The Times today has a good article on Bob Knight and his place in coaching history:
In coaching circles, Knight's legacy appears to be intact.
His former players make up a who's who list in coaching, including Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Iowa's Steve Alford and the Knicks' Isiah Thomas. Even longtime rivals concede Knight's name is synonymous with the "part-whole" method of teaching, man-to-man defense and the motion offense. All ascribe a virtue to Knight that is perhaps at odds with his public image: patience.
Still, some worry that Knight's coaching accomplishments have been eclipsed by his often profane and highly publicized tantrums, which include throwing a chair onto the court during a game against Purdue and a run in with a police officer in Puerto Rico, and especially his dismissal from Indiana in 2000 after 29 seasons in the wake of a confrontation with a student.
Knight is a fascinating figure. He's poised to break Dean Smith's record for career victories as a head coach, and he has done it without the slightest hint of an academic scandal-- his players go to class, they graduate, and nobody has ever accused him of recruiting violations. At the same time, he can be a pretty rotten person-- calling him "volatile" is an insult to nitroglycerin, and his insistence that he's never wrong makes George W. Bush look wishy-washy. But then again, he's done some things that indicate good personal qualities-- the article recounts the story of Landon Turner, who was paralyzed in a car accident after playing for Knight, and the way Knight has raised money to help Turner (and famously got Red Auerbach to take him in the NBA draft).
He's a complex guy.
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I think he's an arrogant turd and a blight on real coaches that actually work to develop their players. Even if Knight promised a 4-year free ride scholarship and begged my kid to play for him, I would recommend vehamently against it. That said, however, I would like to see a cage-match fight between Knight and the Knight-Wannabe Witch from the Tennesse women's program.
Knight's protoges aren't much better, and Steve Alford is the prime example of continuing the trend. The ones most likely to child abuse are those that were child abused themselves, and Alford is the poster child for this, relating to Knight-like basketball coaches.
Bobby, you can kiss my basketball legacy loving butt. Hey, Knight...catch this chair!