Reconsideration Came Fast for Knight

Officially, it took Billy Knight two days to realize he didn’t want to transfer from UCLA after all, the time that passed between his telling Coach Steve Lavin he was leaving the team because of a lack of playing time and his calling and asking to take it all back. Unofficially, it was more like hours.

“I saw the game on TV and just realized they needed extra players to help out,” Knight said of last Thursday’s Purdue contest, played about 24 hours after his meeting with Lavin. “To leave in the middle of the season was selfish. I acted out of frustration.”

The Bruins were understanding. Lavin waited for the team to meet again after the two-day New Year’s break, asked the players Sunday what they thought of Knight’s being allowed back, and got a resounding positive response. So the sophomore swingman, who had played five minutes or less in four of the five games preceding the decision to transfer, became a member in good standing again and has practiced ever since.

“I had to just take a couple days and see the big picture,” Knight said. “I’m going to graduate next year, so I had to think about my academic status. And I have a lot of friends here.”

Said Lavin, “The only reason there wasn’t any surprise was that I knew how well-liked he is by our players and our coaching staff and our entire athletic department. I told him if he was not such a great person and didn’t come from such a great family and didn’t have the track record he had, he might not have gotten a second chance.”

Knight started the season opener and played 21, 15, 16 and 19 minutes the first four games. But his average is now down to 12.6.