Bob Knight Lost Touch with Reality, Indicated by His Words

I have recently engaged in some conversations with some folks on FaceBook about words, names, epithets, cursing. It got me thinking about the legendary college basketball coach, Robert Montgomery Knight.

I grew up in his backyard; he was a big deal before I made it to kindergarten. I learned to both love and hate him, with some respect and disdain in between. He is still alive as I write this, but his sharp mind has been worn down by time, age, brain issues. Part of nature.

I am reflecting on whether his language, antics, and behavior for him was a trajectory or downward trend as he aged. He was known for his bullying attitudes and tactics, very strong language and at times outrageous or abusive acts.

His last 8 years in Bloomington, after reaching the peak of success in the 1970s and 1980s, he went down in recruiting and success, and eventually was caught on film for "choking" a player during practice, Neil Reed, (I saw him play as a talented high school talent), and put on a Zero Tolerance policy for this. By a school president named Myles Brand, who left IU for better pastures soon thereafter. 

He was fired by Brand for squeezing the arm of an unsuspecting freshman, a young man that I had student taught in neighboring Brown County, a mere year prior. Maybe six months before the whole brouhaha. 

Knight was undoubtedly smart, and was a good or great coach, but his pride or ego, or penchant for the extreme, would often times get in the way. Temper, age, many of us can get more fiery or impatient over time, we can let little things bother us, get to us.

The youth talent at high school age that would have been his best players would see and perceive this crustiness, and no longer feel like playing for him, and the talent was still steady but never as it was in the elite days of the Final Four teams, achieved five times, the last in 1992. (His recruits made it to the final game in 2002, after he had decided to coach out his career at Texas Tech.)

I could write and analyze more about his life and times, but suffice it to say that his coarse vocabulary, to me, was an indicator that he was going down the wrong path mentally, emotionally, intellectually, and professionally.

He purposely dropped all F bombs at a post-game interview, just to mess up the feed and follow up.

He could be a bully and a mean grudge holder, for sure.

His own mentee, Mike Krwshevsky (I can never spell that without help), was shut out of his life for many years. Knight was jealous and indignant, but I think they have finally come to terms with their shared legacies, their decades-long rivalry and lifelong relationship.

Some know of his more recent visit to the NGA in Virginia (a building of map specialists), where he was openly groping some women. Perhaps that was in 2016 or so. After his retirement. 

Long after his best glory days.

He did not start really cursing heavily until he had lost control of his best recruits, best teams, best results and accolades.

To me, a study in psychology and language.

More to think on.

Blog on.