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No Surprises From The General
Knight
Speaks of Discipline in Part One of Interview with ESPN
 By
Randy Williams
Indiana
University basketball coach Bobby Knight is controversial, loud
and obnoxious. He's also a winner and with 731 victories, "The
General" is on his way to becoming the winningest coach in
the history of college basketball.
Fans can learn more about Knight this week as ESPN college basketball
analyst Digger Phelps conducts a five-part interview with the Hoosiers
coach. The conversations began Sunday, Dec. 20 and will conclude
Saturday, Dec. 26. (For a complete schedule, click
here.)
Sunday's chat focused on discipline, with the topics ranging from
the coach's favorite general (Ulysses S. Grant) to the class he
teaches at IU twice a week.
Some of Knight's most interesting quotes from Sunday's conversation
include:
- On
kids and their lack of discipline: "Too many parents
today want kids to really 'like them.' Well, parents' first responsibility
is to get kids to do what they should be doing...'Well, Jimmy
doesn't have to be in at 10 o'clock, why do I have to be in at
10 o'clock?'...'Well, the main reason Johnny you have to be in
at 10 o'clock is because, God damn it, I tell you to be in at
10 and that's it."
- On positive
reinforcement: "I've
never been able to quite get a hold of that approach."
- On continuing
to coach: "What keeps me coaching is simply what I talked
about. How much I enjoy the game, how much I like trying to put
the next game plan together. If you give something to the game,
if you give what you've got to it...and you sit down and think,
you've gotten back a hell of a lot more than you've given to it."
- On his
goals in basketball: "I'd like to leave college basketball
having caught more fish than anybody that's ever coached college
basketball."
ESPN made a wise decision in choosing Phelps to conduct the interview,
as the analyst used his friendly relationship with Knight to give
viewers a better idea of what makes the coach tick. Can't wait until
Digger, who coached in the same state as Knight for 20 years while
at Notre Dame, discusses the throwing chairs and challenging referees.
Photo courtesy of ESPN.com.
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