Pat Knight Gets First Win

Last night, Pat Knight netted his first win since taking over for his father, Bob Knight, as head basketball coach at Texas Tech.

Knight's Red raiders upset #18 Kansas State, 84-75.

Since taking over last week, Knight is 1-2.

Alan Voskuil scored 30 points (a career high) and was 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Voskuil's 7 rebounds matched his career high for carems.

Key line:

"Man, it feels great," Voskuil said. "I love Pat. He's the one who recruited me and so it just feels good to do something for him for once."

Texas Tech is now 13-10 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12.

Kansas State Drops Kansas From Undefeated Ranks

Last night Kansas State upset previously undefeated #2 Kansas 84-75. It marked the first time in 25 years that Kansas State was able to hold off a visiting Kansas team on their home court.

In other news, Drive and Dish has been following the travails of Rick Majerus' rough first season as Saint Louis University's head basketball coach. Last night, Majerus' Saint Louis Billikens only managed 36 points in their 63-36 loss to Dayton.

We're beginning to wonder how long Majerus will stay at Saint Louis.

The Weekend of the Upset

The weekend of January 19 & 20 will likely go down as having been 2008's weekend of the upset in college basketball.

Yesterday, #1 ranked and previously undefeated North Carolina was stunned at home by the enigmatic Maryland Terrapins, 82-80. More here. And here.

On the West coast, Tim Floyd and O.J. Mayo's USC Trojans upset #4 UCLA, 72-63.

Out in the Big 12, Michael Beasley and Kansas State stomped #10 Texas A&M 75-54. Earlier in the week, A&M had also been upset by Texas Tech, as Tech coach Bob Knight netted his 900th career win.

In the Big East, Cincinnati surprised #15 Pitt, 62-59.

And the upsets didn't end on Saturday. Today, Connecticut knocked off #13 Marquette 89-73, in Storrs, CT.

Although most sports fans' eyes were on the NFL, as the NFC and AFC Championship games were played today, the weekend's real action was in college basketball.

Over the last two days, college basketball teams from coast to coast elevated their games and pulled off huge upsets, both at home and on the road.

Drive and Dish would just like to say: Now that's what we're talkin' about!

Three Days After Peeing in His Pants During a Basketball Game, Bill Walker Makes "Pampers" Reference ... With No Hint of Irony

In Monday's Chicago Tribune, Brian Hamilton did a profile of Kansas State's Bill Walker titled, "Next stop, the NBA." With no apparent hint of irony, Hamilton quotes Walker as saying that he and O.J. Mayo have been "friends since pampers." Really.

Given the fact that, just last Thursday, Walker urinated in his pants during a timeout in Kansas State's overtime loss to Oregon, the editorial staff at Drive and Dish can't believe that Bill Walker would have the audacity to make a "pampers" reference ... unless it were something along the lines of, "Hey, do you think they make pampers in my size? You see, I've beeen having bladder control problems and I could probably benefit from wearing some XXXXXL pampers so that I don't continue to piss in my pants (and on the court) when I'm playing basketball."

Drive and Dish would like to thank you, Bill Walker.

You are the gift that keeps on giving.

By the way, we suggest you look into wearing Depends.

The Evolution of Bill Walker: From Eating Popcorn on KSU's Bench, to Urinating In Front of KSU's Bench

Question: What do you do when you're playing in a basketball game, but you have to piss really badly?

Answer: I guess you do what Kansas State's Bill Walker allegedly did the other night : you stand on the sideline and go in your pants.

Video here: Kansas State's Bill Walker stands on KSU sideline, urinates in pants.

Note: It's hard to see what Walker is doing in the video. You have to look closely at the Kansas State bench (on the lower left side of the image), where Walker can be seen putting towels into his pants and crouching down.

More info here:

Eyewitness account of Bill Walker peeing in pants during game.

According to the eyewitness account, Walker came to the sideline yelling "I gotta piss, I gotta piss!" He then put towels down his shorts and went about his business ... but not without leaving some wet spots on the floor.

The complete weirdness of Walker's having pissed in his pants on the sideline - during a nationally televised game - is what makes the video so funny. It's just bizarre. But as readers of Drive and Dish may recall, this isn't the first time that Bill Walker has done something weird on the Kansas State sideline. Last year, Walker ate from a bag of popcorn while sitting on the bench during Kansas State's first round N.I.T. defeat of DePaul. Drive and Dish talked about that at the time:

Drive and Dish Archive: "There's Nothing Like the NIT Baby! ... Or Maybe Not."

Video here:

Bill Walker sits on bench and eats popcorn during game vs. DePaul.

Bill Walker probably won't be a college basketball player for long. He'll declare for the NBA draft as soon as he can. But in his short stay at KSU, Walker has done his best to make his presence felt - even if it's not for what he's done on the court (bad choice of words: because, apparently, he did something on the court in that video).

Kansas State Actually Finds Someone As Shady As Bob Huggins, Wastes No Time In Hiring Him As Basketball Coach

I was actually feeling kind of bad for Kansas State when Bob Huggins unceremoniously left his position as head coach of the men's basketball team (after only one season on the job), last week. Then I realized (about five seconds later) that KSU had made the decision to hire him with full knowledge of his background and reputation. It was the same university, after all, that had risen to football prominence (after a long history of being universally known as the worst football program in Division I-A) after hiring the ethically challenged Bill Snyder. Hiring Bob Huggins to turn the basketball program around was a logical progression, of sorts, for an institution that had already established a win at all costs culture in its athletic department.

So the hiring of Frank Martin is surprising only because of his lack of coaching experience, not because of his lack of integrity.

Didn't Wyatt Earp clean Kansas up, years ago? Apparently, the wild west mentality still exists.

Edit:

I know, I know...I'm well aware of the argument that goes: you'd cheat too if you had to try to convince kids to go to school in Manhattan, KS.

There's probably something to that argument. Maybe I should lighten up. In fact, if KSU or anyone affiliated with KSU wants to send me a suitcase full of Benjamins (gotta love that cash-especially in tax season), I'll consider refraining from ever writing any disparaging remarks about KSU again.

Does KSU have a "relationship" with World Wide Wes? If not, they should. I like clothes and shoes: hook me up with some kicks and some warm ups. Hook me up, KSU.

I kid, I kid.

Huggins Jilts Kansas State, Heads to West Virginia

After just one season as the men's basketball coach at Kansas State, Bob Huggins will become the new coach at West Virginia.

Drive and Dish could follow the pack and say that Huggins' move shows a lack of class on his part. And, yeah, this move (as with just about every move Huggins has ever made) does exhibit a lack of class. But c'mon. Kansas State hired Bob Huggins. Huggins was jobless because Cincinnati had finally seen enough of his act (he had a DUI before the start of the 2005/06 season, his program had a zero percent graduation rate, his program was viewed-correctly-as a rogue program and his players were perceived as thugs). Kansas State knew what they were getting when they hired him. They didn't care about integrity. They shouldn't be surprised.

There's Nothing Like the NIT Baby! Or, Maybe Not

I am often amazed by how little respect the NIT receives. Sure, I understand that casual fans - fans whose only interest in college basketball is limited to the NCAA Tournament - have absolutely no reason to care about the NIT (they don't even gamble on it). And I know that students and alumni of BCS conference schools view the NIT as a joke, a second rate consolation prize for losers and for the bottom feeders of college hoops (even though the NIT is a good tournament filled with only good teams and players). But I'll never be able to relate to players who aren't motivated to play in the NIT. Sure, players from teams that narrowly missed being selected for the NCAA Tournament are disappointed that they aren't in the Dance. But that's no reason not to "bring it" when you take the floor in the NIT. Players should never lack the motivation to compete. Especially not in the post season. If you believe that your team belonged in the field of sixty four, you should be eager to make a statement with your performance in the NIT.

I didn't play basketball at the Division I level. I may not be able to relate to the culture that exists at the highest level of major college basketball. But I understood that I was privileged to to step onto the court in small, largely empty gyms, and be able to lay it on the line in the totally obscure world of small college hoops (not that I got that opportunity all that often - I spent more time observing from the bench). I would have been thrilled to play any sort of post season game: NCAA Tournament, NIT, Canadian Intercollegiate Tournament, Outer Mongolian Collegiate Tournament, Intergalactic Intercollegiate Tournament, etc. I would expect all Division I players, even players who feel snubbed by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, to treat the game (as well as their opponents and their coaches teammates and fans) with respect and give their best effort in the NIT.

But, clearly, not everybody feels the same way I do (yeah, I know he was injured and, thus, not able to play - I've even suffered through the same injury - but still).


Kansas State's Bill Walker eating a tub of popcorn while on the bench