When He Talks They Know He Means It

Steve Alford spent six seasons--including summer competitions--with Indiana Coach Bob Knight, which qualifies him for one of two things: combat pay or a reason to write a book. Alford chose to write.

He makes no excuses for his sanitized recollections of Knight, saying early in “Playing for Knight,” written with John Garrity, that he wants kids to be able to read it without needing parental approval. Still, Alford does try otherwise to offer Knight as Knight.

Writes Alford in recalling one incident at a practice during the pre-Olympic tour of 1984:

“The guy I felt sorry for was (Wayman) Tisdale. Coach was on his case constantly, screaming, ‘Wayman!’ so often that some of the players mimicked the cry when he was out of earshot. At a practice in Greensboro (N.C.), Coach suddenly stopped play and with a pen put a big X on the floor, then the date--marking the spot, he said, ‘where Wayman Tisdale hustled.’

“ ‘When I get back to Oklahoma,’ Wayman joked, ‘I’m going to hug every mean person I used to think was mean.’ ”

Add Knight: “Most people find it hard to believe, but at Indiana the players have a big say about who’ll they have as teammates,” Alford writes. “When a recruit came to Bloomington on an official visit, Coach talked to him briefly, but then the players took over. . . .

“When he was gone, the coaches would come to us for a report. ‘What’s the kid like? How is he as a person?’ They already knew what he could do as an athlete. They wanted to know, was he a person of good character or was he a bad actor? Someone with ego problems or someone who could get along with the players we already had?

“People have always wondered why Coach Knight doesn’t get all the great players who come out of Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. They assume it’s because recruits are scared of Coach and won’t sign, but it’s often because the players already there give them the thumbs down.”

Trivia time: What NBA player has the highest shooting percentage in postseason play, with a minimum of 150 shots made? Hint: He will be in the playoffs again this week, but not with the team he is most associated with.

The Bronx Bummers: The New York Yankees, an organization rich in the history of power hitters, have had only two players lead the American League in home runs since 1970, and none since 1980. Reggie Jackson did it that year, and Graig Nettles did it in 1976.

Trivia answer: Kurt Rambis of the Phoenix Suns, at 57.6%.

Quotebook: Chicago Bull announcer Johnny Kerr, on 7-foot-4 Mark Eaton of the Utah Jazz: “If you go to the movies with him, you get in for half price.”