Note to Pat Knight: When you have the pedigree your father did, temper tantrums are endearing -- even lovable -- to some of your team's fans. When you are 2-10 in Big 12 play, however, tantrums are just annoying. They come off as childish gum-flapping. Earlier this month, Knight had a nice little on-court tirade, and he followed it up this past Saturday with a technical foul and officiating complaints. He has now received a one-game suspension for said complaints. Apparently, though, he doesn't mind. He said as much after the game in his press conference.
"I don't care right now what the Big 12 thinks," he said. "My kids ... have enough of a time playing against A&M let alone add somebody else they have to play against. I just think it's a shame."Knight is referring to the fact that his Red Raiders shot 22 free throws compared to an astounding 51 attempts by Texas A&M. While you can't just simply read a box score and make assumptions about officiating -- for example, it's possible Texas Tech just needed to stop playing so physical -- that's an awfully high discrepancy between free throws for two teams.
Either way, the temper is showing a bit early on the younger Coach Knight. I wouldn't advise anyone to approach him in person and blurt out something like, I don't know, "Hey Knight!"
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-23-2009 @ 9:51PM
Elizabeth said...
The comment that when you are a coach like Bob Knight your tantrums are endearing, may hold true for the author of the statement, but, as a citizen of Indiana,and a teacher/coach myself, I found Bob Knight's behavior to be immature and embarrassing,as well as offensive to the teaching/coaching profession, and he should have been fired long before he was. A Teacher coach teaches a lot more than just how to win in and out of the classroom. Bob Knight did not discipline his child as he should have, and instead made trouble for the basketball coach who tried to take up the slack, as Pat Knight's coach.
The coach in question was fired after Bob Knight made trouble for him when Pat Knight behaved badly on the High School basketball court. This is an example of how wrong things can go when a child is not disciplined early, and provided a worthy example to follow.
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2-23-2009 @ 11:06PM
Matt Snyder said...
You are 100% correct ... which is why I made sure to include the word "SOME" in that sentence. I attended three years worth of Indiana games as a student with Knight as the head coach, and any time he yelled at an official the crowd went crazy in a good way. Generally, the behavior was eaten up by people in attendance.
I also knew many people took your stance as well.
Thanks for the comment, though.
2-25-2009 @ 3:43PM
Elizabeth said...
Thank you, Matt, for responding. I'm glad you emphasized "some" and clarified your comments.
And I'm glad you don't necessarily include yourself in the "some".
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