Bobby Knight RIP

[Box and one]

So much has been said and documented about Coach Knight. Everyone has their opinions and feelings. I have told this story before so will tell it again. I worked Army's baseball camp and basketball camp in the summers but Coach Knight had already left for Indiana. So those stories about him when he was at Army could be exaggerated somewhat I will tell you my stories with as little as exaggerated in them as possible . Its my memory that might elude me some..
Medalist had a 9 Hour basketball clinic with just Bob Knight. That was rare back in the day They usually had 3 or 4 coaches on a friday night and 3 or 4 for Saturday Hubie Brown was the only other coach to have the entire clinic to himself.
Knights was 8 hour Clinic was at Poughkeepsie HS Friday night and all day saturday About 400-500 coaches signed up . He just coached the Olympic team and won the gold medal and was the headlines was about his " diss " on Puerto Rico As the plane took off for the Olympics he made a comment about taking a shit on airplane bathroom when the plane flew over Puerto Rico Maybe some remembers the incident better then I do and can explain it in more depth. The clinic was awesome and although he is crazy I had to give him a message from a coach who couldn't make it Will post this now and come back with the rest of the storey

 

[Box and one]

Sorry,anyway after he was introduced to the packed crowd he announced that a car was just stolen from the Poughkeepsie HS parking lot and the state police found the car across the Hudson River in Highlands So the owner of Pennsylvania license number 45365 please go out to the lobby the state police are out there and want to talk to you.. No one got up So Knight acted like he was angry and repeated the message . And again no one got up. So Knight yells in the micro phone WTF you car has been stolen Who owns this car?? Finally a 6'10 coach sitting up in the front gets up.. Knight looks down on him and curses him out saying " what the f is wrong with you" everyone is laughing in the audience including me. As the coach starts to leave the auditorium Knight says " you left your f..king lights on ".. you dumb ass " The clinic hasn't even started yet This was right after the introduction..What a way to start a clinic . I don't think that coach ever came back because I never saw him that night or the next day .. Now I was given one big task . Glen McGuiness the coach at Cornwall and a good friend of mine calls me the day before the clinic and tells me to tell Coach he couldn't make the clinic because his daughter was having her rehearsal dinner that friday night and his daughter was getting married on Saturday. So after hearing Knights 2-3 hour opening clinic at one of the intermissions Knight is in a circle around 6-10 coaches he knows. I,m in the circle but Knight and these coaches all know each other I wait and wait and finally realize thee is no way I'm going to say something, So I rudely interrupt and tell coach that McGinnis can't make it and then Knight looks down on me staring and I'm ready for a major diss when Knight says' You tell mcGinnis thats a good excuse and I forgive him. He asks me "which daughter is getting married" I wasn't sure which one.. I called Glen that night when I got home and he thanked me .. Knight did a cool thing that night He put empty 10 chairs in front of him and pretended to talk about each player he picked The Michael Jordan was classic. He pretend to talk to Jordan and said everyone on this team is a " shit shoveler" You haven't set a screen at North Carolina in your life" You are a shit shoveler on this team and he went on and on about Dean Smith etc.. At one point he pretended Barkley came late and Knight told him to get the f,,k out of here we don't need you" But Barkley says that never happened..anyway The clinic was very good The next day was in the gym and it was on Man to man defense principals ..Knight was very intense and although have been to many HS clinics he couldn't come near Hubies Browns clinic I liked Coach Knight a lot but he was way to intense and I'm not sure I would want one of my players to be coached by him . He had a temper that I never liked . I respected him but he didn't know how to turn it down a notch..He was an outstanding teaching coach with fundamentals...

When McGinnis retired a few years later Knight sent him a Indiana Team picture with a few encouraging words about his dedication and service coaching HS basketball . I at the retirement dinner was honored to open the package and read and present Glen that Knight package. It was so emotional and the words were so real and sentimental I know Knight did a lot of things that weren't in the head lines. May he rest in peace . Not sure if St Peter allowed him in the gates but maybe he is in Purgatory if we catholics still have that

 

[Scrapman]

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