Bobby Knight

[Uncle Rico]

He liked Al when he coached Army and Al beat him. He liked Al.

He liked him more after beating him in the dance

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

players came to play for bobby knight knowing full well what he was about.  winning was hard work...bobby knight was a WINNER!  those who came to play for coach knight won both on the floor and off. 

There are plenty of examples, especially later in his career, where his coaching went well beyond simply working hard.

There is no need to whitewash his legacy - as I said, it's complicated.

[Lennys Tap]

A very good coach who became great when he recruited Buckner, Benson, and May.

This is so wrong. He went 63-1 with those guys over two years and if Scott May doesn’t break his wrist he’s undefeated back to back. Who were the NBA stars on that team? He won a National Championship with a lineup of Steve Alford, Darryl Thomas, Dean Garrett, Keith Smart and Ricky Calloway. Really good players, sure. Great ones? He won another NC with Landon Turner, Randy Wittman, Ray Tolbert, Ted Kitchel and sophomore Isiah Thomas. See any Jabbars, Waltons or Jordans? Other than Zeke, see anything like Worthy, Ford, Wicks, Rowe, Ewing, Magic, etc., etc., etc.? 11 Big 10 titles and 3 NCAA titles with one (1) NBA all pro. At the top of his game he was the best pure coach ever at the college level. He had his demons, and it seldom if ever ends well for people like him. But if a guy can be a genius at coaching basketball he was that guy.

[MuggsyB]

Knight said Jordan was the best player he'd ever seen and by a "considerable margin". 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Knight said Jordan was the best player he'd ever seen and by a "considerable margin". 

Coached him on the 1984 Olympic team. Told his friend, the Blazer GM at the time, that he had to draft him. But they didn’t because they had Clyde, and the rest is history.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

This is so wrong. He went 63-1 with those guys over two years and if Scott May doesn’t break his wrist he’s undefeated back to back. Who were the NBA stars on that team? He won a National Championship with a lineup of Steve Alford, Darryl Thomas, Dean Garrett, Keith Smart and Ricky Calloway. Really good players, sure. Great ones? He won another NC with Landon Turner, Randy Wittman, Ray Tolbert, Ted Kitchel and sophomore Isiah Thomas. See any Jabbars, Waltons or Jordans? Other than Zeke, see anything like Worthy, Ford, Wicks, Rowe, Ewing, Magic, etc., etc., etc.? 11 Big 10 titles and 3 NCAA titles with one (1) NBA all pro. At the top of his game he was the best pure coach ever at the college level. He had his demons, and it seldom if ever ends well for people like him. But if a guy can be a genius at coaching basketball he was that guy.

Yep. As I said, Thomas was his only future NBA all star. 

[Lennys Tap]

Knight said Jordan was the best player he'd ever seen and by a "considerable margin".

Only guy who could hold Jordan under 20? Dean Smith.

[Herman Cain]

Knight was an outstanding coach. His Indiana squads played tremendous team ball with very few turnovers .

His intensity level was off the charts. Made him must watch TV back in the day

[Jockey]

This is so wrong. He went 63-1 with those guys over two years and if Scott May doesn’t break his wrist he’s undefeated back to back. Who were the NBA stars on that team? He won a National Championship with a lineup of Steve Alford, Darryl Thomas, Dean Garrett, Keith Smart and Ricky Calloway. Really good players, sure. Great ones? He won another NC with Landon Turner, Randy Wittman, Ray Tolbert, Ted Kitchel and sophomore Isiah Thomas. See any Jabbars, Waltons or Jordans? Other than Zeke, see anything like Worthy, Ford, Wicks, Rowe, Ewing, Magic, etc., etc., etc.? 11 Big 10 titles and 3 NCAA titles with one (1) NBA all pro. At the top of his game he was the best pure coach ever at the college level. He had his demons, and it seldom if ever ends well for people like him. But if a guy can be a genius at coaching basketball he was that guy.

Utter nonsense. He had 27 All-Americans. I think he had 8-10 Big Ten MVPs.

He was a great coach but he won because he had tons of great college players.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Utter nonsense. He had 27 All-Americans. I think he had 8-10 Big Ten MVPs.

He was a great coach but he won because he had tons of great college players.

He coached them up. Many were great disappointments at the next level.

Honestly you might be the only person who has ever said “Bobby Knight won because he was a great recruiter.” 

[Lennys Tap]

He coached them up. Many were great disappointments at the next level.

Honestly you might be the only person who has ever said “Bobby Knight won because he was a great recruiter.”

Spot on. He could take his and beat yours or take yours and beat his - got more out of his players than any coach I ever saw.

[dgies9156]

Coach Knight ruined what should have been two great days in my youth. They were:

In 1973, the Mideast Regionals came to Nashville. Al McGuire and our Marquette Warriors were the favorite to win the Mideast. I had my tickets and was all excited to see Coach McGuire and our Warriors kick some Hoosier backside. in what was then my hometown. Suffice to say, it didn't happen. Marquette jumped out to an early lead but Coach Knight, ever the excellent coach, out-coached Al McGuire that day. We lost (this was a year before Marquette became "we" though my Dad was a very proud MU engineering grad).

Three years later, the two met again. Indiana was undefeated and the best ranked team in the nation. We were ranked second and I believe had only one or at most two losses. Coach Knight won again on his way to leading the last undefeated college basketball team in the nation.

A year later, with that team gone, we finally won THE big one!

Coach Knight made up for some of it a few laters later! In 1982, I was driving in Southern Indiana, about an hour north of Evansville when an Indiana State Trooper pulls me over. I get up and approach the Trooper (that was the courtesy in those days) and the Trooper looks at me and says, "my you're a big one! Did you, ever, well, play basketball?"  I looked at the Trooper and said, "no, but I admire and respect the job Bob Knight did with Indiana this year!"

Away went the ticket book and the Trooper said, "I'll write you a warning... Go Hoosiers!" I got back in my car and told Ms. Dgies, who said, "... but you hate Bob Knight!" I looked at her and said, "not anymore!"

[Jockey]

He coached them up. Many were great disappointments at the next level.

Honestly you might be the only person who has ever said “Bobby Knight won because he was a great recruiter.”

Of course I said nothing of the sort. You might be the only person who says Knight was so great that he turned players into high school all-Americans before he coached them.

He was a great coach - but he won because he had great players. Like they all do.

Belichick doesn’t win anymore. popovich doesn’t win any more. Any guesses why?

[Jockey]

Spot on. He could take his and beat yours or take yours and beat his - got more out of his players than any coach I ever saw.

Nice cliche. But it is nonsense. He would not take a 6-18 team and beat Buckner, Benson, and May.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Of course I said nothing of the sort.

Yeah you did.

A very good coach who became great when he recruited Buckner, Benson, and May.

Again, he coached ONE player that became an NBA All-Star.  Compare that to coaches like Wooden, Smith, Coach K, etc. The talent he was coaching was less than his contemporaries.

[wadesworld]

Nice cliche. But it is nonsense. He would not take a 6-18 team and beat Buckner, Benson, and May.

So is Wojo a 3 time national champion if he has Bob Knight's teams?

[Jockey]

So is Wojo a 3 time national champion if he has Bob Knight's teams?

No. That is why I said Knight was a great coach and have said that Wojo was a terrible coach.

Now, I’ll ask you a question. Has Belichick forgotten how to coach?

[Uncle Rico]

No. That is why I said Knight was a great coach and have said that Wojo was a terrible coach.

Now, I’ll ask you a question. Has Belichick forgotten how to coach?

It’s not like his teams at the end of his tenure at Indiana were all that dissimilar in makeup to previous Indiana teams.  He had guys that would play in the NBA, even if it was brief.  He still won a lot of games but they definitely weren’t the threat they had once been. 

[JWags85]

No. That is why I said Knight was a great coach and have said that Wojo was a terrible coach.

Now, I’ll ask you a question. Has Belichick forgotten how to coach?

Belichick's problems are beyond simple coaching.  He got incredibly complacent with his staffing, namely his coordinators, and lost his touch as a GM when the Pats Way of the 2000s and 2010s stopped working/they couldn't rehabilitate everyone.

As for Pop who you previously mentioned, I don't want to extrapolate too much, but his Spurs teams fell off around the time he lost his wife and haven't come back...

[Jockey]

Belichick's problems are beyond simple coaching.  He got incredibly complacent with his staffing, namely his coordinators, and lost his touch as a GM when the Pats Way of the 2000s and 2010s stopped working/they couldn't rehabilitate everyone.

As for Pop who you previously mentioned, I don't want to extrapolate too much, but his Spurs teams fell off around the time he lost his wife and haven't come back...

I’d contend that it was when he lost Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli.

[Eye]

Is Knight on the college basketball coaching Mount Rushmore? Easy to get it down to 5, Knight, Krzyzewski, Rupp, Smith, Wooden. Hard to get it down to 4.

[Goose]

Eye

He is 100% on my top four list.

[Lennys Tap]

Nice cliche. But it is nonsense. He would not take a 6-18 team and beat Buckner, Benson, and May.

Bob Knight at Army: 6 seasons, 102-50 .671%

Coach K at Army: 5 seasons, 73-59 .553%

[Dr. Blackheart]

Rupp only belongs on Mt. Flushmore.

[dgies9156]

Rupp only belongs on Mt. Flushmore.

Agree 100 percent. Adolph the Bigot was an ass.