Throughout his long coaching career, Bob Knight has preached the importance of commitment to the team, the importance of putting others ahead of oneself, the importance of collective goals over individual needs.
So by quitting yesterday in the middle of a season simply because, he said, he's tired and wants his son to take over now, Knight was committing the final act of hypocrisy of his coaching career.
There is much to admire about Knight, both on and off the basketball court. But there's also much to dislike. Knight's greatest flaw is that he held his players to higher standards than he could live up to himself.
Let's say Knight had a point guard who was a senior. And let's say the point guard has a younger brother who's a freshman and also plays point guard on the team, but doesn't get many minutes. If that senior came to Knight in the middle of the season and said he was quitting to let his little brother take over, would Knight be OK with it?
Of course not. Knight would rant and rave about commitment to team, and say quitting in the middle of the season is unacceptable. And he'd be right.
