|
|
 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Knight to Texas Tech not farfetched
Texas Tech? I know what you're thinking. This can't be serious, right? Well, think again. If the Red Raiders have indeed offered Bob Knight their head-coaching position, as several outlets are reporting, the job has a number of positives (and, assuredly, some negatives) for Knight to consider. On the plus side, Texas Tech is in a major conference (the Big 12), has a nice new facility (the United Spirit Arena) and is located in Lubbock, a small market where Knight would be able to manipulate the local media -- which was the only reason he lasted so long in Bloomington, Ind., in the first place. Knight could bring in his son, Pat, as an assistant, and continue pursuing Dean Smith's record for career victories by a coach. Most important, though, the Texas Tech administration would surely give Knight the free pass that, in the end, Indiana refused to grant him. In the months since his firing, Knight has saved his harshest vitriol for Hoosiers athletic director Clarence Doninger and president Myles Brand, who had the temerity to stand up to the Hall of Fame coach. There would be no such friction between Knight and Texas Tech AD Gerald Myers. The two men have been friends for years. When Myers was coaching at Texas Tech, his teams twice traveled to Indiana for the Hoosiers' Christmas tournament, and only two years ago Knight brought his club to Lubbock for the opening game of the new arena. Working "under" Myers would certainly be an lure for the old coach. Not everything about the Texas Tech job would be ideal, of course. For starters, the Red Raiders were terrible this season, finishing 9-19 and in last place in the Big 12. Knight would be lucky to finish above .400 his first year. What's more, recruiting would be tougher than it was for Knight in Indiana, where his pitch was getting less and less effective every year anyway. It's not that Texas lacks talent. It's just that most of it is in cities -- cities like Dallas, which has produced Kenyon Martin, Desmond Mason and Larry Johnson. Bob Knight is not a city recruiter. Nor are the Texas hinterlands stocked with many blue-chip hoopsters. And do you think Knight could convince Indiana schoolboys to come all the way out to Lubbock? Didn't think so. Then there's the isolation issue. While Knight would be better off in a smaller market, Lubbock (a North Texas town about 300 miles equidistant from Oklahoma City, Dallas, Austin, El Paso and Albuquerque) might as well be in Siberia. At least Knight would have a full set of 13 scholarships at his disposal, four more than Texas Tech has had since getting hit with NCAA sanctions five years ago. And it's not like the Red Raiders are totally bereft of any basketball history. Remember 1995-96, when Texas Tech (featuring future NBAers Tony Battie, Darvin Ham, Jason Sasser and Cory Carr ) went 30-2 and eliminated North Carolina in the NCAA tournament to reach the Sweet 16? Who knows if Knight will take the job? We'll learn more in the coming days, but this much is true: Texas Tech has more to offer Knight than most people would ordinarily think. Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl covers college basketball for the
magazine and is a regular contributor to
CNNSI.com.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
