Knight embarrasses himself again

WEEK AT A GLANCE Bob Knight had avoided trouble for most of his time at Texas Tech. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Starting five Stewart Mandel's top players and coach in the country over the past week: Coach: Stew Morrill, Utah State Has the Aggies at 17-1 and ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1971. Center: Paul Davis, Michigan State Scored 32 points, including 10 of 12 free throws, in the Spartans' win over Indiana. Forward: Justin Reed, Ole Miss Notched 32 points, grabbed 11 rebounds in an upset of first place South Carolina. Forward: Nigel Wyatte, Wagner Scored 23 points and grabbed 21 boards in a win over Quinnipiac. Guard: Nate Robinson, Washington Five-foot-9 football player dropped 31 points on Arizona in a stunning upset. Guard: Aaron Miles, Kansas The point guard has dished out 31 assists over his past three games. Next up Three must-see games this week: Louisville at Memphis Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET It?s always entertaining when Rick Pitino and John Calipari square off. Duke at North Carolina Thursday, 9 p.m. ET Roy Williams looks to end Devils' win streak in his Duke-UNC debut. Kansas at Oklahoma State Monday, 9 p.m. ET With first place in the Big 12 on the line, and Gallagher-Iba will be loud. Court matters Three burning questions that could be answered this week: Is Arizona a fraud? Grossly superior talent hasn't kept the 'Cats from losing to USC and Washington; what will happen at Stanford? Can Florida get back in the hunt? The iconsistent Gators, 4-3 in the SEC, host divisional rivals Kentucky and Vanderbilt this week. Will Saint Joseph's stay unbeaten? Barring a major upset, a home game against 17-3 Dayton may be the Hawks' lone remaining obstacle.

I must confess, I lost the office pool. I had six months.

In the end, it took nearly three years in Lubbock for Bob Knight to have the inevitable meltdown that Texas Tech signed on for the day it sold its soul to the devil -- or at least someone resembling him -- in the name of basketball glory.

Oh, sure, there have been ample hints of his old self all along the way -- his frivolous feud with Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson; his stubborn refusal to attend a national ethics seminar for coaches last fall; his profanity-laced interview with ESPN's Fran Fraschilla in December.

All of those were appetizers, however, to the main course he delivered at the Market Street salad bar in Lubbock, embarrassing himself yet again with his child-like behavior.

And to think it ensued because someone had the audacity to compliment him on, of all things, his behavior.

Admittedly, what we know about Knight's spat with university chancellor David R. Smith at this point is based entirely on second-hand accounts, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to connect the dots. Smith, intentionally or not, said something that Knight took as an insult. Knight, instead of handling the situation the way one might expect of a distinguished 62-year-old man in a high-profile position, did what he always does: pick a fight ... this time with the president of the university!

Think about that for a second. If your boss -- actually your boss' boss -- said something to you that rubbed you the wrong way -- what would you do? What could you do? Either vent to your friends and co-workers or take out your anger on some nearby inanimate object. If it really, really bugged you, maybe you'd go talk to said boss' boss later and politely express your concerns.

Knight, however, does not play by the same rules as the rest of the human race when it comes to dealing with authority, and so, probably instinctively, he went after Smith. If not for the presence of his friend, Texas Tech AD Gerald Myers, who allegedly restrained Knight from pursuing the matter further, we probably would have had an incident on our hands that made Neil Reed look like a love tap.

Anyone else in any other line of work, and the consequences wouldn't require much thought. His belongings would be packed in boxes by the time he returned from lunch, or at the very least he'd be facing a long suspension.

But it's not that simple.

For all his faults -- don't believe the "he prepares young men for life" nonsense -- Knight's a disgusting, disgusting person, and that's that. Well almost. Knight is also darn good basketball coach. After years spent in basketball oblivion, Texas Tech is well on its way to its third straight postseason berth. The arena is packed every night and fan enthusiasm couldn't be higher.

It's hard to feel too much sympathy for Tech officials. They knew what they were getting the day they signed Knight on the dotted line. Knight talked a good game about changing his ways, and publicly there's no question he's been more restrained in Lubbock, but it seems clear he never had any intention of changing anything. Behind the scenes, he's had numerous run-ins with media and others throughout his time there that have been just as ugly, if not uglier, than any of his most infamous Indiana moments.

And so, the school faced a dilemma Tuesday. Do you give in to the bully and look the other way, as Indiana did for nearly 30 years? Or, do you take this opportunity to lay down the law, keeping in mind that if you do the latter, the overly touchy Knight isn't likely to sit back and take his punishment like a man? That he might just pack his bags and skip town?

Indications late Tuesday were that the school backed off an initial plan to suspend him. Potential crisis diverted.

But they can rest assured that as long as Knight is employed there, a crisis will always be waiting just around the corner. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, and you can't teach Bob Knight to respect another person.

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.