Revved Raider

The question isn’t only whether Bob Knight has changed.

It’s whether he feels he needs to.

“I’m not sure why I’d want to change,” Knight said the other day, reeling off the list of his accomplishments in a way not only unnecessary but somehow unbecoming for a Hall of Fame coach.

There were the three national championships at Indiana, of course--in 1976, 1981 and 1987--the high graduation rates, the virtually unblemished record of NCAA rules compliance.

“So you tell me why I’ve got to change,” Knight said as he sat courtside in a red v-neck after practice in the Texas Tech arena that, oddly enough, sits on Indiana Avenue. “Why do I need to change?”

There is a list that goes with that question too.

Leave it at the well-known final straws--a 1997 videotape of Knight grabbing the neck of Indiana player Neil Reed, and the episode that led to his firing last year for violating a “zero-tolerance” policy by seizing a student by the arm to lecture him on etiquette for saying, “What’s up, Knight?”

Is all that behind now that Knight has found a home under the big West Texas sky?

“Let’s just wait and see,” Knight said. “If I have to stop some kid and teach him a lesson in courtesy again, I’ll do it tomorrow.... If that’s an incident, then I’d do that tomorrow.”

That is not quite the spirit that seems necessary to carry him through his stint in this city of 200,000 that will serve as the Last Chance Saloon for one of the greatest and surely the most controversial coach in college basketball history.

But he is back in the setting where he has had both his finest and his foulest moments: on a basketball court.

“You’ll get a hell of a lot more done reversing the ball than dribbling it,” he instructed his team during a Texas Tech practice last week, a few days after 9,400 turned out for a first glimpse of Knight coaching the team at Midnight Madness.”Ability has nothing to do with you being a player. Not the first thing!”

“He’s eating you alive!”

“Who’s got him? How’d he get so open?”

After Knight arrived in March, four players were either dismissed or chose to leave the team, but those who remain seem caught up in what they consider the privilege of playing for him.

“There’s always those people who are going to say what they have to say about him,” senior center Andy Ellis said. “But those people haven’t been around him. Once you’re around him, you understand he’s a great guy and an awesome coach. ...

“He’s great out there on the court. You just listen. Take what he’s saying and not how he’s saying it. And try to correct your mistakes. He doesn’t want to put up with your screwing up the same thing more than once. He’ll give you one time, but when he corrects it, you need to fix it.”

Ellis inherited Knight as coach after James Dickey was fired last season.

Will Chavis, a slight point guard who transferred from Panola (Texas) Junior College, chose him.

“I had an opportunity to play under Coach Knight, and I knew he was one of the best coaches of all time. I couldn’t pass it up,” Chavis said.

Let it be said that Knight--his own protestations aside--does at times seem different. He turns 61 today, and looks refreshed, no longer angry and tired.

He raves about Lubbock in a way that sometimes seems to perplex even its citizens, praising the hospitality of the locals, the weather and the absence of traffic.

“I’ve got enough invitations to go hunting that I don’t have a life span long enough to take them up,” Knight said.

He was even charming on his many fund-raising outings--most of them with women’s Coach Marsha Sharp, with whom he has formed what some would consider an unlikely alliance given his dismissive attitude toward the Indiana women’s team.

In Lubbock last week, 975 waited in a long line outside a Civic Center exhibition hall to pay $20 each to eat tamales and refried beans off paper plates and hear Knight and Sharp speak.

The traveling road show drew 600 in Odessa, 700 in Amarillo, 800 in Houston, 1,175 in Dallas, 400 in Austin and 200 for an invitation-only event in Midland.

It is Sharp who has been the basketball royalty in town until now. Her 1993 team won the national championship, Sheryl Swoopes became the school’s most prominent player--and before this season, more season tickets were sold for the women’s team than the men’s.

Now Knight and Sharp have formed a pact to try to make Texas Tech, with a striking 15,000-seat arena that is still only a few years old, the highest-drawing men’s and women’s program in the country. (Tennessee and Connecticut are the obvious competition.)

“We want to make this absolutely the greatest arena in America to play college basketball, women’s teams and men’s,” Knight told boosters last week. “When a team leaves Lubbock and the kids are talking to each other, we want them to say, ‘I wish I could play in front of fans as enthusiastic and supportive as Texas Tech fans are.”’

Sharp praises Knight for his cooperation and support. She knows it is not what people expected.

“I wish I had a dollar bill for every person in America that has asked me questions about Coach Knight since last March,” she said. “We’d have enough money to fund the entire athletic department.”

Athletic Director Gerald Myers, the former basketball coach and friend of Knight’s for three decades who spearheaded his hiring, is pleased.

“He’s been great. He has done everything I’ve asked him to,” Myers said.

Also more than satisfied is Texas Tech President David Schmidly, who had to quell a mild faculty protest that resulted in a petition against Knight’s hiring last spring. He urged the faculty to withhold judgment and give Knight a chance to boost an athletic program that has struggled financially and turn around a team coming off four consecutive losing seasons.”He’s been so positive. He’s been an absolute delight,” Schmidly said. “There probably is still some opposition. It’s been extremely quiet. I suppose everyone is waiting to see how the season plays out.”

That is the question.

It is not so much the record the remnants of a 9-19 team can muster as how Knight will handle himself, both with his team and in the public eye.

The media Knight believes persecutes him might not often visit West Texas.

Nevertheless, there will be dramatically increased coverage of Red Raider basketball. Last season, none of the games were broadcast nationally. Now that Knight has arrived, more than half of Texas Tech’s games will be on national TV--11 on ESPN, two on Fox Sports Net, one on CBS and one on ABC.

Schmidly said he doesn’t expect any “so-called incidents.”

“I would be completely flabbergasted if it turned out to be the case,” he said. “Now, will Coach Knight after a rough game have a rough interview with a reporter? Probably so.”

Despite the past, Knight has no special conduct clause in his contract.

“There’s a conduct clause in all our coaches’ contracts,” Schmidly said. “Marsha Sharp has the same clause. So do [football Coach] Mike Leach and [baseball Coach] Larry Hays.

“Fundamentally, it says if they do anything to harm the institution or harm any of our players, you can take appropriate action. The important point is it’s the same clause for everyone.”

“Zero tolerance” is not on the agenda at Texas Tech, but neither is carte blanche, Schmidly said.

“Probably the one thing that would concern me the most would be any of our coaches doing anything physical to a player. We couldn’t have that.”

As for the video of Knight with his hands around the neck of an Indiana player, Schmidly said “that may have been a one-time anomaly,” and added that he talked to many former Indiana players before Knight was hired.

“I sense this: He’s very excited about having a fresh start. I think this has renewed his enthusiasm for coaching.

“I heard Coach Knight was profane. I’ve heard very little profanity since he’s been here,” Schmidly said. “I’ve been out to these practices and never heard so much as the word ‘hell.”’

Whether “hell” still counts as profanity in American society is debatable. Whether Knight still uses it in practice is not, even a 10-minute visit can prove.

Changed? Knight contends he is who he is.

“I did an interview with John Thompson, the former Georgetown coach, on the radio the other day and John said, ‘You know, the one thing I hope you never do is change. We don’t need less of you, we need more of you,”’ Knight said.

“And I said, ‘Well, John, let me explain it by telling you this: The farmer went out to talk to his apple tree. And he told the apple tree that for 40 years the apple tree had given him red apples. And he was tired of red apples. He wanted green apples. And the tree looked down at the farmer and said, “The best thing I do is red apples. So if you want green apples, you’re going to have to get another tree.”’

Texas Tech has planted Knight on its campus, despite the scrutiny, despite the risk.

“They didn’t have to face anything,” Knight said.

“They had to face a guy who’s never had an NCAA violation. That’s had the highest graduation rate in America, that’s won three national championships, that’s coached an Olympic champion and a Pan American champion, and they had to hire a guy that really has a love for the people that have played for him.

“Now, what the hell else did I need?”

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Chronology

Events in the career of new Texas Tech basketball Coach Bob Knight:

1971--Completes six-year head coaching stint at Army with 102-50 overall record, including four NIT appearances.

1972--In first season at Indiana, goes 17-8. Loses to Princeton 68-60 in NIT.

1973--Finishes season with Final Four appearance, a 70-59 loss to UCLA. Season record of 22-6, 11-3 in Big Ten (conference champions).

1975--Team goes 31-1, 18-0 in Big Ten. Loses to Kentucky, 92-90, in regional final . Upset over two turnovers in a Big Ten game, Knight grabs sophomore Jim Wisman by the jersey and jerks him into his seat.

1976--Team goes 32-0, wins NCAA championship. (Last major college men’s basketball team to go undefeated.)

1979--Wins NIT championship. Coaches the United States to a gold medal in the Pan American Games at Puerto Rico. Is charged, and later tried and convicted in absentia for hitting a policeman before practice at the Pan Am Games, although extradition efforts are later dropped.

1981--Wins NCAA championship with a 63-50 win over North Carolina. Gets involved during Final Four in a hotel shoving match with a Louisiana State fan who said Knight stuffed him in a garbage can.

1982--Loses in second round of NCAA tournament to finish 19-10. Ohio State guard Troy Taylor says Knight cursed him after he thought Taylor flagrantly fouled a player. Knight denies the charge and sent films of what happened to the Big Ten and Ohio State. Ohio State later supports Knight.

1983--Advances to NCAA tournament round of 16. Criticizes Big Ten officiating by standing at midcourt and cursing at Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke, who is in the press box. Two days later, Knight assails the referees for the “worst officiating I have seen in 12 years.”

1984--Coaches the United States to a gold medal in the Summer Olympics at Los Angeles.

1985--Tosses a chair across the court during a game against Purdue, prompting his ejection and one-game suspension by the Big Ten.

1986--Receives technical foul for shouting at the officials during a game against Illinois, then kicks a megaphone and admonishes Indiana cheerleaders for disrupting a free-throw attempt by Steve Alford. Loses in first round of NCAA tournament.

1987--Wins NCAA championship with a 74-73 victory over Syracuse. Earlier in the tournament, bangs fist on the scorer’s table after being assessed a technical foul during a game against LSU. The university is fined $10,000 by the NCAA and Knight receives a reprimand. Refuses to let his team finish an exhibition game against the Soviet Union after he was ejected for arguing with a referee and is later reprimanded by the university.

1988--In an NBC interview with Connie Chung, who asked how he handles stress, Knight replies: “I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.” He later explains he was talking about something beyond one’s control, not the act of rape. The remark triggers protests and a march of about 300 people on campus.

1989--Wins 500th game with a 92-67 victory over Northwestern, at age 48 the second-youngest coach to reach that milestone. Finishes 27-8 and loses in NCAA round of 16.

1990--Loses in first round of NCAA tournament. Asks not to be nominated again to the Basketball Hall of Fame, calling the voters’ rejection of him in 1987 a “slap in the face.” He is elected and inducted into the Hall in 1991.

1991--Indiana finishes 29-5, NCAA round of 16 tournament appearance. Knight feuds with Illinois Coach Lou Henson, who calls him a “classic bully.” Wins 10th Big Ten title.

1992--Makes 16th NCAA tournament appearance and fifth in the Final Four. Playfully gives a mock whipping to Calbert Cheaney, a black player, during practice for the NCAA West Regional. Several black leaders say they are offended, but Knight denies any racial connotations. He notes the bull whip was given to him by the players, including Cheaney.

1993--Becomes youngest coach, at 52, to win 600 games. Wins 11th Big Ten title. Is suspended for one game after a sideline tirade in a 101-82 victory over Notre Dame in which he screams at his assistant-coach son, Pat, and kicks at him. When fans behind the Indiana bench boo, Knight turns and responds with an obscenity. Team finishes 31-4, loses to Kansas in NCAA regional final.

1994--Finishes 21-9, appears in NCAA round of 16. Head-butts Sherron Wilkerson while screaming at him on the bench but says it was unintentional.

1995--Finishes 19-12, loses in first round of NCAA tournament. Is selected conference’s all-time coach at Big Ten Centennial celebration and his 1976 team is selected as best in league history. Is reprimanded and fined $30,000 by the NCAA for an outburst at a news conference at NCAA tournament. Upset that an NCAA media liaison erroneously says he would not attend the news conference, Knight lashes out at him.

1996--Finishes 19-12, loses in first round of NCAA tournament.

1997--Wins 700th game with a 70-66 victory over Wisconsin, one of only 13 coaches in college basketball history to reach the mark. Loses in first round of NCAA tournament for third straight year.

1998--Is fined $10,000 by the Big Ten for berating referee Ted Valentine, whose officiating Knight calls “the greatest travesty” he had seen in his coaching career. Knight receives three technical fouls and is ejected by Valentine during the second half of a loss to Illinois. Loses in second round of NCAA tournament to Connecticut.

1999--Finishes 23-11. Loses to St. John’s 86-61 in second round of NCAA tournament. Is investigated for possible battery after allegedly choking a man at a restaurant. The man reportedly confronted Knight as he was leaving, contending he heard Knight make a racist remark. Prosecutor refuses to file charges. Assistant Ron Felling is fired after Knight allegedly throws him out of a chair after hearing him criticize the program.

March 2000--Is investigated by university after former player Neil Reed says Knight choked him at a practice in 1997. A videotape of the practice appears to support Reed. Reports surface of other confrontations. In one, Knight throws a vase at a university secretary. In another, Knight’s son Tim suffered a dislocated shoulder and a broken nose during a scuffle with his father during a hunting trip. In another, Knight attacked and knocked out an Indiana sports information director in the ‘70s. Toronto Raptor Coach Butch Carter claims Knight used a racial slur during a tirade while Carter was a player at Indiana. Team finishes 20-9, loses in first round of NCAA tournament.

May 2000--As result of the investigation, Knight is fined $30,000, suspended for three games and placed under a “zero-tolerance” behavior policy.

Sept. 7--Is accused of grabbing a student by the arm, cursing and lecturing him about manners after the coach was addressed “Hey, Knight, what’s up?”

Sept. 10--Is fired for violating “zero-tolerance” policy and for what university President Myles Brand calls a “pattern of unacceptable behavior.”

March 23, 2001--Is hired as head coach at Texas Tech.

Associated Press and Times Wire Services