Charlie Pierce on Twitter reporting that Bobby Knight has passed away.
View: https://twitter.com/CharlesPPierce/status/1719845910962753545
View: https://twitter.com/CharlesPPierce/status/1719845910962753545
Wow, I went down a Bobby Knight rabbit hole on YouTube last night and googled him after to see if he was still alive.Charlie Pierce on Twitter reporting that Bobby Knight has passed away.
View: https://twitter.com/CharlesPPierce/status/1719845910962753545
Yeah, I didn't want to explicitly say it, but I do feel a little guilty. Have been trying to reach out the family to apologize but without any luck -- will keep you posted.You jinxed him!
Well, the FBI just showed up at my door. Thanks.Breaking out of the P&G celebrity death thread. I don’t usually move posts from members-only forums to public forums; the two posts above seemed innocuous, but I trust the posters in question will let me know if they’re uncomfortable.
Clearly.Fascinating, complex individual. Could not exist today. RIP.
Chuck Klosterman talks about reading that book and as soon as he was done flipping back to the front of the book and reading it again.I remember eating A Season on the Brink back when it was published. It was post-chair incident and the public relations tide had already turned against Knight, but I remember thinking at the time if I ever had sons, I’d sure like them to play for Coach Knight.
That said, Imsure knew I never could’ve handled it myself.
I feel very comfortable assuming that he is not in heaven.Hopefully he is choking college kids that need it in heaven. A great character in the history of sports.
fine, call it ValhallaI feel very comfortable assuming that he is not in heaven.
I’m a Dukie, a Bilas fan, a Knight fan… is this any different than Mookie commenting on Bauer?
He was a bully who used physical force against people that he knew couldn't retaliate because of his own personal power. That's the kind of person I'd show my kids as an example of someone not to emulate. Shithead.I don’t take pleasure in anyone’s death but I don’t feel a need to praise him either.
There were so many great coaches who succeeded without losing control and putting their hands on players. I always thought it was a very bad look and a terrible example for a coach of young men, not because I’m pearl clutching on my fainting couch but because that kind of self indulgence and petulance is a burden to a competitor. You can’t teach grace under pressure if you can’t live it. Yes, he was an accomplished coach but you can’t tell me that he didn’t hurt himself over the years.
I think one reason he never tried the NBA is he knew that crap wouldn’t fly with grown ass men.He was a bully who used physical force against people that he knew couldn't retaliate because of his own personal power. That's the kind of person I'd show my kids as an example of someone not to emulate. Shithead.
No this was 87, the Keith Smart Steve Alford Championship season.My strongest memory of Bobby Knight was him saying in a postgame interview after Indiana had a huge comeback against LSU in a NCAA tourney game, "I thought all was lost, but then I looked down the sideline and saw Dale Brown and knew we had a chance." Which was tremendous shade. I think it might have been in one of the Shaq LSU years.
Me, too! And at nearly the exact same time, when Knight went after Feinstein for writing a book that managed to be immensely positive, Knight lost me forever.I remember eating A Season on the Brink back when it was published. It was post-chair incident and the public relations tide had already turned against Knight, but I remember thinking at the time if I ever had sons, I’d sure like them to play for Coach Knight.
FTFYBobby Knight is, as expected, throwing chairs and f-bombs on his way to Hell, having been ejected from Heaven's waiting room breaking a wr chair by throwing it against a wall.
At the end of the day you are judged by the impact you've had on others. Looking at that arena floor filled with his former players who loved and admired him so much that they would travel from all over the country to be there with him that night....that speaks volumes. It's all you have to know. RIP CoachHe once swore he wouldn't step foot again on the IU campus, but he did and it was memorable.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp2zfFMSPVQ
Any hints for those of us without xitter?
Fascinating, complex individual. Could not exist today. RIP.
You. You're good.Clearly.
This is a very funny clip. Worth watching. (Can’t say more without giving it away.)
When he wasn’t being an asshole (and sometimes when he was), he could be a very witty guy.This is a very funny clip. Worth watching. (Can’t say more without giving it away.)
He had Alzheimer’s and this guy wrote a book about the 1940’s Cleveland Indians that was p much the only thing that spurred his memory.Any hints for those of us without xitter?
Yeah, he embraced the ones who played well and made him look good, so they returned. The players who made mistakes, he choked, screamed at and berated, and drove them out of his program. Hard to imagine a worse leader of young men.At the end of the day you are judged by the impact you've had on others. Looking at that arena floor filled with his former players who loved and admired him so much that they would travel from all over the country to be there with him that night....that speaks volumes. It's all you have to know. RIP Coach
Yeah, I think that is literally *not* all you need to know.Yeah, he embraced the ones who played well and made him look good, so they returned. The players who made mistakes, he choked, screamed at and berated, and drove them out of his program. Hard to imagine a worse leader of young men.
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/ron-felling-vs-bob-knight-0/531-203af2f3-4605-454e-bc9b-3d87d903b93eHighlights of Davis deposition
Asked if he witnessed Knight engage in inappropriate physical contact, Davis replied that Knight would grab students such as Charlie Miller or Mike Lewis during practice sessions. Davis said he didn’t view that as an appropriate teaching tactic.
About Knight’s reputation for violent outbursts:
Potter: Based upon your own perceptions, in your opinion do you think that reputation is deserved?
Davis: Yes.
About seeking the head coaching job at Tulane and asking Knight for help.
And he said I didn’t want that job, it was a bad job. I said I wanted it, because I’m from the south. And his response was, I don’t give a f--- what you think, you know, it’s a bad job.
You know other coaches around the country had told me that the AD had told (them) that he didn’t push me for the job.
On Knight’s general demeanor:
He would go off on a drop of a hat.... I mean, if we were sitting here now, and if you said something that he didn’t like, he would go off, scream and yell, and curse at you.
I mean, we was just sitting down there talking about basketball, and if you say something that he thought was wrong he would snap, so I never said much.
Recounted seeing Knight repeatedly berating assistant coach Craig Hartman, getting within an inch or two of Hartman’s face.
Potter: Was that done in an intimidating fashion?
Davis: Yes.
Potter: And was it done in a manner to bully Craig?
Davis: In my opinion, yes.
Potter: Would you describe Coach Knight as a bully?
Davis: Yes.
Davis recalled being in the room with other assistant coaches as Knight and Felling argued the day Felling was fired. He said he wasn’t watching to see Knight actually push Davis, but looked up to see Felling backed up against a TV with videotapes falling to the floor and Pat Knight jumping in between the two men. Davis said he has no reason to doubt that Knight shoved Felling. By Davis’s account, Felling had his hands in his pockets throughout the encounter and never did anything to physically threaten Knight.
"He (Knight) was all huffy, you know, like he was just, you know, he was getting ready to fight."
Potter: If in the circumstances you saw him treating Ron, verbally abusing Ron, and jumping up and coming at Ron as you described it, would that make you fear for your physical safety?
Davis: Yes.
Davis said Pat Knight confirmed his father pushed Felling.
Potter: Did Pat ever indicate to you that his father had shoved or pushed Ron into the TV?
Davis: Yes.
Potter: And what did Pat say?
Davis: Coach lost his temper or something like that, and he pushed Coach Felling.
Davis acknowledged that he and the other assistant coaches (including Felling) often criticized Knight’s handling of the IU basketball program, both among themselves and to outsiders.
We didn’t feel like we was covering the overall scheme of the game.
Potter: Do you think you were disloyal to the program?
Davis: Yes.
Potter: Do you think the other coaches were disloyal too?
Davis: Well, I think we worked for a person, and, you know, I took his money, and I said some things in my last year that I was okay. I’m not going to stay here anymore because if you can’t work for someone, you know, and not saying anything, you feel you should not work for them, and I did that for three years.
Davis said even Pat Knight was critical of the program, but could get away with saying things to his father that the other coaches could not. Davis also recounted an incident in which an angry Pat Knight confronted the team after a loss:
Davis: At one game when we had lost to Indiana State, and Pat was throwing chairs, and wanted to fight all the players.
Potter: Where did this happen?
Davis: In the locker room.
One video making the rounds today is a speech (on leadership I think) he's giving where he's talking about how at halftime of the 1984 gold medal game being up big on Spain. And he says at halftime, in 12 minutes of playing time, Jordan had 19 points, 11 boards, and 9 assists and despite a 29 point lead, he wasn't satisfied.When he wasn’t being an asshole (and sometimes when he was), he could be a very witty guy.
From Season on the Brink, I recall his handling of Delray Brooks. He was an Indiana Mr. Basketball, who, played well as a freshman, but Knight ultimately thought was too slow for his program. IIRC, he told him so, and Brooks transferred to Providence, where he starred on Pitino's Final 4 team.Yeah, he embraced the ones who played well and made him look good, so they returned. The players who made mistakes, he choked, screamed at and berated, and drove them out of his program. Hard to imagine a worse leader of young men.