LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) – Sounding more like a teacher than a coach,
Bob Knight met Saturday with Texas Tech students who will be asked
for input on whether he will be hired by the school.
According to the students, the fired Indiana coach talked about
making sure players graduate, building interest in the basketball
program and offering lessons – both on basketball and on life.
At least one of the eight students, who were hand-picked by Tech
administrators for the breakfast meeting, was swayed.
Before the encounter, said David Kelley, a 23-year-old senior
and member of the student government association, "I was feeling
that he was going to bring some negativity to the Texas Tech
basketball team, kind of like what he was getting in Indiana.
"Everything we heard was negative. I thought he was going to be
a fiery guy who didn't get along with the students at all."
It didn't take long for the Hall of Fame coach to win Kelley
over.
"Just getting to know him personally, I kind of understand him
now, and that changed my ideas about him," the student said.
Dozens of Tech faculty members have signed a petition opposing
Knight's hiring, citing several highly publicized outbursts during
his 29 years with the Hoosiers.
Knight wrapped up three days in Lubbock on Saturday, including
sitting down again with Tech president David Schmidly and athletic
director Gerald Myers.
Knight can't be offered the job until Friday because of a
university policy that the post remain vacant for 10 business days.
It opened when James Dickey was fired March 9 – four days after
Schmidly and Myers met with Knight in Florida about the job.
Knight, a friend of Myers' for 30 years, was fired by Indiana in
September after grabbing a student by the arm to lecture him on
manners. In May, Indiana put Knight under a zero-tolerance behavior
policy.
The only basketball player at Saturday's meeting, junior Andy
Ellis, said he had no reservations about Knight.
"Coach Dickey was real close to me. He was kind of like a
father figure to me," Ellis said. "If he couldn't come back, I
think it's great that they went out and tried to get the best coach
in America.
"I'm real excited now," the player said. "I can't wait to see
if he's going to be our next coach."
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