Leadership

He's intense during practice and competition, but he understands what being a STUDENT-athlete is all about.

I would probably struggle with the amount of fire he's got, but I would love to play for him!

He is one of the greatest coaches ever in any sport. He was a teacher of the game but more importantly of life. In however many years he coached at Army, IU and Texas Tech he NEVER got into any trouble and his players graduated. When Coach K at Duke (same things can be said about him) retires I doubt we will be able to say that about another coach for a very long time. And yes Coach K played and coached under the original Coach K.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
In however many years he coached at Army, IU and Texas Tech he NEVER got into any trouble ....

Um....
Perhaps you mean no trouble with the NCAA. I was in a position to watch him closely for a decade while he was at IU, and he got into a lot of trouble. For example, drunken driving arrest, firearms violations, physical abuse, sexual harrassment. Most of these were swept under the rug, because he has done so many admirable things (no, I don't mean his won-loss record, although that probably helped).

Bobby Knight is a larger than life individual with a very complex personality. To paraphrase, "When he is good, he is very very good; when he is bad, he is horrid."

In the long run, I'm confdent that he'll be remembered mostly for the positive stuff.

Bobby Knight was a very good coach but not a very good role model. Many of us have bad tempers but at some point, as adults, we have to learn to control it. He never did. I addition to what 3Finger stated, he used his success to bully everyone he came into contact with.

When I watch him on TV now he seems to relish his tough guy, bad boy image. Time to let it go IMO.

I would want my son to play for a tough coach but not a lunatic like Knight could sometimes be.

I don't know %, but, many of Knights players have graduated, become successful after college, and would walk through fire for the man, that says something to me.

With that said.....Would anyone put with his antics if he was not located in the basketball heart of America?

Before he became coach at UI he accepted the coaching job at the U of WI with the stipulation that his hire was not leaked before he could notify Army. The hire was leaked and he withdrew. My guess is because WI is not a basketball State his tenure here would have been short and tremulous which may have lead him to a career of selling shoes. Who knows.

It only goes to show that coaching goes so far, and the player resources and assistants you have to work with may determine your legacy more so than your coaching abilities.

I think you can go back and ask the same questions with Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes, John McKay, Knute Rockne, Bobby Bowden, and other great coaches. If they didn't have the available player pool would we be admiring other names? Vince Lombardi, my coaching hero is another name. He had a team of HOF players when FA did not exist. How would he do in todays game?

This is not a rip on any legend, just the devils advocate wondering "if"?

Every situation we enter into in life carries a "chance". I would have no problem, and I think my son would accept the challenge of being a Knight pupil.

My son could play for Coach Knight with no problem and I would happy to have it happen---in fact when my son was in HS, he was a point guard as well as a baseball player,he received an introductory letter from Coach Knight which spoke of nothing but academics and character---no mention of hoops---funny how people interpret things and read into things -- more kids could use his kind of authority in this day and age

OH !! by the way when my wife worked at Converse and met Coach Knight a number of times--she terms him one of the finest gentlemen she ever met

I would have loved my boys to play for John Wooden.

Knight was a highly focused/dedicated basketball teacher and an exceptional strategist.

Unmentioned in this thread however, is how much our culture has changed during the twenty years since Bob Knight won his final NCAA championship.

Far fewer premier athletes will accept a tough-as-nails and absolute "my-way-or-the-highway" approach.

Beyond eroded recruiting success with the best players, players who joined the I.U. program frequently rebelled/transferred.

As a "native Hoosier", I hold clear late-Knight-era memories of bue chippers who wouldn't consider I.U. and the ultra-direct Knight method.

Having said all that, and at the risk of repeating a post from several years back, I must mention that HaverSon played a couple of travel team seasons (at age 12-13), under the toughest youth coach I've ever seen.

This man, Coach Dan, was unapologetically Marine D.I. intense. (No excuses, take no prisoners) He was also an exceptional judge of talent and motivator. While every other twelve year old we knew remained immersed in warm and fuzzy daddy-ball, Coach Dan organized a great national level team from primarily undersized players, who all lived within a 10-mile radius.

Long run yield from Coach Dan's team included 8x NCAA baseball players (nearly all were 4-year starters), two Big Twelve scholarship football players and a D3 basketball star.

Although HaverSon couldn't endure more than his two years with Coach Dan, it was exceptional training.

So I wonder: Do Coach Dan's methods exist anymore, especially in that age group?

Do Coach Dan's methods exist anymore, especially in that age group?[/quote]


i think they should,to an extent. i think it makes them better people. as tough as we think we are as parent's,there is a certain give to us. an unbiased third party has no need for it. rules aren't bent,changed to make it easier on mom or dad.

we miss these coaches more than we realize,or i think we do.

my son played at a local cc. his coach was a DI type,very hard nosed.some local 4 year schools would come to these games looking for players. i'd gotten to know a few and we would watch games together. we were behind the backstop watching a game,huge rivalry, good game too.
bottom of the 9th,2 outs we are losing. my son is up to bat. coach call's time, calls him over, get's in his face and explains the situation and what needed to be done.but he screamed this at him. the coaches looked at each other in amazement. that this guy would expect anyone to be able to hit after getting screamed at. they wouldn't be able to do that to there players, or would they want to. but he was successful at it.

.

quote:

Originally posted by iheartbb:
I would have loved my boys to play for John Wooden.

No one better!

quote:

Unmentioned in this thread however, is how much our culture has changed during the twenty years since Bob Knight won his final NCAA championship.

Also from the article I pulled the quotes from one was (paraphasing): The game didn't pass Knight by. What programs do to win changed and Knight wasn't willing to cheat.

During the last Knight controversy at Texas Tech when Knight grabbed a player my son commented: What's the big deal? The player disrespected the coach by not looking him in the eyes while he was getting instruction.

Knight didn't go to Tech to win championships. He was not going to win a championship there. He went to Tech to teach basketball.

I read Season On The Brink. Knight is a high strung virtuoso of basketball. The difference between Motzart and Knight is Motzart didn't have 18,000 people watching live and another million on TV when he freaked out.

A friend's son plays in a major program for a very respected coach. He said the coach is no different than Knight in practice.

I am a fan of tough coaches...disciplined, demanding, focused.

And there was a time where I would've wanted one of my kids to play for Knight.

But in retrospect and for some of the reasons 3FingerdGlove mentioned...no, I am glad they never got that chance.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by iheartbb:
I would have loved my boys to play for John Wooden.


No one better!

Gotwood...Dr. Tom Osborne is a close second. You're just bias because of naming conventions!

quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:
I am a fan of tough coaches...disciplined, demanding, focused.

Me too!

I think that many of you will learn, as RMJ made mention, that as your son's move forward, most coaches and those especially those of successful programs are very disciplined, demanding and focused.
In fact, many of them may speak to your son in a manner you may find offensive but not your sons. Or they may, but later realize that it was just a part of teh coach's tough love program. There are a lot of Coach Knight types coaching college baseball.
One of the reasons I feel that parents don't belong at practices, that's where a lot of coach/player "stuff" happens, and it ain't all that pretty sometimes.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
My son could play for Coach Knight with no problem and I would happy to have it happen---in fact when my son was in HS, he was a point guard as well as a baseball player,he received an introductory letter from Coach Knight which spoke of nothing but academics and character---no mention of hoops---funny how people interpret things and read into things -- more kids could use his kind of authority in this day and age

OH !! by the way when my wife worked at Converse and met Coach Knight a number of times--she terms him one of the finest gentlemen she ever met

Authority and hard nose coaching is one thing.
Throwing chairs, physically abusing kids and the like is a bit much. A fine gentlemen should show some the the character he talks about.

The only difference between Knight and others (temper), he displays it in public.
Sometimes it's just a good idea to keep that stuff in house.
I remember watching a game once against a team that is always ranked top 10-15 each year. The coach literally had a hissy fit on the field, which included throwing stuff out of the dugout and a bucket of balls before he was ejected. I hear he does this in practice as well. I also hear that's a common thing for many coaches when they are just plain frustrated. Throw the bucket. That's just part of their colorful personalities.

Hands on a player is off limits, IMO.

Nice to know parents aren't around college baseball practice too much?

With great expectations comes great frustration!

quote:

Originally posted by fillsfan:

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
My son could play for Coach Knight with no problem and I would happy to have it happen---in fact when my son was in HS, he was a point guard as well as a baseball player,he received an introductory letter from Coach Knight which spoke of nothing but academics and character---no mention of hoops---funny how people interpret things and read into things -- more kids could use his kind of authority in this day and age

OH !! by the way when my wife worked at Converse and met Coach Knight a number of times--she terms him one of the finest gentlemen she ever met

Authority and hard nose coaching is one thing.
Throwing chairs, physically abusing kids and the like is a bit much. A fine gentlemen should show some the the character he talks about.

A friend's son plays for a major basketball program with a very visible coach. He said the coach is no different than Knight in practice. Knight just isn't afraid to act up in public.

Come on now.. this may be his best interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6fB2YWIaFA

The problem I have with his behavior, and others like his, is that it is hypocritical when compared to what they are asking of the players.

He, and any good coach is asking his players for discipline. Discipline in their work ethic. Discipline in their execution. Discipline in their emotions.

Then they coach a game and lose all self discipline.