Knight, School Official in Spat

Texas Tech Coach Bob Knight got into a verbal spat with the university chancellor at a grocery store Monday, prompting a review by the school in Lubbock, Texas.

School spokeswoman Sally Logue Post said she did not know details of the encounter between the basketball coach and Chancellor David Smith. No one was injured, she said.

Smith declined to elaborate on what happened.

“Right now the athletic director and the president’s office at the university are looking into the incident,” Smith told the Associated Press. “We’ll wait to hear more in the next few days about their review.”

Asked whether there was any discussion of removing Knight, Smith said: “I can’t comment on any of those things right now.”

Gerald Myers, the university’s athletic director, witnessed the encounter, Post said.

The men were getting food around lunchtime at Market Street, an upscale grocery store about two miles from the university, said Dan Sanders, chief marketing officer for United Supermarkets, which owns the store where the incident occurred.

“Apparently, there was some sort of disagreement,” Sanders said. “It took place very quickly.”

Neither Myers nor sports information director Randy Farley immediately returned telephone messages Monday night.

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that an eyewitness, which the newspaper did not identify, saw Smith go over to the salad bar to talk to the coach.

The witness told the newspaper that Knight flew into a rage, accusing Smith of being a liar and saying that there had been nothing wrong with his demeanor this season.

Smith turned to leave the area, the newspaper reported, but Knight followed. The chancellor then told Knight that he deserved more respect than Knight was showing him.

The witness said that no physical contact took place before Knight left the establishment. The No. 19 Red Raiders play tonight at home against Baylor.

Navy Coach Don DeVoe announced he would retire after this season, ending a career in which he recorded more than 500 victories at five schools.

“With the dynamics of the situation, I felt like it was the best time for myself, my family and the Navy basketball team,” said DeVoe, whose team is 3-17, at Annapolis, Md.

DeVoe is one of only 29 active coaches to lead three different teams to the NCAA tournament. He also has coached at Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Wyoming and Florida. DeVoe, in his 12th year as Navy’s coach, has a 182-155 record with the Midshipmen, taking them to the NCAA tournament three times.

DeVoe said it was important that he finish the season.

“I’ve never quit on any team in my life, and I’m not quitting on this team,” he said.

Senior forward Justin Davis, Stanford’s leading rebounder, will sit out a minimum of two weeks because of a left knee injury he suffering during Thursday’s victory at Oregon State, ESPN.com reported.