RIP Bobby Knight

I think that is true. But I do think his players were generally student athletes. Guys were generally pursuing degrees and there were not the sham classes that many other schools had for athletes.

 

That was a go-to for him whenever he was angry. Which we all know was often. He used it on me (and, FWIW, my question was really good, fair and in no way snarky or a "gotcha" thing).

 

I will say this about Knight - he had such a life force, its hard to imagine him even allowing the Grim Reaper into the room. I doubt he ever mellowed, but would have been interesting to see an interview where he looked back at his life and tried to put it into perspective. Being known more for the tantrums than the winning etc.

 

It was never accurate, no matter how many qualifications you put on it. With all the kids he ran off after a year or two or who left close to a degree but not quite there, his graduation rate was really pedestrian. But even if you remove the outbound transfers who didn't graduate and the inbound transfers who didn't graduate and just looked at the players who played exclusively for him for four years, it wasn't 100 percent. High 90s, yes, but never 100.

It was just part of the myth of Bobby Knight, perpetuated by Bobby Knight and his PR machine in the athletic department, that most people in Indiana accepted as truth because they liked national championships.

 

I'M FUCKIN' TIRED OF LOSING TO GALILEE

 

Knight won one more championship and went to one fewer final four than Denny Crum.

 

I think he's still on the short list of a/t greatest coaches. And he has less stink on him--coaching-wise--than almost everyone around him on the a/t wins list.

1.) Coach K: As fraudulent as the day is long, sold out his previous principles and cheated to win titles in the new era
2.) Boeheim: An even more sour person than Knight but with about 300 vacated wins somewhere along the way (slight exaggeration)
3.) Daggum: Wut me know anything about academic fraud?
4.) Knight
5.) Dean Smith: As clean and much nicer than Knight, but if we're talking coaching resumes, hard for Dean to beat the guy w/three national titles and an unbeaten season
6.) Calhoun: Did maybe the most miraculous coaching job of a/t raising the dead at UConn, but again, as dirty as the day was long
7.) Rupp: 'nuff said
8.) Huggins: His BAC never matched his Blutarsky-esque graduation rate
9.) Pitino: Maybe the best coach of a/t and will probably get a fourth school to the Final four, but the Louisville scandals are plentiful
10.) Calipari: Busted big-time everywhere he went before Kentucky, which is an NBA factory with one national title under him

Inflexible to change in terms of personal demeanor, but he won and won big with some semblance of principles for most of his career. Got fucking Texas Tech to the Sweet 16, and look at what kind of dudes Texas Tech had to hire to match or exceed that.

 

Wooden?