Indiana no longer, Bobby Knight belongs to Vandal basketball
By Brian Kowel
Dear Mr. Mike Bohn (Idaho Athletics
Director):
I'm a UI grad student, Duke alumnus and major college hoops fan.
I'm sure you are well aware by now of the recent events in Bloomington,
Ind., which has placed a coach with a lifetime record of 763-290
on the open market. ESPN ran a special 90-minute long Sportscenter
show last night to thoroughly cover all the intricacies of this
riveting story.
One statement by Any Katz, a noted basketball analyst, struck
me as particularly interesting: "I think Coach Knight is
going to lay low and disappear for about a year.
After that, I wouldn't be surprised to see him resurface at a
smaller school, perhaps somewhere out in Big Sky country where
he loves the hunting and fishing so much.
I thought to myself, "What an amazing opportunity for Idaho!"
Now before you totally dismiss this idea, think about this:
a) Coach Knight is an extremely skilled basketball coach. He
succeeded at a small school like Army, which had much more stringent
recruiting guidelines than Idaho has due to the military affiliation.
There is no doubt that he would win games.
b) Coach Knight is a media icon and will bring instant celebrity
to whatever school he goes to. There is no doubt that Coach
Knight's presence on the bench will sell out every home game
of the season. This will also do wonders for all sports recruiting,
not just basketball, and enrollment will skyrocket - guaranteed.
c) Here in God's country, Knight will find a perfect fit for
his "old school" morals and outdoor hobbies.
The Moscow community is small, its citizens are God fearing,
and the people here respect each other. Knight will find perfect
refuge up here in the Idaho panhandle.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this same
coach has been the center of several controversies regarding
his behavior and infamous temperament. I think that Coach Knight's
behavior would be different here. In the state of Indiana, Coach
Knight enjoyed near deity status. I truly believe that he never
thought that he would or could be fired.
Eventually he was proven wrong after the university administration
botched the May investigation and subsequent disciplinary action.
They had no other recourse than to dismiss him because they had
let his behavior come to the point where it was no longer controllable.
I'd like to compare this to a series of small forest fires.
Each individual one doesn't seem serious, but if they are not
squelched, they can turn into an uncontrollable blaze.
Now that Coach Knight has been knocked off his pedestal, he would
be much less apt to act up anywhere else.
The noted sports journalist John Feinstein wrote a book called
"A Season on the Brink." In this book, he honestly
chronicled the daily life of Coach Knight.
Few people know Bob Knight better than Feinstein. During an
ESPN interview last May, Feinstein believed that Knight wanted
to continue coaching until he broke the all-time win record,
currently held by Dean Smith at 879.
Knight is approximately six 20-win seasons away from this mark.
I think a goal like this will keep Knight focused on winning
and not on teaching lessons in manners or criticizing the university
administration.
He may not be able to wear a red sweater, but maybe he would
look better in a slimming black one instead.
Make the inquiries now! This could be a one shot in a million
to put Idaho athletics on the map!
Sincerely,
Brian Kowal
Brian Kowal is not employed or affiliated
with the Argonaut staff. Comments on his article: email Brian
at:
bkowal@uidaho.edu.
CONTACT US | UI | HOME