See, good things do happen to bad people.
In the proud tradition of Michael Jackson selling tons of records, Barry Bonds closing in on baseball's home-run record and even old man Potter being filthy rich in It's a Wonderful Life, college basketball has a new coaching king. Unfortunately, it's the same guy who threw a chair across the court, tries to physically intimidate officials, tries to bully the media, mentally and physically abuses his players and even got into a fight at a salad bar with a school chancellor. Yep, take a bow, Bobby Knight. You've got the record, but you'll never get our respect.
The Texas Tech coach is the most despicable strand of homo sapien: the undisciplined disciplinarian. He head-butts players and violently grabs the chin of another, then deflects blame onto the media for having the nerve to report it. Knight won his 880th game on New Year's Day, then celebrated in a style that mimicked his selfish, brooding career. Addressing the Lubbock fans with a backdrop of Frank Sinatra's "My Way," Knight said, "I don't expect you people to have agreed with what I've done -- and, if I did care, I would have asked your opinion. And I have never asked the opinions of very many."
Warm and fuzzy yet? If not, after the jump there's a video featuring even more of Knight's historic pronouncements.
Knight is a great basketball coach. His motion offenses and defensive intensity have helped shape the sport during a 41-year career highlighted by three national championships at Indiana. He's also never broken NCAA rules, maintained a high graduation rate and three years ago refunded half his salary to Tech when his team failed to meet expectations. It's too bad, because with Knight the bad outweighs the good.
Larry Bird refused to play for him at Indiana. My son would never play for him at Texas Tech. Enjoy your record, Bobby. In the end, it may be all you have. --Richie Whitt
Bonus Video: ESPN recalls the Top 10 Bobby Knight soundbites of all time.
