Bill The Inhaler
2017-03-11 22:02:16 UTC
So for those fans still holding out hope that Bob Knight will one day walk
into Assembly Hall, give it up.
Friday night, Showtime will air a documentary on the 1976 Indiana
Hoosiers, college basketball's last undefeated team.
Friday morning, the man who coached that iconic '76 team went on "The Dan
Patrick Show" to discuss that season. But what caught most people's
attention were Knight's comments regarding why he won't return to Assembly
Hall and what he thinks of the administration that fired him.
Late in the interview, Patrick asked Knight: "Why do we want you to go
back to Assembly Hall so bad?"
Well, I think Ive always really enjoyed the fans, I always will," Knight
said. "On my dying day, I will think about how great the fans at Indiana
were. And as far as the hierarchy at Indiana University at that time, I
have absolutely no respect whatsoever for those people. With that in mind,
I have no interest in ever going back to that university.
Patrick followed up: "Arent those people all out of there, coach?"
Knight: I hope theyre all dead."
Patrick: "Some of them are "
Knight: Well, I hope the rest of them go.
Ray Richardson, one of the trustees during Knight's firing, contacted
IndyStar, saying the former coach's comment Friday "makes me even more
certain that we did the right thing. Too bad he has had that anger burning
inside all of these years."
Richardson, 79 of Greenfield, said his son called him Friday morning to
tell him about Knight's comments. "He said, 'Bob Knight wants you dead,
dad.'"
Myles Brand, IU's president when Knight was fired, died of cancer in 2009.
Richardson says seven of the nine trustees are still living.
Now Im determined to live longer, so that I outlive Bob," Richardson
said. "Hes inspired me to hang in there.
Earlier in the interview, when Knight and Patrick were talking about the
'76 team, Knight said he told the team before the first day of practice
that they shouldn't be satisfied with anything less than an undefeated
season.
"Youve seen enough things in sports that are special, and this is
something very, very special," Knight told Patrick. "And the key to it
was, that the year before we had not gone undefeated. I kind of screwed
things up. Scott May had broken his wrist, and I had to move things around
a little bit. We ended up losing a game, and part of it was because I
split (Quinn) Buckner and (Bobby) Wilkerson up, they were the best pair of
guards that ever played the game in college, and Ive always said if I had
one thing to do over again I wouldnt have split that up.
"But anyhow, we came to the next year then. And I told those kids,
practice started on a Saturday like it always did, the day before practice
started that there was only one thing that would be the thing that they
could always be proud of and that was to go undefeated for the entire
season. Not winning the Big Ten or winning the national championship or
anything, but to go completely undefeated for the season. I told them that
the day before practice started. On Friday afternoon, we met in the locker
room and I said this is the goal that you people should get to because
there may be no better group that ever does it. But you are capable of
doing it. And they wound up doing it.
http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2017/03/10/bob-
knight-have-no-interest-ever-going-back-university/99002494/
into Assembly Hall, give it up.
Friday night, Showtime will air a documentary on the 1976 Indiana
Hoosiers, college basketball's last undefeated team.
Friday morning, the man who coached that iconic '76 team went on "The Dan
Patrick Show" to discuss that season. But what caught most people's
attention were Knight's comments regarding why he won't return to Assembly
Hall and what he thinks of the administration that fired him.
Late in the interview, Patrick asked Knight: "Why do we want you to go
back to Assembly Hall so bad?"
Well, I think Ive always really enjoyed the fans, I always will," Knight
said. "On my dying day, I will think about how great the fans at Indiana
were. And as far as the hierarchy at Indiana University at that time, I
have absolutely no respect whatsoever for those people. With that in mind,
I have no interest in ever going back to that university.
Patrick followed up: "Arent those people all out of there, coach?"
Knight: I hope theyre all dead."
Patrick: "Some of them are "
Knight: Well, I hope the rest of them go.
Ray Richardson, one of the trustees during Knight's firing, contacted
IndyStar, saying the former coach's comment Friday "makes me even more
certain that we did the right thing. Too bad he has had that anger burning
inside all of these years."
Richardson, 79 of Greenfield, said his son called him Friday morning to
tell him about Knight's comments. "He said, 'Bob Knight wants you dead,
dad.'"
Myles Brand, IU's president when Knight was fired, died of cancer in 2009.
Richardson says seven of the nine trustees are still living.
Now Im determined to live longer, so that I outlive Bob," Richardson
said. "Hes inspired me to hang in there.
Earlier in the interview, when Knight and Patrick were talking about the
'76 team, Knight said he told the team before the first day of practice
that they shouldn't be satisfied with anything less than an undefeated
season.
"Youve seen enough things in sports that are special, and this is
something very, very special," Knight told Patrick. "And the key to it
was, that the year before we had not gone undefeated. I kind of screwed
things up. Scott May had broken his wrist, and I had to move things around
a little bit. We ended up losing a game, and part of it was because I
split (Quinn) Buckner and (Bobby) Wilkerson up, they were the best pair of
guards that ever played the game in college, and Ive always said if I had
one thing to do over again I wouldnt have split that up.
"But anyhow, we came to the next year then. And I told those kids,
practice started on a Saturday like it always did, the day before practice
started that there was only one thing that would be the thing that they
could always be proud of and that was to go undefeated for the entire
season. Not winning the Big Ten or winning the national championship or
anything, but to go completely undefeated for the season. I told them that
the day before practice started. On Friday afternoon, we met in the locker
room and I said this is the goal that you people should get to because
there may be no better group that ever does it. But you are capable of
doing it. And they wound up doing it.
http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2017/03/10/bob-
knight-have-no-interest-ever-going-back-university/99002494/