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Knight speaks Fired Hoosiers coach tells his story, lambasts interviewer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Bob Knight wants to coach again "in the worst way." He's just not sure where yet. Knight, fired by Indiana for a pattern of "unacceptable" behavior, said Tuesday he was surprised by the school's decision but that perhaps it was time for him to move on. "I thought I'd stay here till I was done coaching," Knight told ESPN in a sometimes contentious interview broadcast live. "I haven't retired. I'm an unemployed teacher right now, and I'm looking for a place to teach. There are too many things that I have yet to explore about the game of basketball." Knight said he had thought about leaving Indiana, but his love of the basketball team was too strong.
"I probably should have gone somewhere else," he said. "There probably could have been someone else who was a better fit" because of changes in the administration over the years. In interviews on ESPN and in The Sporting News, Knight spoke about his future and his dismissal Sunday from a school where he won three national titles in three tumultuous decades. He repeated that he believed he did nothing wrong by grabbing a freshman's arm last week to give him a lecture about manners after the student, Kent Harvey, said, "Hey, what's up, Knight?" The coach also disputed some of the other reasons university president Myles Brand cited in firing him. Knight said he was most sorry to be leaving Bloomington because of all the golf, hunting and fishing the area offered. He also said he might take up an offer to help Isiah Thomas, a former Hoosiers star now coaching the Indiana Pacers. Since his dismissal, Knight had made only one brief public appearance, in Bloomington to speak to students who were protesting his firing. He said he planned to talk to students again Wednesday. "We're going to move," Knight told The Sporting News, referring to his wife, Karen. "And that'll be difficult. I've been here since 1971 and I really like the area. I can play golf, I can catch 50 bluegill in an hour, I can go turkey hunting. The place has fit my lifestyle. "Now that's all wiped out, and I feel worse about that than not having the coaching job." On ESPN, he often chastised interviewer Jeremy Schaap for what he considered interruptions as he was answering questions. At one point, he told Schaap, son of veteran sportswriter and broadcaster Dick Schaap: "You got a long way to go to be as good as your dad, you better keep that in mind." Knight, whose replacement, assistant Mike Davis, was announced Tuesday, said he wanted to coach again "in the worst way" but that he might not be right for every team. In July, he was contacted by Delaware for recommendations for its head coaching job. Later, Knight said, he thought that he perhaps should have asked about the job for himself. (The school hired David Henderson, who had been a Duke assistant). "Delaware really appealed to me," he told The Sporting News. As for the Pacers' job, Knight would be reunited with Thomas, who led the 1981 Hoosiers to a national title. Thomas has invited Knight to join him on the Pacers' bench as an assistant coach, and Knight said he would be willing to do so on a limited basis. "Isiah called me and I told him, 'All you have to do is ask. I don't know what kind of commitment I want to make, but if you want me to come to practice, evaluate players, do some scouting, just ask,'" Knight told The Sporting News.
Brand said Knight violated a zero-tolerance policy that had been in place since May. But Knight said he was never told exactly what "zero-tolerance" meant and denied Brand had any substantive reason to fire him. Knight said Brand cited him for refusing to make public appearances for the university. But Knight said he already had appeared at two alumni functions and had two other appearances scheduled. Thousands of boisterous and sometimes unruly students marched on campus Sunday night. They finally dispersed after Knight appeared and promised to meet with students. That apparently will happen Wednesday in a student forum sponsored by the campus newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student. A site has not been determined, editor Jeff Shireman said Tuesday. Knight said another episode cited by Brand, verbal abuse of a university lawyer, occurred during a conference about the $30,000 fine levied against him by Brand in May. The lawyer indicated the fine would be paid by reducing his salary, affecting Knight's retirement benefits. Knight said he expected the amount to be deducted from his pay. Knight said he used no profanity and did not raise his voice during the meeting. He added that he had hoped to win a fourth championship at Indiana, but prized recruits left the program and his teams struggled. "There was a time when I would never have dreamed that I'd
coach anywhere but Indiana University, but things have changed,"
he told The Sporting News. "The leadership of this university has
changed. My inability to get along with the athletic director -- all
that. I began to think, 'I've been here a long time.'"
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