Essentially, Knight is leveraging ESPN and his connections to land a job here. It's like a political campaign at this point with Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale and Brent Musburger acting as surrogates for him on the talk shows and media circuit. Also, Anthony Dasher says that Knight may try to work his way into the process via the Georgia Governor's Office. It's a high pressure, heavy handed tactic, and I can't imagine it'll sit well with those involved in the UGA search.
Mark Bradley says the rumor makes no sense to him, and he points out that the last elite player to suit up for Knight was Calbert Cheaney at Indiana...in 1993. If you think Bobby Knight can still recruit, I encourage you to conduct a test. Have your wife watch this clip and this clip (warning: profanity). Then ask her if she'd let her kid play for that guy.
Update: DoubleTNation (a Texas Tech Blog) says this about Knight at UGA rumors:
"I said it yesterday and I'll say it again, Bob Knight is done recruiting, so if you want a guy who is just going to coach and that's it, then [Robert Montgomery Knight] is your guy. I don't think that Georgia has so much talent that this is the case, and there's a strong possibility that [Knight] will make the team better, but I'm pretty sure that most elite athletes just don't want to play for him anymore."Regardless, I don't think that it's going to happen unless it's literally shoved down Damon and Adams' throat.
Separately, Hugh Durham shared his thoughts on the UGA job with Chip Towers of the AJC. He talks about our facilities, our recruiting base, and the Bobby Knight rumors.
To our west, the Bama folks are looking at two names right now -- Mike Anderson (Missouri) and Anthony Grant (VCU). Anderson is a Birmingham native with Arkansas assistant coaching ties and UAB head coaching experience. I can't imagine a better fit for them. He's not backing away from rumors around the UA job. Grant is more cautious.
It's going to be a long 45 or so days til we both get our guys lined up.
(To Clarify a Point Above: I don't care if Knight cusses or if he's a jerk. My point was that he's not a great recruiter, and he hasn't been a great -- or even good -- recruiter in a long time. I would simply suggest that his antics are the thing that keeps mothers from letting their kids sign with him. That's the only reason for posting the video. I don't care if he uses "dirty" words.)
PWD
44 comments:
If Bradley thinks Cal Cheaney was an elite player, he is picking a player to prove a point. He does not like Bob Knight. He never has and never will.
Bradley grew up a Kentucky fan. Back in the day, KY and IN recruited against each other. The other team was always a threat to win a National Championship that both thought they deserved.
Oh yeah, the perception then was that despite his boorishness, Knight ran his program the right way - he won, graduated his players and did not cheat.
One could not say the same about Kentucky. Thus a rivalry that rarely was meted out on the court.
Alan Henderson played for Knight 2 years after Cheaney left for the NBA. Knight recruited 3 more McDonald's All-Americans after Cheaney left.
His last McDonald's AA was Jared Jeffries, but Knight did not get a chance to coach him. Brand fired Knight before Jeffries freshman year started.
Oh please. Who was the last *elite* player we produced at the University of Georgia? Nique? Kessler? Green? Jarvis & Jonas?
Again, it's the visceral tone against Knight that makes people like me, who would agree with you that he's not the best choice now, defend him.
Knight's teams, even his best teams, were never stacked with High School McDonald/Burger King/ fill in the blank All-Americans or elite recruits. The 1987 National Championship team that defeated Syracuse and its NBA-Farm Team, didn't have a single guy who played sustained professional ball.
That doesn't mean Knight can't recruit or develop players at elite levels, but I know player development isn't a term many of us are used to in watching UGA basketball.
Here's a list of some of the players since Calbert Cheaney. They might not have been elite, say like Billy Humphrey, but they are players who played for Knight and improved each year and maximized their ability:
*Brian Evans, Big Ten Player of the Year 1996, All-American
*AJ Guyton, Co-Big Big Ten Player of the 1999, First Team All-American
*A.J Moye, Dane Fife, Kirk Haston, Jeffrey Newton, Kyle Hornsby, Jared Jefferies committed to IU under Knight.
Sean May was on his way to IU.
The team that made the Final Four in 2001, do you think that Mike Davis sprinkled fairy dust on those kids and they suddenly learned how to play hard and smart?
Or as Fife said during the Final Four when asked what Coach Knight had taught the team, he pointed to his head, to his heart, and to his balls.
Sorry if the *balls* reference is too heavy-handed and offensive in light of those links in which Bobby Knight yells and says some really really bad things and I am sure hurts many blog readers sensitive feelings. By the way, have you ever heard Fabris or Gardner in practice? Or the legendary/myth/god Brian Van Gorder?
At Texas Tech, he took three kids in particular and made them all-conference performers and NBA picks. Kids who were not high school all-Americans.
*Andre Emmett, 3-Time all-Big 12
*Ronald Ross, all-Big 12
*Jarrius Jackson, all Big-12.
And you continually note that he failed to out-recruit Texas and Oklahoma. He failed to lure in the big time recruits to come to Lubbock, Texas. Have you ever been to Lubbock, Texas?
There's a much better discussion to take place about the relative merits of hiring Knight in 2009 given the state of our program and its specifics needs. But having Knight's name associated with our job opening is nothing if not positive PR for our program right now.
And this *faux-moral outrage* that Bobby Knight yells and once in 1985 threw a plastic chair and is therefore not able to get cozy with AAU coaches and *pimps* and is therefore not the coach we need, is laughable.
Did anyone see Bilas on Saturday when he railed against Bama and UGA for firing their coaches and asked (paraphrasing): "What kind of message are you sending to your players?"
Hopefully, the message is we will not settle for mediocrity at the school. I thought it was a lil' too over the top for Bilas, who I genuinely enjoy and respect as an analysts.
I have no problem with guys getting fired. What I have the real problem with is if you waited until after a signing period/major signing to fire a coach to ensure that the class he brought in stays. Imagine if Favors had committed? Would Damon have pulled the plug? Is that fair to Favors? I would much rather be successful with a new coach, than be a failure with the coach who recruited me.
I forgot that Johnny Dawkins had left for Stanford, because I'd love to get WoJo from Duke down here.
A college b-ball reporter for CBSSports.com notes ...
"Knight has no passion for recruiting, evidence being that I've never seen him at an AAU game in my entire life."
Ok so you say maybe this guy doesn't run in the same circles? These look like some good circles to be running within ...
"Understand, I'm on the AAU circuit every July, sitting in the bleachers next to Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Rick Pitino, Bill Self and everybody else in the world of college basketball."
Full Article: http://cookies.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/11331773/1
Jerome - Wow. I do not think that Bob Knight is the answer to our problems or a long term solution. But I want to applaud your post. It is the best Pro-Knight comment I have seen in two days. If everyone thought out their posts like this one, then these blogs might be useful. I'm still a fan of Anderson at Missou.
Knight lovers, explain his quitting on his team last year. In Bobby's world there are two sets of rules: one set for him and one set for everyone else.
Don't for a moment think that Bobby coaching in Athens would be all about Bobby and not about the best interests of Georgia basketball.
Somehow, taking on the college president over your outlandish behavior is supposed to end a good message? I don't care how many games he has won, the guy cannot control himself in public and will embarrass the university.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/basketball/ncaa/02/03/knight.timeline/
If you read this list, and you want Bobby Knight to coach at Georgia, you are an idiot. Enough said.
Anthony Grant is the future, Knight is an archaic dinosaur. We're being railroaded by ESPN.
how in the hell can we be worse off by hiring him??????
i for one would like SOME validity brought back to that dungeon we play in. if we keep playing in stegman he might be the best thing for us.
Just hiring Knight alone would bring more recruits to Ga than what we are used to.
Its not that anyone is appalled by his use of foul language, it's of his use of foul language while representing his employer in public at such events as press conferences.
Dude is an absolute clown who can't show 5% of the discipline or self restraint he teaches.
Anon 11:40, we would be worse off in looking like we sold the farm to a nutjob who will soon retire so we could win a few games right away.
It looks desperate, and kind of pathetic. Only outlaw sand desperate schools like Texas Tech, SMU, and UNLV hire these kind of people.
I think we need to have him give a motivational speech to our football team.
Hiring Bobby Knight after firing Felton is akin to hiring Pat Dye after Firing Goff.
Obviously a good coaches Obviously not the right time.
"ZOMG Grant is the Future!"
Hmmm, where have I heard that before. Oh yeah, it's the same thing you idiots were saying about Felton five years ago.
My god UGA fans are a bunch of retarded women still living in the 19th century. Knight curses?! O NOEZ!
"I'd rather lose with a guy like Richt than win with a guy like Meyer."
And it's exactly THAT kind of BS loser mentality that separates us from Florida. But hey, maybe if you know it alls prayed harder we could actually beat those heathen Gators! LMAO. "What would your wife think?" REALLY?!?!?!1
Is Texas Tech relevant right now? No. They are 11-10 overall and 1-5 in the Big XII. It will be the one year anniversary of his resignation from Texas Tech tomorrow.
So, while Bobby might turn Georgia into a winning team for a couple of years, he won't build the program to a sustainable status over a short-term, much less a long-term, horizon.
Let's please put this to bed.
Riiight "realist" because a little brother program in bumf--- TX is really comparable to the top program in the state with a basketball recruiting hotbed an hour up the road from the premier college town in the country. You just somehow "know" Knight will fail miserably in Athens, yet Anthony Grant is the next Donovan!
Did Jesus tell you geniuses that last little tidbit??? Grant is the chosen one! What happened to Felton??
Please Damon, End the online circular firing squad. Just come out and say Knight is not gonna wear the red and black.
I am not pro-Knight, but Bradley does not like Knight. He is selecting facts randomly to support his opinion.
Those in the pro-Knight camp, Vitale, Woodson and Bisher are doing the same thing.
My gut tells me that this really a "play" by Knight to let people know he is interested in coaching again. However, I don't think he is serious about coaching here. I think he left Texas Tech because he knew that he could not get back to the true national spotlight that he covets. No matter how good a coach he is.
Like or not, our team is Texas Tech. It will take monumental effort for a coach to get us to the national level. I think Knight is using us to set the stage for an entrance somewhere else similar to what is good friend Bill Parcells does each time.
In fact, I think if we offered he would pull a Parcells and use the offer to score a more attractive and lucrative deal at a campus with more a basketball environment.
I'm not going to waste time elaborating on my rationale for being against having Knight come to UGA. I'm just going to say that the day he steps foot on our campus is the day that I am no longer a Georgia hoops fan, plain and simple.
I never said Bobby would fail. I said he would not get the program to sustained success. And there is no evidence in his recent past to the contrary.
Thanks for responding to my comment, though, "Coach Knight."
It will not take any "monumental effort" to get UGA to the top level. Everything is in place to make UGA successful. All we need is a good coach that can get one or two kids to stay in state each year. The formula for success in Athens is not complicated. To say we are TT is not seeing the big picture.
rbubp, honestly do you think it can get any worse than it already is? the apathy, the snake pit of an arena, the embaressment that is uga basketball? this isn't a harrick situation, ie this isn't going to put us on probation. unless tubby would come back, the coach we'd get wouldn't last 3 years anyway.
Realist,
After a coach leaves a university, it is then up to said univerisity to maintain sustained success. It is not Knights problem that IU is not relevant anymore nor is it his fault that TT isn't. If Knight only agreed to coming there if his son was guaranteed the job when he left, it is still TT's problem for agreeing. His winning percentage is as good as anybody EVER. Here are his records at TT where he didn't recruit very well.
23-9, 10-6, NCAA 1st Round
22-13, 6-10, NIT Semis
23-11, 9-7, NCAA 2nd Round
22-11, 10-6, NCAA Sweet 16
15-17, 6-10, -
21-13, 9-7, NCAA 1st Round
12-8, 3-3, Retired Midseason
Looks like sustained success to me. Anything after he retires it would be our responsiblilty to hire the right guy to sustain success.
You can dislike someone for whatever reason, but he can coach, run a clean program and win. If you can't handle the language or the occassional chair toss then boo hoo.
Anon 2:48, if you think that having an honorable but inept coach is worse than getting headlines for punking the university through academic fraud, sexist statements, corrupt recruiting, or abusive treatment of students, then you're guilty of wanting to win at any cost.
Yes, Knight has been repeatedly, publicly, unrepentantly guilty of some of those, and yes, I personally think that would be worse than where we are now.
Anon 2:48, if you think that having an honorable but inept coach is worse than getting headlines for punking the university through academic fraud, sexist statements, corrupt recruiting, or abusive treatment of students, then you're guilty of wanting to win at any cost.
Yes, Knight has been repeatedly, publicly, unrepentantly guilty of some of those, and yes, I personally think that would be worse than where we are now.
The best arguments for Bob Knight seem to be that he will increase the profile of the basketball program. I have no doubt that he would do that for the 3-5 years he is here. The problem comes when he leaves. For all that he "increased the profile" of Texas Tech, look where they are today: 11-10 with 1 win in the Big 12. Hiring Bob Knight will buy a couple of NCAA tourney appearances, but it will put up back at square one when he leaves. Why not address the problem today and look for a more long-term solution given the resources we now have?
Anonymous 2:58,
Your point ignores the fact that continued success is in part dependent on what a coach leaves in the cupboard. All indications from Texas Tech are that he left the cupboard bare. UGA can't afford to start all over again in 3-5 years.
Anons 2:48 and 2:58:
Rbubp is right. A real and deep embarrassment would inevitably ensue with a Knight hire. Maybe not the Harrick-type embarrassment (violations; stupid exams), but without doubt the kind of embarrassment that would make you hold your breath every time you see a UGA Coach Knight in front of an interviewer's camera or screaming in the face of a kid.
Bob Knight just cannot stop himself from being a d'chebag - - he couldn't when his job depended on it at the University he loves and he wouldn't at one for which he would have no real loyalty.
Our basketball program problems are real. But good in-state recruiting is the primary cure. We need a pre-UGA Richt, not a pre-USC Spurrier.
We can do much better than a 68-year-old brat: (a) with a proven history of walking out on his team when he loses interest (a la Petrino); and (b) who, rather than sending a backchannel message to Damon and Adams to feel out their interest in him, launches his campaign for this job through an all-out media blitzkreig, then complains that no one from UGA has contacted him yet.
Simple litmus test: If you're the type of fan who would love to have Terrell Owens as the cornerstone of your rebuilding NFL team, then I bet you're one of the guys lobbying here for Knight. Me? I'll take a pass.
Give me a Jekyll (Richt), not a Hyde (Knight). Even though I'd probably rather have a beer with Hyde.
53-49 in conference play in 6 1/2 years. 4 NCAA appearances. Never finished above T-3rd in conference play.
He was a great coach. He may be able to turn Georgia into a winner. But, to me, he is like Terrell Owens. What he brings to the field/court is overshadowed by his off-field antics. He's not worth the headache. If he could come here and win national titles, then I would consider it. But, he won't.
Most of the kids he'll be coaching weren't alive when he last won a national title, and he hasn't been to a Final Four since 1992. Please put your blind homerism aside and try to envision where the program will be in five years.
The thing that gets me is that people are finally talking about UGA basketball and just because of Knight being interested in the coaching vacancy. It's nice to have something positive to talk about considering how abysmal this season has been. I personally don't want him, but I am glad that someone his stature sees the potential in our B-ball program.
The Realist,
Exactly -- He hasn't been to the Elite 8 in fifteen seasons, and he's only been to the Sweet 16 once.
If we were talking about winning titles or deep trips into the NCAAs, that's different. I'd put up with more.
But we're simply talking about "relevance"? I mean get serious.
Nate,
People talked about the girl that pooped herself, too. Does that mean we should hire her?
Hey Paul, Where do get the not a great recruiter in a long time, from? Even if he didn't recruit that good at TT, he won and that just means that he is a hell of a coach. Truly, I am on the fence,but I just think some of the excuses are funny.
This is ridiculous. I wish Evans would come out and put this rumor to death... because all these band wagon, sensationalist, hysterical lemmings are really starting to wear on the nerves of actual UGA basketball fans who have the best interests of the program at heart.
ESPN can go to hell too.
Remember the huge power struggle that went on between Adams and Dooley? As intimidated as Adams was by our first-class athletic director, who at times was forced to bite his tongue, it is inconceivable to even think Adams would be in the same room with BK, much less sign off on him being head BB coach. Besides, this hire will only affirm what we already know. Dooley's main attribute was as an administrator -- it wasn't a mistake that Damon was left with the keys to the castle.
I'm wary of anything ESPN does to try and "help" Georgia...
If Knight gets the job and fails, they will blame Georgia.
If he gets the job and does big things, they will take credit for it.
I will say this, if Knight gets the job (which I really believe he won't), it will be a lot easier to recruit players to Athens than to Lubbock.
I wish some of you anti-Knight folks would stop with the name-calling and implications of bandwagonism (I don't care if that's a word or not, I'm going with it) about Knight supporters. Personally, I was gung-ho about getting Knight when I first heard the report that he was interested, but, due in large part to the comments by Paul and some of the bloggers, I've become a fence-sitter on the issue.
There are good arguments to be made for and against Knight. But let's not call into question the fandom of those of us who hold a more positive opinion of Knight. We all love UGA and want to see it succeed, some of us just have differing views of how to get it done.
Elvis - how long have you watched UGA basketball? "Everything is in place" to be successful?
We just lack the most important ingredients Players and coaches.
Knight would be a major upgrade in terms of X's and O's over Felton. The are just a handful of coaches on his level who can coach and teach the game. Knight probably could take Felton's current roster and make us competitive in the conference.
But this is not a situation where Felton was recruiting top-talent but had a problem with the X's and O's or motivation of players.
Our inability to attract top-level talent is systemic and spans the coaching tenures of Felton's predecessors too.
We have had a grand total of ZERO McDonald's All-Americans who have matriculated as Freshman on campus since 1992. Carlos Strong was the last one. The last McDonald's AA to play for us was Damien Wilkins but transferred from NC ST.
Since '92 - GA Tech has had 6. Florida has had 9. Kentucky has had 11.
McDonald's AA are the life-blood of basketball talent. You can win without them, but look at the schools who have signed the most McDonald's AA's all time and it is a whose who.
Duke - 42 McDonald's AA
UCLA - 28
UNC - 53
Kansas - 26
Heck even Tech has signed 17, Michigan 17 and Florida 12.
We have had 9 all-time and the bulk of them came when Hugh Durham was coach.
Also, the guys from those schools - they also go to the NBA. 87% of the McDonald's AA from Tech have spent time in the NBA. That is a higher % than just about anyone with double digit All Americans.
We have no such track record. We do not send kids to the next level at half that rate.
I think facilities are an issue, but can be overcome by winning.
The next coach has to fix the recruiting problem and it is a monumental task for any coach. That is why I think this a Parcells-ian fake by Knight.
He wants back in. Our job is open - most everyone agrees that on its surface the job should be a great one. There is a talent pool and its close to a Top 10 media market. But I think he is toying with us like Parcells toyed with Arthur Blank.
Anon 6:56, you may be right. If so, you'd have also hit on exactly what Knight's problem is--it's never about the glory of the players, or winning for the Ol' State U., or anything other what Bob Knight can get for Bob Knight--everyone else be damned. If you are a student getting in his way, you will be abused. If you are an administrator getting in his way, you will be challenged. If you are a university getting in his way, you will be embarrassed.
(And if you are an ESPN analyst you will bow down kiss the arse of the master, exactly as he demands.)
But it is ultimately amazingly ironic that Knight is such a good coach of team basketball--because the man is an incredibly self-aggrandizing one-man show whose "teammates" are best left on the bench at all times.
Reid picks FSU
Those YouTube videos and recruiting remind me of a classic Knight quote:
"You're sitting there ... and you say 'Boy, I wouldn't want my son to play for him. Well, if you want your kid to be a goddamn success, you probably ought to want him to play for me." - Bob Knight
I'm pretty sure Knight would kill Albert Jackson...
IndianaDAWG- I've never seen that quote but it is awesome. I don't really know how I feel about Knight at UGA but I do know I like that quote.
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