Big 12: A coaching legend steps down

It was a decision hardly anyone saw coming. Just shy of three weeks after he won his 900th game, with the college basketball world’s attention directed anywhere but Lubbock, Texas, legendary coach Bob Knight announced his resignation from Texas Tech.

The 67-year-old Knight, who’d signed a three-year contract extension in September, broke the news to athletic director Gerald Myers on Monday morning. But there was no press conference to announce that he would be stepping aside immediately, leaving the program in the hands of his son and assistant coach Pat Knight, who’d been designated his successor in 2005.

“My thinking was that for Pat and for this team — most of which is returning next year — the best thing for the long run for this team would be for Pat and his staff to coach these remaining 10 games,” Bob Knight said in an interview with the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “And get an understanding, get a real feel for each other, be able to think over the course of the spring and summer going into next season about how people played, how things had been done offensively or defensively, what could be done or couldn’t be done, what to stay away from, what to work on and develop from a game standpoint as the coach in charge of everything, rather than as an assistant.

“It was always a problem for me as to just what would be the most effective way in this transition, to make this transition. And with all the thought that I put into it, that’s exactly how I felt that it should be.”

There’s been speculation that Knight was worried that a new administration at Texas Tech might not have honored the 2005 agreement to let Pat Knight take over had he waited to step down after the season.

Knight’s coaching peers in the Big 12 Conference were as surprised by the news as everybody else.

“I’m disappointed,” Kansas coach Bill Self said after Monday night’s game against Missouri. “I’m disappointed for selfish reasons. It’s like when Barry Sanders retired from football. He couldn’t do that to all the people out there, retiring that early. That’s kind of how I feel about Coach because he’s great for our league.”

He certainly brought added exposure to the Big 12 in general and Texas Tech in particular after winding up there in 2001, a year after his messy divorce from Indiana.

Texas coach Rick Barnes offered this statement: “The best that has ever been has just walked off into the sunset. As people reflect on his career, they will begin to recognize what Bob Knight has been able to accomplish. He has affected countless numbers of people with his teachings and ideas, people he could never realize that he has touched. And that will continue in time as we pass down those teachings to future generations.”

There’s no question Knight was among the greatest college basketball coaches of all time. His resume is unbelievable: 902 career victories, three national titles, an Olympic gold medal, coach of the last undefeated team — the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers — in history. But news of his resignation, and possible retirement, didn’t just lead to reflection on all his many accomplishments.

Like the rest of Knight’s Hall of Fame career, there was also controversy as some wondered if he’d quit on his team.

His players insisted he did not.

“We don’t believe that at all,” junior guard Alan Voskuil told reporters on Tuesday. “He said he is behind us 100 percent, and he has not quit on us one bit. He will always be there, and we can always ask him questions. I don’t think he quit on us at all.”

The Red Raiders were 12-8 (3-3 in Big 12 play) when Knight stepped down, and with an RPI in the top 60, they seemed to have an outside chance of chasing down an NCAA Tournament bid. It would have a long shot for a team with an enigmatic leading scorer (Martin Zeno), a freshman point guard (John Roberson) and not a lot of size or depth in the frontcourt. But Knight, as brilliant a tactician as there is in the game, would have surely improved Texas Tech’s chances.

Instead, it will be up to Pat Knight to try to guide the Red Raiders to the postseason. He lost his debut against Baylor 80-74 as a furious second-half rally came up a little short.

It doesn’t always work out when sons succeed their fathers. Joey Meyer couldn’t duplicate the success of his father, Ray, when he took over at DePaul. Murry Bartow lasted only six seasons at Alabama-Birmingham after taking over for his father, Gene. And Sean Sutton has struggled in his two-plus seasons in charge at Oklahoma State since taking over for his father, Eddie. The Cowboys are 11-11 this season after snapping a six-game losing streak Wednesday night against Colorado.

Rising Team: Texas A&M

The 18th-ranked Aggies have recovered from their three-game losing streak and have won four in a row heading into Saturday’s game against Missouri. Included in that streak was an 80-61 rout of rival Texas and a 60-52 victory over Oklahoma. Sophomore forward Bryan Davis has helped the turnaround, averaging 14.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in his past five games.

Falling Team:  Baylor

The quintuple-overtime victory over Texas A&M seemed to take something out of the Bears, who lost back-to-back games to Oklahoma and Texas before holding off Texas Tech’s second-half rally Wednesday night. Baylor had a double-digit lead on the Longhorns on Saturday but couldn’t hold it and fell for the 21st time against their in-state rivals.

Player of the Week: A.J. Abrams, G, Texas

Abrams averaged 21 points in victories against Baylor and Oklahoma. Abrams logged 38 and 40 minutes in the two games, connecting on 8 of his 18 3-point attempts and going 8-for-8 from the from the free-throw line. His fourth 3-pointer against the Bears snapped a 55-55 tie with 9:41 left, and the 12th-ranked Longhorns never trailed again.

Freshman of the Week: Michael Beasley, F, Kansas State

Beasley added two more double-doubles in a loss at Missouri and a victory over Nebraska. He scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Tigers despite playing through foul trouble and often facing triple-teams when he caught the ball. He had 35 points and 13 rebounds as the 20th-ranked Wildcats ran away from the Cornhuskers. It was Beasley’s 18th double-double of the season.

Stats of the Week

4: The number of Big 12 teams ranked in the Top 20 of this week’s Associated Press poll, the most of any conference in the country.

21 for 25: What Kansas shot from the free-throw line in Monday night’s victory over Missouri. It was the fifth time in eight Big 12 games the Jayhawks shot 81 percent or better. KU only shot 63.8 percent from the line before the conference season.

40.8 percent: What Baylor’s opponents are shooting this season. No team has shot better than 50 percent against the Bears, but eight have connected at less than 39 percent from the field.

75 points: Kansas State reached that figure in 16 of its 21 games, more than in the previous 16 seasons combined.

They Said It

“They all was going over the rim, and it was like we was in mud. We was just stuck. We was slow to the ball, and they just pounded us on the boards.” — Missouri sophomore guard Keon Lawrence after his Tigers were outrebounded 48-25 against Kansas on Monday night

“I don’t think so. Do you have one?” — Nebraska coach Doc Sadler when asked if he’d figured out an answer for Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley (Beasley wound up scoring 35 points and collecting 13 rebounds against the Cornhuskers)

“They’re pissed. I’m mean, I’m pissed. You know, you’ve got to figure out a way to win. When you go on the road, it’s never going to be easy. Our guys are pissed. If anybody was happy, I guarantee you they wouldn’t be on the team tomorrow.” — Kansas State coach Frank Martin after his team squandered a 15-point lead in a 77-74 loss at Missouri

Key Upcoming Games

Saturday, Feb. 9
Texas A&M at Missouri
The No. 18 Aggies are the fourth ranked Big 12 team to visit Columbia this season. The Tigers have upset Texas and Kansas State and gave then-No. 3 Kansas all it could handle in a 76-70 loss at Mizzou Arena.

Baylor at Kansas
This game features two of the deepest and most talented backcourts in the country, but the Bears will have a hard time matching up with the Jayhawks under the basket. Kansas just held Missouri to 0-for-10 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc in Monday’s win, the first time an opponent failed to convert a 3-pointer since 1996. Odds are that won’t become a trend considering the Bears lead the Big 12 in 3-pointers made (179) and are shooting 38.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Monday, Feb. 11
Kansas at Texas
Some thought this was the Jayhawks’ best shot at their first loss. Then Kansas State beat them in Manhattan, Kan., last week to snap a 24-year home losing streak against its in-state rivals. The Longhorns are still a threat to beat Kansas. They might be the only Big 12 team with as much talent in their starting five as the Jayhawks, though they can’t match KU’s depth.

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds