LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) – The Texas Tech Red Raiders offered the reaction everyone expected Tuesday. They were shocked that Bob Knight resigned and ready to move on with his son as the new coach.
Then it was time for the main event – Pat Knight’s first news conference since replacing the winningest coach in men’s Division I history.
Except the new Coach Knight didn’t show for the dozen or so reporters who came to United Spirit Arena for an introduction. He was busy getting ready for his first game Wednesday night against Baylor.
Some might say, “Like father, like son,” considering Bob Knight was as well known for his combative relationship with the media as he was for his ability to win games (902) and championships (three NCAA titles).
Regardless, players say the Red Raiders are in good hands.
“Pat’s doing a good job already,” guard John Roberson said. “We’re going to have the same preparations.”
Being the Texas Tech coach is a role for which Knight has been groomed the past three seasons, and perhaps his entire life. He played for his father at Indiana and has been with him since they arrived at Tech in 2001. He was chosen as his father’s successor in 2005.
Knight, whose personality is more subdued than his father’s, has been a head coach twice, a partial season with the USBL’s Columbus Cagerz and a season leading the Wisconsin Blast, which went 19-15.
Bob Knight, in comments Tuesday to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, reflected on a story about Ted Williams that said the famed Boston hitter knew when to quit.
“I hope I have done that in this regard and I think I have,” said Knight, who doesn’t plan to attend his son’s debut in Waco. “I have above all a great appreciation for the players that I’ve had over the years. But know that in most cases, or in all cases, I’ve been really tough with them. That was just my nature as a coach.”
The players were expecting that tough approach for 10 more regular-season games and the Big 12 tournament, at least. Freshman John Roberson said their last meeting with Bob Knight produced a collection of dropped jaws.
“I was shocked because I expected him to finish out the season,” Roberson said. “He told us he was tired and he was worn out. So he made the best decision for the team, and I respect him for that.”
y to replace his dad. He sounded that way Monday night on his radio show.
“It’s kind of surreal right now,” said Pat Knight, whose contract calls for a five-year deal at the median salary among Big 12 coaches. “But I didn’t get into this business to be an assistant my whole life. It’s always been a dream of mine, even as a kid. That’s all I’ve been around is coaches.”
In a decade as a college assistant, the only season Pat Knight wasn’t with his father was the only season his father didn’t coach in the last 42. He was at Akron in 2000-01 after Bob Knight was fired at Indiana.
“He was great on the floor, great with kids and had a good mind for the game,” said former Akron coach Dan Hipsher, now an assistant at South Florida. “His game preps were excellent, his work in practice, his skill development with the kids. He was charismatic.”
Pat Knight’s first game will be against Baylor coach Scott Drew, who replaced his own dad, Homer Drew, for a year at Valparaiso before taking over the Bears (16-4, 4-2).
“I thought my dad did a great job preparing me to take over,” Scott Drew said. “When I took over, he was very supportive. He did give me enough space to learn on my own and to be there if I needed him.”
The expectation is the same in Lubbock, where Texas Tech guard Alan Voskuil shot down the notion that Bob Knight quit on his team and might resurface elsewhere. The Red Raiders expect to have him around awhile, even if he isn’t their coach anymore.
“I expect him to be around,” Voskuil said. “He said he was going to be around. He’s going to be a part of this team regardless.”
Roberson seemed the most shocked among the Red Raiders who spoke to reporters, perhaps because he was a freshman and Knight recently signed a three-year contract extension.
“I just remember when he recruited me he came to my house and put his arm around me and said, ‘You’re coming to Tech, right?”’ Roberson said. “I didn’t know what to say. I was scared.”
Now the Red Raiders are resolute. They hear the talk that Bob Knight was a frustrated coach who decided he’d had enough, or that tournament hopes are slim for Tech (12-8, 3-3).
“It’s going to be great for the whole team,” Voskuil said. “Let’s see what we can do with it.”
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Associated Press writers Stephen Hawkins and Jeff Carlton contributed to this report.
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