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Post by Sasquatch on Feb 4, 2008 22:21:54 GMT -5
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Post by Sleazy E on Feb 4, 2008 23:22:55 GMT -5
I hate to see the man leave..... but I think he has earned his retirement... He was by far the most passionate coach I had ever seen..... when he left IU I quit watching basketball.
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Post by cambygsp on Feb 5, 2008 4:47:42 GMT -5
I hate to see the man leave..... but I think he has earned his retirement... He was by far the most passionate coach I had ever seen..... when he left IU I quit watching basketball. When he left IU, I quit watching IU basketball!
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Post by dbd870 on Feb 5, 2008 4:54:22 GMT -5
I find the timing rather odd, but that's the general for you.
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Post by duckknocker on Feb 5, 2008 6:30:32 GMT -5
The "god" of basketball- Robert Montgomery Knight " The General ". Will miss his coaching and can only say Indiana sure messed up in getting rid of him.
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Post by DEERTRACKS on Feb 5, 2008 7:05:01 GMT -5
Don't care for his arrogance, but he is one of the finest technitions & teachers in the game of basketball.
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Post by dbd870 on Feb 5, 2008 7:39:54 GMT -5
Don't care for his arrogance, but he is one of the finest technitions & teachers in the game of basketball. Pretty fair analysis. "When he was good, he was very very good; when he was bad.........."
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Post by birddog on Feb 5, 2008 7:50:42 GMT -5
NO doubt the "greatest" coach of all times....period!!!!!
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Post by swilk on Feb 5, 2008 8:18:51 GMT -5
My favorite coach, in any sport, ever.
But walking out with games left, and after having just signed a 3 year extension this past September? Reminds me of Bob Petrino.
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Post by hunter480 on Feb 5, 2008 9:47:58 GMT -5
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Post by hornharvester on Feb 5, 2008 12:28:57 GMT -5
The game will miss the General! h.h.
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Post by indianahick on Feb 5, 2008 13:27:13 GMT -5
Like his favorite song. He did it his way. He had some problems with the media. He was smarter than they were/are and hated stupid leading questions. He let his temper get in his way with the players, but he never broke any NCAA rules. I think that he just decided that he had accomplished everything that he ever would be able to do in basketball and just said that's it. Good By Mr. Knight. We will miss you.
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Post by mbogo on Feb 7, 2008 18:17:19 GMT -5
In case you missed the follow up interviews, he made it clear that he simply resigned not retired.
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Post by Hawkeye on Feb 7, 2008 20:45:49 GMT -5
I dont know,but maybe he has done something they will find out about later,or maybe he knows of another coaching job opening up. Guess after being a cop for twenty eight years ,just naturally have a suspicious mind.lol
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Post by Russ Koon on Feb 8, 2008 11:22:11 GMT -5
I suspect it's more a matter of getting some additional press by doing it this way.
I agree with the above assessment of his ability as a teacher and technician.
However, I think there's more to be being a great coach than that, and I thiink he failed pretty miserably on some of the other facets, like setting a good example of sportsmanship, handling adversity on the court, anger management, and especially ego management.
His games were a joy to watch, until his craving for attention caused him to do something, anything, to draw the attention back to R. M. Knight. Then they were an embarrassment to Indiana, IMO, regardless of the score.
He was certainly not alone on letting his superior ability at a sport go to his head. A.J. Foyt in his prime was probably the best race car driver of the time, and almost certainly the best combination driver/mechanic for the technology of that day. He had similar issues with anger management and ego control. Dale Sr. did too, much as I loved watching him put that Chevy around the track. Probably lots of other examples out there that don't come to mind right now.
It's probably a lot harder to control your own temper tantrums and ego storms when you're not reined in by your superiors, team owners (Oh yeah, Tony Stewart comes to mind now...well on his way to being another A.J., but hopefully steered straight by Joe Gibbs), or other influences like the league or association. Three different tall and talented wide receivers in the NFL are or were straining at the ends of the NFL leash, and one particularly talented throwing arm from our state was never to become a prominent NFL QB because they don't make helmets in the size he needed for his big head.
There's more to being "great" at your sport than shows up on the scoreboards. Exemplifying the right attitudes for your fans and young wannabe's; representing your team, your area, and your fans in a way that they can be proud of, rather than embarrased by; and being an asset to the sport's image, instead of using the sport to glorify yourself further, are all aspects of greatness in the profession.
Greatest college basketball coach ever? Nah, I'd pick a John Wooden, or Coach K, maybe even Gene Keady. Probably several others who would rank ahead of the foul-mouthed egomaniac poacher who was a very great teacher of the game, and a lousy teacher of life skills. They represent their schools and their states well both on AND off the court, and their interviews can be broadcast without being run through inspection and "bleeped" thoroughly.
Saw a thread on a news site where some folks were considering a suitable IU memorial to Bobby. Couldn't help thinking that a wing on the psychology department building devoted to megalomania might be appropriate. He sure supplied enough study material.
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Post by drgreyhound on Feb 8, 2008 12:08:48 GMT -5
I agree, Russ...
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Post by mbogo on Feb 9, 2008 7:30:52 GMT -5
You just lost any point you were trying to make with this paragraph. While Coach K may go down as the best ever, he still has a long way to go. Wooden's players were bought and paid for and he knowingly allowed it, I consider that far worse than anything Coach Knight ever did. Gene Keady?? You have to be Kidding!!! His constant pouting and whining were not what I would call good sportsmanship either. Not to mention he had his own trouble with paying a player.
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Post by dbd870 on Feb 9, 2008 9:23:11 GMT -5
You just lost any point you were trying to make with this paragraph. While Coach K may go down as the best ever, he still has a long way to go. Wooden's players were bought and paid for and he knowingly allowed it, I consider that far worse than anything Coach Knight ever did. Gene Keady?? You have to be Kidding!!! His constant pouting and whining were not what I would call good sportsmanship either. Not to mention he had his own trouble with paying a player. As much as I dislike all the behavior problems with the man; Mbogo has a point.
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Post by Russ Koon on Feb 9, 2008 10:43:47 GMT -5
I'll admit to not being a big fan of college ball, and not being familiar with any "bought and paid for" players under Wooden.
I agree that Keady used a lot of theatrics during the games, but it all seemed to be in good fun with him, part of the show. The flying coat,and sometimes the watch, some salty language in the heat of the moment.....not desirable, but forgivable in my book.
Throwing furniture, taking the team off the court, punching out the local cop.... not so much. Getting into fights in a local eatery and assaulting students for not bowing and scraping in his magnificent presence (ever notice that all his fights were with much smaller people?), shooting his hunting partner, getting busted several times for game violations (he's representing both IU and the state, and all of US as hunters when the game violation tickets are written).....no, I never heard of Coach K, or John Wooden, or even Mean Gene doing anything that egregious.
If you want to use the standard of number of wins, I'll agree that he has the number. And he did most of it with players that weren't going to make it in the NBA, and without any known NCAA recruiting violations. Credit where credit is due.....he may well be the best ever among large-school coaches if you stop there with the comparison criteria. And apparently he was a great teacher of the tactics and techniques of the game. Coach K learned under him, as did Steve Alford, and I can't remember but it seems like there were others who were his assistants or players who went on to become successful and give him much of the credit. But I haven't heard of any of them acting like a spoiled brat and giving him the credit for their behavior.
My point was that stopping there is giving a false answer, or at best a partial answer. Like saying the "greatest car ever" was Craig Breedlove's Spirit of America, because it was WAY faster than anything else. Mileage wasn't very good, and it wouldn't have room for the kids and the groceries, but who cares....it had the numbers!
"Winningest" coach.....OK, I agree to that, at least as far as I know of among the large universities. But when the word used is "greatest", I think the rest of the job needs to be considered in addition to the wins. And just like in determining our "greatest racks", some deduct points for non-typical features, and some just count the inches.
Anyway that's my opinion. I know, everyone has one, like...bellybuttons.
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Post by dadfsr on Feb 9, 2008 10:52:21 GMT -5
Good points again Russ! Something tells me though that you may not be the most popular person in your neighborhood ;D...we got your back up here
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