"Knight School"

[OldDad]

Did anyone happen to catch "Knight School" on ESPN?  It was on Sunday night, but I TiVo'd it and watched it last night.

16 students are competing for one spot as a walk on for the Texas Tech basketball team, under the tutelage and supervision of the General and his staff. I think 3 or 4 hopefuls will be eliminated each episode.

It was quite entertaining and my basketball crazy 13 year old said he wouldn't mind playing for Knight.

OD

[boringoldguy]

The General should have spent a little more time concentrating on his real team this year, in my opinion.

[OldDad]

They're a little better than .500 aren't they?  I seem to recall he doesn't have any seniors on the roster this year either.

I had heard he had taken some heat over an excessive amount of commercials and endorsements.

OD

[extranos]

As a lifelong IU fan, and a real admirer of BK, it was really hard to see him get forced out of Bloomington.  On the other hand, he seemed to have become a caricature of his former self.  Mixed emotions, to be sure.  It doesn't help that Mike Davis is a great guy and a lousy coach.
I'd still take Bobby back at IU, though he'd never come back.
I watched most of the show (it's on the DVR like OD) and found it to be pretty interesting.  I'd like to play for BK, but unfortunately, I'm 42 years old now.

[Cliftyman]

I've always thought Bobby Knight was a despicable individual, I don't care how good hey knows the game... anybody that would verbally and physically abuse their son is pretty pathetic...

Of course that might just be my blue-blood doing the talking.

[boringoldguy]

So this year his team has a lacklustre season, loses in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament,   misses the NCAA  (Texas A&M is going, for crying out loud) and he's making TV commercials where he throws a chair around.

I'm not amused.

[OldDad]

We live pretty much in Boilermaker country, but when you get a little south of Indy, you start to see tons of Texas Tech sweatshirts, caps, and bumperstickers.

Of course, with Indy hosting the final Four, and the general hoop hysteria in the state it's not surprising that there is a tremendous amount of hype and promotion going on right now.

And guess whose image pops up in almost every commercial and promotional spot?  I'll give you a hint: He hasn't coached in this state for 5 years, and his team isn't in the tournament being promoted!

Oh well, being a "throwback" myself, I've always liked Knight.  Don't agree with all his ways, but I like the fact that he can make functional, contributing ballplayers out of the marginal kid with a lot of heart.  He's always seemed like a basketball version of Coach Bryant to me in that regard.

The realities of the contemporary game may have passed him by, but I'm not sure that the "realities" are healthy.

OD

[boringoldguy]

I just don't think not making the tournament is something a coach ought to be joking about.

If he thinks a mediocre season is funny,  maybe he's not the guy you want coaching your team.

And I think he may be only too caught up in the new "realities" of college sports - endorsements, TV shows,  etc.