes along.

[tags]indiana hoosiers, bob knight, college basketball, ncaa[/tags]

Tags: bob knight, College Basketball, indiana hoosiers, ncaa

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