Texas Tech Upsets #5 Texas

Yesterday, Pat Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders beat #5 Texas 83-80. It was Knight's second win over a team ranked in the AP Top 25. And more importantly, it was a much needed turnaround win, as days earlier, Tech had lost to Texas A&M by 44 points -- the worst margin of defeat in school history.

Following the loss at A&M, Pat Knight put his team through an old fashioned, hard nosed practice:

"Bob Knight, said his son, did 'regular old drills' that in some way involved basketball. On Thursday, the younger Knight left the court behind and made his players run sprints while carrying weights. Then they shot lots of free throws. After that Pat Knight made them carry tractor tires and then flip them over - in relay races."

It's good to see Pat Knight getting some decent wins at Texas Tech. Knight inherited the remainder of his father's contract at Tech (which he had just extended for three more years at the beginning of this season), so he's got guaranteed money coming, no matter what happens with regard to his stewardship of the program. The previous administration at Tech had agreed to let Knight succeed his father (whenever the elder coach Knight decided to retire). But the new Texas Tech administration has indicated that they may not be inclined to extend the coaching position to Pat Knight.

So getting wins over top opponents is crucial for Pat Knight's bid to continue as the head coach at Texas Tech.

Knocking off Texas was a good start.


On a Side Note:

I've been saying this for a long time, but I think Texas is perpetually overrated.

Aside from their 2003 Final Four team, I've never understood why Texas gets the national media love that they do.

Year after year, Texas has struck me as being a paper tiger. And so far, I've seen nothing that would cause me to change my mind with regard to this year's team.

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.

Bob Knight Steps Down at Texas Tech

Texas Tech head basketball coach has resigned, effective immediately. Knight's son, Pat Knight, will take over as head coach.

Just two weeks ago, Knight achieved his 900th career coaching win.

Drive and Dish congratulated Knight at the time.

I have a lot of respect for Bob Knight, but I didn't always feel that way. I grew up hating coach Knight when he was at Indiana. I despised his style. I hated the motion offense. I couldn't stand yelling, in your face coaches.

When I was in high school, I had coaches who yelled and were in my face. I didn't respond to that coaching style at the time and I couldn't imagine what it would be like to play for a coach like that in college.

But when I got to college and was trying to survive an existence as a walk on guard for a small college basketball team (I had played the wing in high school and was struggling to adjust to playing on the perimeter), I started to view Bob Knight in a new light. I was learning to play the guard position and started taping Indiana games in order to watch -- and learn from -- the Hoosiers' guards (they were notorious for playing fundamentally sound, smart basketball).

After watching hours upon hours of Indiana basketball, I gained an appreciation for Bob Knight's system and his coaching style.

And I even began to wish that I could have played for him.

Bob Knight was a great game coach, but his real genius was as an innovator and as a teacher of the game.

And Bob Knight's motion offense and tight man to man defense have been borrowed, copied, modified and emulated by scores of college and high school coaches across America. The system that he pioneered at West Point, and won three championships with at Indiana has become, more or less, the foundation of the modern college game.

American organized basketball owes coach Knight a tremendous debt.

Drive and Dish salutes coach Knight.

Knight Gets 900th Win

By Trashtalk Superstar

Last night, Bob Knight put another notch on his belt. He earned his 900th career coaching win as his Texas Tech Red Raiders defeated #10 Texas A&M 68-53. Knight already had surpassed Dean Smith to become the coach with the most career wins in Division I college basketball.

Now he's moving into uncharted territory.

But, true to form, Knight didn't let the celebratory mood surrounding his latest career milestone keep him from being pissed off about something. Upon receiving a post-game standing ovation, Knight addressed the Red Raiders fans:

"You folks being here, seats being full for a change, really made a difference tonight."

It's good to see that Coach Knight hasn't let all of his career achievements take away his edge.

Bob Knight is still the same old Bob Knight.

Congratulations to Coach Knight, I guess.


Edit (1/18/08):

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not criticizing Bob Knight. He's a great basketball coach, and his innovative motion offense and tough man to man defense revolutionized college basketball. The modern era of college basketball owes an enormous debt to Bob Knight. His Indiana teams of the 1970's and 80's changed the way the game is played. He basically pioneered the modern era of college hoops.

And I agree with his criticism of Texas Tech's fan support. Although I grew up in Chicago's Southern suburbs, I'm the product of an old school Texas family. I've got ancestors who were around in the days of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin -- including a Colonel who got absolutely owned by General Santa Anna at the Alamo. Believe me, I know Texas and the intricacies of Texan culture like nobodies business. And the fact is, nobody gives a rat's ass about college basketball (or any basketball, for that matter) in Texas. Basketball simply isn't part of the cultural landscape in the Lone Star State.

I'll give you an example: four years ago, I was in Austin at the time of the Texas/Oklahoma basketball game. Both teams were ranked in the AP top 15 at the time. Texas had been in the Final Four the previous year. Oklahoma had been in the Final Four the year before that. The game was going to be nationally televised. It was the very definition of a BIG game. Yet, the UT athletic department had to advertise the game all over Austin radio and TV (even on the day of the game) just to try to draw a decent crowd.

The advertisements pointed to the importance of the game and to the fact that it was going to be nationally televised. And they actually had to say something to the effect of: "Sure, it's not football, but it's still a BIG game, and it's still Oklahoma. Come on out and show your support for UT athletics. We NEED your support. It won't look good to have empty seats on national television. Great seats are still available!"

And the ads were still running hours before tip off.

Texas has been a top tier program for years. But they don't have the kind of fan support that other elite basketball programs have. And, out in Lubbock, Bob Knight has made Texas Tech into a solid program: he's brought a winning tradition, numerous NCAA Tournament appearances and a decent amount of national attention to a university that wasn't on the college basketball map (hell, since Tech is in Lubbock, TX -- A.K.A. the middle of nowhere -- it's barely even on a Rand McNally road map) prior to his arrival.

Yet there are usually more empty seats at Tech's home games than at a typical Joe Biden Presidential campaign speech -- and that's a lot of empty seats!

So I can't really blame Bob Knight for making that comment. Although it probably wasn't the right time or the right place to make his feelings known, Coach Knight was just speaking the truth.