Flare-Ups May Cost Knight a Record

Bob Knight was never going to change. He is never going to change. He doesn’t believe he needs to.

He told me as much before he had coached his first game at Texas Tech, irked at the very suggestion that change was something he should consider.

“So you tell me why I’ve got to change,” Knight said.

“If I have to stop some kid and teach him a lesson in courtesy again, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

Only this time it wasn’t “some kid,” a reference to the “What’s up, Knight?” exchange that was the final straw at Indiana.

It was Texas Tech Chancellor David Smith -- notably not the man who hired him -- who pushed a couple of Knight’s buttons with a backhanded compliment about his behavior and a question about Knight’s “issues” that resulted in an outburst at a grocery store salad bar.

Knight came out the early winner when he was merely reprimanded instead of suspended.

But this latest “incident” -- a word Knight dislikes -- coupled with his profanity-laced response during an ESPN interview in December to a question about his relationship with Steve Alford, raises a bigger, um, “issue.”

The issue is whether Knight, 63, will break Dean Smith’s record of 879 victories.

It has seemed a foregone conclusion ever since he resurfaced at Texas Tech in 2001.

With 826 victories, he is a mere 54 from breaking Smith’s record and should reach the mark three seasons from now, with a possibility of getting there in two more seasons after this one.

It’s only a matter of time until he passes Smith, good health providing.

But it also seems it’s only a matter of time until he ends up in another incident. And although there is far from “zero tolerance” at Texas Tech, clearly there is going to be a little less tolerance than there was before Knight and Smith clashed over the cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.

If the Texas Tech situation blows up before Knight gets the record, he could end up chasing the victories at some lesser school, where wins would come more slowly than they do at Texas Tech now that he has the program in the top 25.

There has been some talk about Knight returning someday to his alma mater, Ohio State, though Jim O’Brien deserves to have that job as long as he wants it.

The bottom line is that Knight usually uses words such as “regret” only in the immediate aftermath of a blowup, and he usually defends his position but in truth merely regrets that it became a big deal.

It doesn’t seem to be a stretch to say, though, that if he allows a flare-up over some indignity, real or imagined, to stand between him and legitimately claiming the only record that can overshadow his history of controversy, it would finally, truly, be something for him to regret.

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Stanford and the U Word

It has started, and as much as he might wish he could, there is nothing Coach Mike Montgomery can do to stop it.

The question is whether Stanford can complete an undefeated regular season, which seemed very much in doubt when the Cardinal trailed Oregon by 19 in the second half Saturday before coming back to win, 83-80.

“You can’t avoid it. It’s just ridiculous,” Montgomery said. “What we have to do in the locker room is try to talk about Arizona State, our next opponent.

“What everybody else talks about, it’s just an incredible lack of understanding of the game of basketball from my perspective. Kids are kids, and they hear stuff. If you deviate at all from what your job is or trying to improve or trying to play better than we did Saturday, you’re going to be in trouble.”

As for the talk, Montgomery said, “it’s just people being people. Being silly.”

Arizona Coach Lute Olson, whose Wildcats play Stanford at Maples Pavilion on Saturday, has coached five of the only six teams that have ever gone 17-1 in the Pacific 10, falling one victory short of the still-elusive perfect conference record.

“You’ve got to be very good to go 18-0, and you’ve got to be very lucky,” Olson said. “They still have to dodge some bullets.”

Stanford’s challenge is that much stiffer because starting forward Justin Davis is out three to four weeks because of a knee injury.

“This undefeated stuff really has nothing to do with what we’re trying to do or what our goals are,” Montgomery said.

“The likelihood of it happening just isn’t very strong.”

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Better Shot at Saint Joseph’s

The last team to enter the NCAA tournament with an unbeaten record was Nevada Las Vegas in 1991. Before that, it was Larry Bird’s Indiana State team in 1979.

The last team to win the NCAA championship with an undefeated record, of course, was Knight’s 1976 Indiana team.

Saint Joseph’s won’t be a favorite to win the national championship, but the Hawks do have a better chance than Stanford of completing the regular season without a loss.

Playing in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Saint Joseph’s is more akin to UNLV’s dominating the Big West than a Stanford team that has to contend with the Pac-10.

The Hawks’ 74-67 nonconference victory Monday at Philadelphia rival Villanova was considered one of the more dangerous games.

With eight regular-season games remaining, the best candidate appears to be a home game against 17-3 Dayton next week.

And should Saint Joseph’s survive the regular-season unbeaten, the conference tournament site is Dayton.

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THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

ROBYN NORWOOD’S RANKINGS AND COMMENTS

*--* Rk. School (Rec.) Comment 1 STANFORD (18-0) Incredible comeback against Oregon, but Arizona schools are next. 2 DUKE (18-1) Coach K and Roy Williams go head to head tonight. 3 CONNECTICUT (18-3) That 28-point margin over Syracuse was impressive. 4 PITTSBURGH (21-1) Could Ben Howland have left behind a Final Four team? 5 SAINT JOSEPH’S (19-0) Pressure to go undefeated is building. 6 MISSISSIPPI STATE (18-1) One-point loss to Kentucky remains only blemish. 7 LOUISVILLE (16-3) Garcia, Dean injuries slow the Cardinals. 8 GONZAGA (17-2) Zags holding conference opponents to 36% shooting. 9 KENTUCKY (15-3) Wildcats showed comeback ability to beat Florida. 10 OKLAHOMA STATE (16-2) Cowboys beat teams by an average of almost 17 points a game. 11 ARIZONA (14-4) That Washington trip was a little tougher than expected. 12 TEXAS (15-3) Basketball no big deal in this state on football signing day. 13 CINCINNATI (15-3) Charlotte, Xavier handed Bearcats their latest losses. 14 TEXAS TECH (17-4) Lubbock salad bar soon to be a tourist attraction. 15 GEORGIA TECH (16-5) Yellow Jackets have lost three of last four. 16 NORTH CAROLINA (13-5) Loss to last-place Clemson hurts in ACC. 17 WAKE FOREST (13-5) Deacons are taking their lumps in the ACC. 18 WISCONSIN (15-3) Badgers’ growing problems might help Michigan State win Big Ten. 19 OKLAHOMA (14-4) See Texas comment above. 20 KANSAS (14-4) Jayhawks shoot only 30.7% from three-point range. 21 SYRACUSE (14-4) 2003 champions have lost three of last four. 22 FLORIDA (13-6) Gators have lost four of their last six. 23 SOUTH CAROLINA (19-3) Opponents shoot only 36% against Gamecocks. 24 FLORIDA STATE (16-6) Seminoles making some noise in the ACC. 25 UTAH STATE (17-1) With RPI of 35, Aggies could qualify for at-large berth.

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