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Listen up, people. This is Bob Knight's world. We're just livin' in it. The General probably doesn't know who Leonardo DiCaprio is, but he can relate with the actor's famous "king of the world" line.
Just over a month into the season, and the Texas Tech coach already has provided
more evidence that there are two ways of existing in his universe -- the wrong
way and the Knight way.
After Knight's Red Raiders played at SMU, he complained about the blue language of the student fans at Moody Coliseum. (And if anyone knows about cuss words, it's our Bob.)
Interesting, though, that when Tech played at SMU in Knight's first season,
he made no mention of any invectives hurled his direction by the Mustang maniacs.
It's hard to imagine SMU fans would have been more polite on Knight's first
visit than on his second.
The difference in the two games is that Tech won the first time and lost the
second. Ticketmaster. Maybe Knight feels the urge to critique the home fans'
vocabulary only after losses.
Knight is making as much noise about fans as he is about his team's 10-2 start.
In The General's first season in Lubbock, Tech's attendance -- based on tickets
sold -- was 13,700 in the 15,098 United Spirit Arena. Last season, Knight insisted
that attendance figures be based on turnstile count and Tech averaged 9,962
for home games. So far this season, Tech has averaged 6,976 per game.
All those empty seats have caused Knight to spout off about the lack of support
from Tech students and the good citizens of Lubbock.
Before Monday's game with Iowa, Knight threatened to never play in Dallas again
(please, coach, don't tease us) unless a good crowd showed up. Then, Knight
celebrated his team's victory over Iowa by praising the fans who turned out.
And never mind that the attendance figure of 14,831 was not the turnstile count
but the "announced" crowd.
But that's just blankety-blank quibbling by the media, the nattering nabobs
of negativity.
During an ESPN interview to hype the Iowa game, Knight called on his extensive
vocabulary -- maybe he consulted with some SMU students -- to answer a question
that was intended for someone else. In Knight's world, manners are irrelevant.
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla asked an obvious question about the reported strained
relationship between Knight and his former All-American, Iowa coach Steve Alford.
Instead of letting Alford answer, Knight stepped in to take the charge. His
answer earned eight "bleeps" and eventually an apology from the coach
about his nationally televised potty mouth.
"That's a crock of [expletive]," Knight said during the interview
in answer to the Alford issue. "All you media people go [do something that's
anatomically impossible to] yourselves when it comes to something like that."
Thanks for the suggestion, coach, but living and working in your world already
has achieved that objective.
Big improvement for Georgia Tech
SPOTLIGHT ON ...
Perhaps the season's biggest surprise has been Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets
have done the unexpected by starting 11-0 (matching the best start in school
history) and they've done it without Chris Bosh, last year's Atlantic Coast
Conference Rookie of the Year.
When the 6-foot-10 Bosh left for the NBA Draft after his freshman season, it
appeared Georgia Tech would lack inside scoring and rebounding. Junior Luke
Schenscher has stepped up from Down Under to give coach Paul Hewitt's team steady
play in the paint.
"The only thing Luke doesn't have right now is a completely physically
mature body, and that's going to come with time," Hewitt said. "He
understands the game exceptionally well, he has excellent hands, he passes the
ball well, he runs the floor and he can finish.
"The thing that you're seeing out of him now is that he's getting those
strong rebounds in traffic."
Last year, the 7-1, 255-pound Schenscher averaged 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds
per game. This season, he's averaging 10 points and 6.3 rebounds. With the Jackets
featuring a number of quick perimeter players, Schenscher's inside presence
has helped the team's balance.
"I feel more comfortable, more able to hold my ground," said Schenscher,
who is from Hope Forest, Australia. "I'm not getting pushed around so much.
I still need to work on getting bigger and stronger, getting extra quickness.
That's all improved, but it's not where it needs to be."
FAST BREAK
Reinforcements coming
Stanford (10-0) and Arizona (5-1) appear to be the class of the Pacific-10 Conference
and both should benefit from adding players to their roster.
Josh Childress, a 6-foot-8 senior who was Stanford's leading scorer last year,
has had a stress reaction in his left foot. As a precaution, he hasn't played
this season, but he's expected to return to practice in the next week.
Arizona lost one of its top front-court players when 6-9 junior Isaiah Fox went
out for the season with a knee injury. Coach Lute Olson's team will add height
and depth when 6-9 Ivan Radenovic becomes eligible. Radenovic had a chance to
sign a pro contract with a team in his native Serbia, but he wanted to attend
college in the United States.
Radenovic didn't know where Arizona was and had never heard of Olson, a Hall
of Fame coach. A telephone call to a friend playing basketball at Monmouth College
in New Jersey helped clear the confusion.
"I asked my friend, 'What is this place called Arizona?' " Radenovic
told the Arizona Daily Star. "He said they were one of the top five schools
for basketball. He said, 'Coach Olson is a legend in America. He is the best
coach in America.' "
I said, 'OK, that is good enough for me.' "