Bob Knight is a Quitter

[George S. Patton]

Great Coach + Mediocre Recruiting= Mediocre College Coach

I'm sure he and his 3 national championships, umpteen conference championships and 902 career wins is concerned about your analysis. I'm also sure that Isiah Thomas, Kent Benson, Steve Alford, Coach K, Dean Garrett, Keith Smart and others were just trolls running around his program.

Oh, and his son Pat did most of the recruiting for the last several years at Tech. So if you're going to go after the recruiting, go after Pat because those classes are really his.

Of course, I'm sure you had to run to some recruiting archive...blah, blah, blah.

Stick with football. At least you give yourself half a chance.

[Junior]

Great Coach + Mediocre Recruiting= Mediocre College Coach

I agree. I also agree that a 98% graduation rate for his 4-year players means nothing as well.

[MrMustang1965]

Have any of you 'geniuses' considered the fact that Bob Knight might be suffering some type of illness that dictates his resignation and immediate treatment? Just a thought.

And I bet a lot of you would have LOVED seeing Bob Knight on The Hilltop coaching the Mustangs. The publicity he's brought to Texas Tech's formerly 'dead' program over the years is worth every penney they've paid him out there.

[George S. Patton]

Question: Did Knight make Texas Tech better or not? Look at the Red Raiders history under James Dickey and you'll know why James Dickey is now an assistant coach at Oklahoma State.

Knight didn't win a conference championship, but he took that program to the NCAA tournament several times, had several 20-win seasons, and a sweet 16 appearance and also took his team to the Big 12 tournament championship game.

I think you'd get a lot of programs that would give anything for that resume.

[SoCal_Pony]

I agree. I also agree that a 98% graduation rate for his 4-year players means nothing as well.

Junior, are you talking about Coach Knight or Bennett???


Stallion is dead on. Knight was meaningful 12+ years ago, not now.

I think during his last 10 NCAA appearances, he has lost in the 1st round 6 times and in the 2nd round 3 times.

[George S. Patton]

I agree. I also agree that a 98% graduation rate for his 4-year players means nothing as well.

Junior, are you talking about Coach Knight or Bennett???


Stallion is dead on. Knight was meaningful 12+ years ago, not now.

I think during his last 10 NCAA appearances, he has lost in the 1st round 6 times and in the 2nd round 3 times.

Key phrase -- NCAA appearances. They don't give away those invitations. You have to play to earn it.

[Hoop Fan]

Doh likes the guy. Took the team out to Lubbock for a talk to and scrimmage last fall. As i remember, we didn't fare very well. In the scrimmage that is, he didn't throw any chairs at our guys or anything.

[couch 'em]

The great people are usually very eccentric.

And usually they don't have "great character".

[SoCal_Pony]

Hey, nobody is arguing this man is not a Coaching Legend.

But you also can't argue that he has become far more insignificant these past 12+ years; nor can you argue that the quality of his players has gone downhill as well.

Whether it is because players wised up to his routine or because he had to recruit Lubbock or a combination of both...

point is he has not been meaningful for several years now.

[expony18]

At Texas Tech he was mediocre recruiter as he was during his last I dunno 5 or so years at Indiana. His great teams were built when he was competitive for top players and before he became known as such an [deleted]. He is the poster boy for the importance of great recruiting to be competive. Barely had a winning conference record at Tech. When is the last time he had a team finish in the Top 20 over the last 10 years. I'd bet its been 15 years since his 1992-1993 Indiana Team. Hasn't won a conference title since that season.

who wants to go to lubbock? not exactly a hot spot for 18 year olds

[Big Hoss]

The great people are usually very eccentric.

And usually they don't have "great character".

Yep, cause guys like Dean Smith, John Wooden, and Adolph Rupp were all well known jerks who treated people poorly, so that is why they became basketball legends.

Please, there is a right way of doing things, and a wrong way. I respect the number of wins he put together, and I respect the amount of knowledge he has about the game (or has forgotten about it), but I really could care less that the guy is walking away from the game. And again, it just goes to show you how the mighty have fallen considering he has been coaching at freakin' Texas Tech.

[MustangStealth]

He loves Frank Sinatra's "My Way" so this is something, that while surprising, it kind of goes with his track record.

A lot of wins.
A lot of success.
A lot of controversy.

I heard a couple of his interviews, and he just didn't seem like he was into it as before. But who knows. He will be missed.

The Greatest Coach in America. But coach K will pass him on the all-time win list.

I'll bet if you asked him 10 years ago, ending his career in the middle of nowhere, in a football state, at a middle of the pack Big 12 school with little NCAA success and mediocre fan support would not have been "his way".

[George S. Patton]

He loves Frank Sinatra's "My Way" so this is something, that while surprising, it kind of goes with his track record.

A lot of wins.
A lot of success.
A lot of controversy.

I heard a couple of his interviews, and he just didn't seem like he was into it as before. But who knows. He will be missed.

The Greatest Coach in America. But coach K will pass him on the all-time win list.

I'll bet if you asked him 10 years ago, ending his career in the middle of nowhere, in a football state, at a middle of the pack Big 12 school with little NCAA success and mediocre fan support would not have been "his way".

That's a fair point because of how it ended at IU. He was wrong. Myles Brand was wrong. But I think by the time he left Bloomington, he was going to go to a situation where he was with people he trusted. He and Gerald Myers go back a long way, so in that respect it was his way.

You really don't go "up" when you are at IU and go on to another job. You move laterally. UCLA was not him. No way to Kentucky. Not a UNC guy. His disciple was at Duke.

I think it was the right fit. And when you're 60 -- the age when he took the Tech job -- you're not going up anyway.

If I had a son, I would have loved to have him play for Knight. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And when Knight recruited kids, he pretty much told them how it was going to be.

He definitely had his flaws, and I was critical of him for the Pan Am Games incident and the Sheron Wilkerson incident. He brought some of that stuff on himself.

But for me, it is a sad day in college basketball when a legend like this leaves. Just like when Dean Smith left.

[ibezu2]

Have any of you 'geniuses' considered the fact that Bob Knight might be suffering some type of illness that dictates his resignation and immediate treatment? Just a thought.

And I bet a lot of you would have LOVED seeing Bob Knight on The Hilltop coaching the Mustangs. The publicity he's brought to Texas Tech's formerly 'dead' program over the years is worth every penney they've paid him out there.

GR8 comment MrMustang1965...Coach Knight and the AD said it was for personal reasons...could be many things...hope its not an illness. Coach Knight - was a winner who graduated his players and did it legally...what more could a University ask for...if only SMU could have had him for awhile. I hope he does a lot of hunting and fishing and enjoys the rest of his life...GOD BLESS!

[smu diamond m]

At Texas Tech he was mediocre recruiter as he was during his last I dunno 5 or so years at Indiana. His great teams were built when he was competitive for top players and before he became known as such an [deleted]. He is the poster boy for the importance of great recruiting to be competive. Barely had a winning conference record at Tech. When is the last time he had a team finish in the Top 20 over the last 10 years. I'd bet its been 15 years since his 1992-1993 Indiana Team. Hasn't won a conference title since that season.

who wants to go to lubbock? not exactly a hot spot for 18 year olds

It IS however a hotspot for STDs.