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Bob Knight Resigns at Texas Tech

The all-time leader in Division I college basketball coaching victories, Bob Knight, has resigned. His son, Pat Knight, will take over as coach.

This entry was posted by SBG on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 6:51 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. It is one of 3092 entries by the author. We are no longer accepting Letters to the Editor on this post.

22 comments to Bob Knight Resigns at Texas Tech

  • E-6
    February 4th, 2008 at 6:58 pm

    I lobbed a Molotov cocktail into the coffee cup regarding this. (Only because I know there are several Bob Knight apologists among us.) I wonder, is it health issues or he just couldn't deal with the 21st-century athlete?

    • brianS
      February 5th, 2008 at 11:32 am

      I always enjoyed the style of game Knight coached, and that he didn't toady to high school prima donnas or their handlers. The chair-throwing and megalomania, not so much.

      Looking for explanations, I ran across this stoopid column by Pat Forde. Knight must have kicked his dog or something.

      Andy Katz actually tries to do some reporting, in contrast.

      "He said, 'I just can't do it anymore,' that he was worn down," said Knight, who was named the head coach designate two years ago by the same athletic director, Gerald Myers, who hired his father.

      When Bob Knight called his sons Pat and Tim (who works with the basketball program and athletic department) into his office Monday, the brothers thought it was to talk about a planned golfing trip to Ireland in the spring. Pat Knight said he had no idea his father was going to retire.

      And when Bob Knight told the Texas Tech team Monday afternoon that he was retiring, there were emotional moments from the players and staff, Pat Knight said.

      "But he said, 'Jesus, guys, I didn't die. I'm just not coaching,'" said Knight, who later coached practice without his father there.

      "He was out," [Pat] Knight said. "He was out of the way, and he intends to stay out of the way."

      This resignation has been a couple years in the making. Pat was anointed as the successor all the way back in 2005, I believe.

  • E-6
    February 4th, 2008 at 8:07 pm

    One of my nephew's best friends from his HS BB team later walked-on at IU. (Luke Jimenez, if you're scoring at home -- Red Wood Falls Cardinals.) He eventually earned a scholarship and some minutes under The Coach. Senior Day 2000, a group from RWF, MN (including my nephew, my bro and his wife) went down to Bloomington for the game. Bobby charmed the group like a seasoned performer and left my usually cynical brother starry-eyed. (Is it any wonder Grandpa Sports drinks the kool-aid?) Like Moss opines elsewhere, Bobby's players graduated. My nephew's friend, never a stellar student, graduated from IU and is now very gainfully employed. That alone makes the man worthy of respect. Me personally, I've never been a Knight fan. I always found his John Wayne/General Patton schtick a tired throw-back to less enlightened days.

    The Wizard of Westwood will always be the King.

  • twayn
    February 4th, 2008 at 8:16 pm

    Growing up in Ohio and Indiana in the 70's, Bobby Knight was a favorite topic of conversation. He had a fairly polarizing personality, so it made for some entertaining debates. I'm just glad he's going out with a little class. With his temper, he could just as easily have gone all Woody Hayes there at the end.

  • SBG
    February 5th, 2008 at 8:12 am

    JoePos on Knight. Great stuff, as always.

  • E-6
    February 5th, 2008 at 10:03 am

    Grandpa needs a bib. And maybe an editor, as well. Check out his closing sentences:

    Yes this is the type of things he has done for so many.

    The basketball world will miss this guy who for those who know him love him and respect that he was not only a winner but contributed as much to the game as any coach ever.

  • frightwig
    February 5th, 2008 at 11:17 am

    Last night I flipped on ESPN in the middle of a clip series showing the "highlights" of Knight's controversial moments (or, Knight acting like an ass on film), and the crawl catalogued his career achievements. I really thought he had died, until the crawl finally cycled back to announcing his retirement.