Doomsday Device
12-22-2006, 10:25 PM
As everyone knows, Knight is getting close to passing Dean Smith as the all-time wins leader in Division 1. For the impending event, here's an excellent article about Knight which illustrates why he's so respected even if not always well-liked.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=AkKCCyWF5Z2e71UJK0ZkWDfevbYF?slug=dw-bobknightrecord122106&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Knight has been able to recruit and coach some very good players during his career, particularly during his run at Indiana. But the truly great players often eluded him. In his entire career he coached just one NBA All-Star (Isiah Thomas from 1979-81). By comparison, Dean Smith coached 12 who appeared in a collective 61 All-Star games.
What Vaccaro knows is that rampant rule breaking takes place not just among the usual suspects, but also within programs run by the game's Mount Rushmore figures, the ones with the most pristine reputations, the guys fans just don't want to believe could be corrupt. He is forever laughing at the disparity between reputation and reality with some of these guys, the ones who employ sugar daddy boosters or whose recruits' parents magically move near campus or offer big money "graduation" gifts for players. But that stuff, he says, has powered some of the dynasties in this sport...
"What the fans should realize is that if this is about the student-athlete, about education and following the rules, if that is what matters, then I am saying Bob Knight is the greatest of all-time. And there is no one even close. And there never will be."
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=AkKCCyWF5Z2e71UJK0ZkWDfevbYF?slug=dw-bobknightrecord122106&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Knight has been able to recruit and coach some very good players during his career, particularly during his run at Indiana. But the truly great players often eluded him. In his entire career he coached just one NBA All-Star (Isiah Thomas from 1979-81). By comparison, Dean Smith coached 12 who appeared in a collective 61 All-Star games.
What Vaccaro knows is that rampant rule breaking takes place not just among the usual suspects, but also within programs run by the game's Mount Rushmore figures, the ones with the most pristine reputations, the guys fans just don't want to believe could be corrupt. He is forever laughing at the disparity between reputation and reality with some of these guys, the ones who employ sugar daddy boosters or whose recruits' parents magically move near campus or offer big money "graduation" gifts for players. But that stuff, he says, has powered some of the dynasties in this sport...
"What the fans should realize is that if this is about the student-athlete, about education and following the rules, if that is what matters, then I am saying Bob Knight is the greatest of all-time. And there is no one even close. And there never will be."