Indiana Is Not on Knight’s Watch
The question many raised as Indiana marched to the Final Four has been answered.
Was Bob Knight watching?
The answer is no, according to the Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal.
Knight told the newspaper in an interview published Wednesday that he has not seen Indiana play this season, and he pointed out he had predicted success for this team.
“I had high hopes for this team; I felt we could win more than 60 games over the next two years with a real shot at the 2002 NCAA championship,” Knight wrote in his recently published book, “Knight: My Story.”
“That was written a year ago,” Knight told the Avalanche-Journal. “It kind of looks like I was right, doesn’t it?
“That’s the major reason I went against basic instincts that told me I needed to get out of there,” said Knight, who has said he should have left before being fired.
Indiana Coach Mike Davis, Knight’s former assistant, said on a conference call Wednesday he has not heard from Knight since becoming coach after Knight’s September 2000 firing.
“I’m not disappointed,” Davis said. “There are a lot of guys I’ve been close to that I haven’t talked to.... It’s no problem if we talk or not.”
Davis said this week he isn’t concerned by the debate about whose team it is. (Most of the players were recruited under Knight.)
“If they want to give Knight credit, fine with me,” he said. “We’re in the Final Four, and if we win a national championship, the banner isn’t going to say Coach Knight or Mike Davis. It will just say Indiana.”
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The optimism that Indiana guard Tom Coverdale will be able to play Saturday against Oklahoma seems to be diminishing.
“I think it’s about 50-50 that he plays,” Davis said. “As of now, he’s still on crutches. Today is Wednesday, and he only has two days to recover.”
Indiana coaches and players had been confident Coverdale could play despite the pain of a badly sprained ankle, but the injury might be too severe.
“If anyone can play through injury, it’s definitely Dane Fife and Tom Coverdale,” Davis said.