Tech Player Defends Knight's Actions
By BETSY BLANEY, Associated Press Writer
3 hours ago
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech player Michael Prince defended coach Bob Knight, who used his hand to push the forward's chin during a timeout in yet another episode involving the hot-tempered coach.
"It was nothing," Prince told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal after Monday night's game. "He was trying to teach me and I had my head down, so he raised my chin up. He was telling me to go out there and don't be afraid to make mistakes. He said I was being too hard on myself."
Knight, with a history of chair-throwing, referee baiting and clashes with school officials, was not available for comment Tuesday.
Late in Texas Tech's 86-74 victory over Gardner-Webb, Knight approached Prince after the player was called for a foul. Knight then placed his hand on Prince's chin, as if to make him look the coach in the eye. A short time later, Prince appeared to be moving his jaw around as he sat on the bench.
Athletic director Gerald Myers said he talked with Prince's parents but wouldn't make a statement until he spoke with Prince. Tech president Jon Whitmire was out of town Tuesday and unavailable for comment, school officials said.
Prince's mother, Suzette Prince, told the Avalanche-Journal that she and her husband, Mike, were sitting across from the Tech bench and she doesn't feel this should be an issue.
"We talked with Michael and he had just committed two fouls in a row," Suzette Prince said. "He told us that Coach Knight was asking him if he's ready to play. He said they needed him ready to play."
She said she didn't think Knight should be reprimanded.
Knight gave a brief statement at the postgame news conference then answered one question before exiting the room, but the confrontation with Prince was never addressed.
It was win No. 871 for Knight, who is five shy of tying Adolph Rupp for second place on the career. He needs nine more victories to surpass Smith for the most wins in Division I history.
Knight's career has featured three national championships, all at Indiana, but plenty of outbursts.
In 1992, Knight kicked a chair on the bench while son Pat, then a player for him at Indiana and now his assistant and successor-to-be at Texas Tech, was sitting in it. When fans behind the team bench booed, Knight turned and responded with an obscenity.
He was accused of grabbing a player by the throat during a practice in 1997, an episode that was caught on videotape and created the whirlwind that eventually led to his firing from Indiana in September 2000.
Knight was fired for what Indiana officials called a violation of a zero-tolerance behavior policy shortly after he grabbed the arm of a student who greeted him on campus by saying "Hey, what's up, Knight?"
His most infamous moment came in a game against Purdue in 1985, when he threw a chair across the court after being assessed a technical foul.
Seen the vid,He does wake this kid up:mj07:
By BETSY BLANEY, Associated Press Writer
3 hours ago
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech player Michael Prince defended coach Bob Knight, who used his hand to push the forward's chin during a timeout in yet another episode involving the hot-tempered coach.
"It was nothing," Prince told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal after Monday night's game. "He was trying to teach me and I had my head down, so he raised my chin up. He was telling me to go out there and don't be afraid to make mistakes. He said I was being too hard on myself."
Knight, with a history of chair-throwing, referee baiting and clashes with school officials, was not available for comment Tuesday.
Late in Texas Tech's 86-74 victory over Gardner-Webb, Knight approached Prince after the player was called for a foul. Knight then placed his hand on Prince's chin, as if to make him look the coach in the eye. A short time later, Prince appeared to be moving his jaw around as he sat on the bench.
Athletic director Gerald Myers said he talked with Prince's parents but wouldn't make a statement until he spoke with Prince. Tech president Jon Whitmire was out of town Tuesday and unavailable for comment, school officials said.
Prince's mother, Suzette Prince, told the Avalanche-Journal that she and her husband, Mike, were sitting across from the Tech bench and she doesn't feel this should be an issue.
"We talked with Michael and he had just committed two fouls in a row," Suzette Prince said. "He told us that Coach Knight was asking him if he's ready to play. He said they needed him ready to play."
She said she didn't think Knight should be reprimanded.
Knight gave a brief statement at the postgame news conference then answered one question before exiting the room, but the confrontation with Prince was never addressed.
It was win No. 871 for Knight, who is five shy of tying Adolph Rupp for second place on the career. He needs nine more victories to surpass Smith for the most wins in Division I history.
Knight's career has featured three national championships, all at Indiana, but plenty of outbursts.
In 1992, Knight kicked a chair on the bench while son Pat, then a player for him at Indiana and now his assistant and successor-to-be at Texas Tech, was sitting in it. When fans behind the team bench booed, Knight turned and responded with an obscenity.
He was accused of grabbing a player by the throat during a practice in 1997, an episode that was caught on videotape and created the whirlwind that eventually led to his firing from Indiana in September 2000.
Knight was fired for what Indiana officials called a violation of a zero-tolerance behavior policy shortly after he grabbed the arm of a student who greeted him on campus by saying "Hey, what's up, Knight?"
His most infamous moment came in a game against Purdue in 1985, when he threw a chair across the court after being assessed a technical foul.
Seen the vid,He does wake this kid up:mj07:
