11/05/24
January 01, 2007
Knight gets win No. 880, passing Smith: The greatest coach in mens B-Ball history.
posted by livewire to basketball at 01:10 PM - 17 comments
I guess i am a little biased with the greatest coach thing being a long time IU fan.
posted by livewire at 01:54 PM on January 01, 2007
Obviously, the Tag-line is typical editorial license and refers only to the number of victories. Is Bobby Knight the greatest coach ever? Absolutely not! (I think John Wooden rightfully deserves that honor with Dean Smith getting "Honorable Mention") Now, all that being said, I do however feel that whether you like Bobby Knight or hate him, you still need to acknowledge his coaching acumen over a long and succesful career. Congratulations Bobby! and keep on rockin! (and this is coming from a Wisconsin resident whose teams suffered at the hands of Knight's Indiana teams on many occasions!)
posted by R_A_Mason at 02:11 PM on January 01, 2007
The greatest winningest coach in mens B-Ball history. Okay, back to beer and football.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 02:29 PM on January 01, 2007
The most important aspect of Bob Knight as a coach is not the number of wins. Rather, it is the character of the athletes he chose for his teams. I don't have any statistics handy to which to refer, but I think I read someplace that his teams have a higher graduation rate than those of any other coach. His players also were the type who did not get themselves into off-court troubles. It's too bad that, in the age of political correctness, some university officials couldn't look beyond the incidents of bad temper and recognize what Knight's real contributions are.
posted by Howard_T at 03:44 PM on January 01, 2007
Is he the greatest college b-ball coach of all time? Probably not, though with this win he officially gets to sit at the table with the likes of Dean Smith, John Wooden, Pat Summitt, John Chaney, I'm sure there are a couple of others. Once he developed his reputation, a certain type of player tended to go to his program, and it wasn't the kind of player who wanted the short track to the NBA. I get the feeling that he attracted the kids who had a lot of potential, who wanted to (oor who had the capacity for) doing something other than basketball with their lives, but who had decent skills and just needed some guidance to get through college. There are many of those kids, and Knight did more with them than any other coach. That's why his graduation rates are so high, and why he's managed to stick around and do well-enough for long enough to win 880 games. Despite wat the sportswriters he's dissed over the years might say to cut him down, his accomplishments kind of speak for themselves.
posted by chicobangs at 04:26 PM on January 01, 2007
I have been a fan of Coach Knight's for 25 years, I couldn't be happier for him. Congrats Coach!
posted by SAVANX at 08:10 PM on January 01, 2007
If you want to judge a coach by what he gets out of his players, there is no better coach in any sport than Bobby Knight. Dean Smith's teams were consistently underachievers.
posted by FishingDr at 04:12 AM on January 02, 2007
no better coach in any sport You might want to go here before you make a claim like that. All told, the Tar Heels are 602-27-18 in the 27-year history of the program, a shocking winning percentage of .944 percent. No other college program has even come anywhere close to matching that record -- ever.
posted by FonGu at 05:28 AM on January 02, 2007
There is more to greatness than winning. People like Knight (and his fans) will never get that, though.
posted by rushmc at 07:50 AM on January 02, 2007
Dean Smith's teams were consistently underachievers. Care to give some examples?
posted by yerfatma at 08:07 AM on January 02, 2007
There is more to greatness than winning. People like Knight (and his fans) will never get that, though. My impression is that he understands that role better than most, Messrs. Smith and Wooden included.
posted by chicobangs at 09:24 AM on January 02, 2007
Having the most wins is no exoneration for past poor behavior. Past poor behavior is also no indictment on having the most wins. Knight has past a milestone and should get credit for having done so, but it is not based on anymore than a number.
posted by Familyman at 11:07 AM on January 02, 2007
There is more to greatness than winning. People like Knight (and his fans) will never get that, though. This couldn't be further from the truth. I've had the privilege of meeting Coach Knight on several occasions from the years that I attended Indiana University. The man isn't the most outwardly nice person you'll ever meet, but he does understand what it takes to be a great player, and, more important, a great student and person.
posted by lex2000 at 03:34 PM on January 02, 2007
Having the most wins is no exoneration for past poor behavior. No one was giving him a pass for his past behavior. However, name one coach who hasn't exhibited "poor behavior" even once in their career. Name one coach who hasn't grabbed a player or gotten in their face to get them focused or fired up. People tend to overemphasize a few situations where Knight lost his cool and just never forgive or forget about them. If you don't get on a player's back once in a while they're not going to learn and they're not going to be effective.
posted by lex2000 at 03:40 PM on January 02, 2007
being involved in athletics for over twenty years i have been around coaches who have never ever grabbed a player what so ever.. there is never ever any need to physically grab a player to get his attention or to get him to play better.. let alone just a regular student like Knight did.. you can get more out of a player by talking to him not down to him
posted by cuabigdog at 08:02 PM on January 03, 2007
A late comment, I live in Lubbock TX and sports especially Texas Tech sports is king and Bob Knight could hang a plyer on the floor as long as he wins, and yes we had to suffer the Novelet sized section in the paper etc. Yall didnt hear about the incident in the local restraunt between him and the former Chancelor having a food fight at the salad bar. Knight is a jerk. And yes he had an incedint here if it had been my son he would have been coaching 880 from UMC
posted by snackman312 at 06:17 PM on January 21, 2007
I wouldn't say greatest coach in NCAA men's history. There are coaches who have better winning percentages (like Smith) and coaches with more titles (John Wooden). Knight has been very successful but I'm not ready to name him the greatest coach ever. Also, here is a non-Yahoo link.