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Knight's temper flares in Texas Tech win

Associated Press
Posted: 1 hour ago



LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - As Bob Knight moved one win closer to catching Dean Smith, his temper flared once again, when he used his hand to push a player's chin during a timeout, as if to make him look the coach in the eye.

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With more than 4 minutes to go in Texas Tech's 86-74 victory over Gardner-Webb on Monday night, Red Raiders forward Michael Prince was called for a foul. During the ensuing timeout, Knight approached Prince, and as the player lowered his head, the coach made contact with his chin.

Knight gave a brief statement at the postgame news conference then answered one question before exiting the room. The incident with Prince was never addressed.

It was win No. 871 for Knight, who is five away from passing Adolph Rupp for second place on the all-time list. He needs nine more victories to surpass Smith for the most wins in Division I history.

Knight's career has featured three national championships, all at Indiana, and plenty of temper outbursts, including run-ins with players.

In 1992, Knight kicked a chair on the bench while son Pat, then a player for him at Indiana and now his assistant and successor-to-be at Texas Tech, was sitting in it. When fans behind the team bench booed, Knight turned and responded with an obscenity.

He was accused of grabbing a player by the throat during a practice in 1997, an episode that was caught on videotape and created the whirlwind that eventually led to his firing from Indiana in September 2000.

Knight was fired for what Indiana officials called a violation of a zero-tolerance behavior policy shortly after he grabbed the arm of a student who greeted him on campus by saying "Hey, what's up, Knight?"

His most infamous moment came in a game against Purdue in 1985, when he threw a chair across the court after being assessed a technical foul.

Jarrius Jackson led Texas Tech with 22 points in the first-round victory over Gardner-Webb in the College Basketball Experience Classic. The Red Raiders (2-0) will play Arkansas-Little Rock, an 81-79 winner over Akron, in the second round on Tuesday night.

Texas Tech led throughout after taking a 13-0 lead. Martin Zeno had 19 points and Esmir Rizvic notched 17 in his first start for the Red Raiders. Prince, a 6-foot-7 sophomore who averaged 2.7 points per game last season, finished with two points.

Ricky McPhee led Gardner-Webb (0-1) with 22 points.

Texas Tech led 34-27 at halftime, then hit 11 of its first 16 shots to open the second half, extending the lead to 61-48 with more than 9 minutes to go.

Gardner-Webb never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6169206
 
I'm with you, FJ.

Just once I'd like to see a guy punch Knight right in the face in front of everyone and stand over him like Ali, begging him to get up for some more.
 
Not defending him, by any means, but ... it didn't look THAT bad to me. Yes, maybe it was a little hard, but whose high school football coach didn't do the same thing with a facemask?

And, for the record, I'd love to see someone knock his ass out. Especially some reporter when Knight tries to make him/her look like an ass at a presser.

The "game face" incident. That would've been a perfect time.
 
It's absolutely ridiculous that SportsCenter led with that. Then on the satellite radio coming into work, it's on 3 of the sports stations. Why? ESPN setting the agenda. I'm not saying what Knight did was right, but if he doesn't have a "zero tolerance" policy at Texas Tech, which I think he doesn't, then why is it a major story? If he's not getting fired today, then who effing cares?
 
I'd rather they led with Knight than with a meaningless NBA game. Then again, if I'd have been in charge Knight would have had to wait for Bucs-Panthers highlights and the Matsuzaka news.
 
And if 99% of the coaches in the country did this -- and I'd bet many do worse on a daily basis --- it isn't even a story.

You can see worse from a lot of high shool footbal coaches on any sideline in America every weekend.
 
heyabbott said:
Almost_Famous said:
Anyone surprised?
Anyone care?
Did the player deserve it?

If you haven't seen the video, we've got it.

Just a feeling, but ESPN does not want him to break Dean Smith's record. Knight is getting the treatment from everyone at the network, and it's only a matter of time before Texas Tech is forced to step in and do something. What exactly, I'm not sure.
 
three_bags_full said:
Fenian_Bastard said:
And here they are, right on cue.

Your take?

He's a sociopath. Always has been.
Slap him down, hard, right now because it can only get worse. And it absolutely will.
 
Well, sure he's crazy. We've known that for 15 years.

He's served his punishment and has -- as far as I can tell -- cleaned up his act a little.
 
Dean Smith doesn't want him to break Dean Smith's record.

Nor does John Wooden.

And put me in Fenian's corner on this one. Knight knows exactly what he's doing when he does it, and he (thinks he) can get away with it because Gerald Myers is in his corner.
 
Junkie said:
Fenian, he's not a sociopath. He's a disciplinarian in a country where kids -- ages 3-23 -- run wild because they have no discipline. Kids fear nothing because there is no recourse for anything and they know it. Knight essentially wields the hickory stick that many feared a generation ago. Nobody has that fear anymore.

Should Knight send a kid to "time out" in the corner and take the remote control away for 15 minutes? Or the computer keyboard? Knight is an a-hole but he has never physically harmed anybody and he's always gotten results.

He is about 10 feet away from an assault-with-a-deadly complaint when he fired the vase over his secretary's head. He has physically assaulted his own players at TWO schools now, and he probably did it at Army, too, before anyone was watching. He has attacked fans and/or civilians on at least two occasions. He has made "ha-ha-" jokes about rape and about whipping his black players. He's not someone standing athwart the permissive society or whatever the hell trope it is now that gets the cultural-warriors through the night. He's a sociopath, and he will do something worse.
 
Junkie said:
Fenian, he's not a sociopath. He's a disciplinarian in a country where kids -- ages 3-23 -- run wild because they have no discipline. Kids fear nothing because there is no recourse for anything and they know it. Knight essentially wields the hickory stick that many feared a generation ago. Nobody has that fear anymore.

Should Knight send a kid to "time out" in the corner and take the remote control away for 15 minutes? Or the computer keyboard? Knight is an a-hole but he has never physically harmed anybody and he's always gotten results.

There's a difference between a disciplinarian and a bully. Knight's a bully.
 
thebiglead said:
heyabbott said:
Almost_Famous said:
Anyone surprised?
Anyone care?
Did the player deserve it?

If you haven't seen the video, we've got it.

Just a feeling, but ESPN does not want him to break Dean Smith's record. Knight is getting the treatment from everyone at the network, and it's only a matter of time before Texas Tech is forced to step in and do something. What exactly, I'm not sure.
probably a warning at most
 

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