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A new Knight Lukas thinks Indiana coach will rise to occasion
Posted: Tuesday May 16, 2000 06:52 PM
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Now that his pal Bob Knight is staying at Indiana, D. Wayne Lukas expects the coach to "take the high road" and conform to the school's strict conduct code. "He's got pretty good control of himself. You will be very surprised," the Hall of Fame trainer said Tuesday from Pimlico, where he will saddle High Yield in Saturday's Preakness. "He will probably be a much better coach and have a much different approach." "I think he will probably prepare himself mentally to go into a press conference and take the high road and stick to it," Lukas added. "I think he won't like it a lot, but he'll get through it." Lukas said he has spoken with Knight by telephone several times the past few weeks, discussing the coach's temper and how he can best handle future situations. Although Lukas is a model of decorum for the most part, he can understand how someone can lose control. "I have a little of the in me, too," Lukas said. "I know some days during the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup some guys rub me the wrong way." Lukas said he last spoke to Knight on Sunday, the day before Indiana president Myles Brand suspended the coach for three games in the 2000-01 season and fined him $30,000. Knight, accused of choking a player in 1997, also faces a "zero-tolerance policy" in which he will be fired immediately if he crosses the line again. "I was glad to see he took the position that he was going to accept the sanctions that were issued," Lukas said. "Bobby sometimes can bow his neck and say the heck with it and not accept it." Lukas, a former basketball coach himself, said the public will see a new Knight next season. "Bob is a highly intelligent guy and he's capable of making that adjustment," Lukas said. "And I think it can very well help him."
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