Knight watch

Bob Knight’s walk is a forceful, focused one. When he walked out onto Norm Stewart Court on Saturday, Knight seemed oblivious to the booing he received from Missouri fans. The only stops Knight made were to wait for Missouri players to run onto the floor, and to embrace Tigers head coach Mike Anderson and associate head coach Melvin Watkins. But, after that, Knight went to the Red Raiders’ bench to wait for the game to begin.

During the game, any movement or gesture Knight made brought loud boos from the fans. Knight, like most coaches, tries to work the referees in the middle of games. But since it was Knight, a man who once threw a chair across the floor in protest of a call and the man who has been accused of repeatedly mistreating his players, every gesture drew attention.

When Knight demonstrated to a referee why one of his players shouldn’t have been called for a foul, then followed another referee onto the floor to continue arguing, it drew loud boos and calls for a technical foul from the Missouri student section. When he slammed a clipboard onto the floor to make a point in the first half, it drew another loud reaction from Missouri fans.

Meanwhile, on Missouri’s bench, Anderson was just as demonstrative, running up and down the sideline to argue calls. Late in the game, Anderson threw his suit jacket onto the bench, frustrated with what he thought was a poor call. But Anderson isn’t Knight.

Of course, Knight would never say whether the booing or heckling bothers him. If any reporter or broadcaster was going to ask him about the reception he receives at Texas Tech’s road games, they didn’t get the chance. Less than four minutes into his postgame press conference, Knight stopped answering questions and briskly walked out of the Mizzou Arena media room.

“Jesus, God,” Knight sharply said as he quickly rose from the press podium and out of the room. Usually, coaches prefer to stand behind the podium and speak into a microphone. Knight, however, chose to sit on the table the microphone is on. Not that a microphone was needed for most of his answers.

Appropriately, Knight looked like a man who had just watched his team lose by double-digits. A few strands of his parted white hair were out of place. His face was red, his eyes moist. And his answers were short, direct, and occasionally insulting.

“I’m not sure what rhythm is,” Knight responded to a question about whether Missouri took Texas Tech out of its rhythm. “What is rhythm? I don’t think I’ve ever actually said rhythm to a basketball team ever. You know, you play at different paces, different games. Some games are at a slow pace, some games are at a fast pace, and you’ve got to be able to adjust to what’s happening.”

And when he was asked whether the absence of starters Jon Plefka and Charlie Burgess affected Texas Tech’s chances to win on the road, Knight’s answer was more of a question.

“Now, what would you think?” Knight said. “Why don’t you quote yourself on that one and figure that one out? I mean, what would be your answer to that?”

When the reporter responded that there was probably an effect, Knight stuck to his theme.

“Then, let your readers know how smart you are,” Knight answered.

What finally sent Knight away from the press conference was a young reporter asking if Knight’s team had let down after defeating No. 6 Texas A&M on Wednesday.

The redness on Knight’s face quickly became a little more vivid.

“Son, we just got beat,” Knight loudly interjected as the reporter tried to finish his question. “We had two guys that didn’t play that have been instrumental on our team all year. There wasn’t any let down. We just got our ass beat, OK?”

Naturally, anybody who watched the game wanted to know how some of Knight’s players felt about the game and why they lost. But, according to Randy Farley from Texas Tech’s media relations department, players only speak to the media when Knight allows it. None entered the media room after Knight.

Missouri players, fully aware of Knight’s reputation, seemed to respect the Texas Tech coach. Both Marshall Brown and Keon Lawrence said they wouldn’t mind playing for a coach like Knight. After all, he is the all-time winningest coach in Division I history and has won three national championships.

“He always knows how to make his teams play together, and he always wins,” Brown said. “Some people may say he’s a little bit strange, but, you know, that’s just the nature of coaching. Sometimes, you just gotta learn to deal with it.”

Lawrence said he has heard the same things about Knight that Brown has.

“His team is very disciplined,” Lawrence said. “I wouldn’t mind playing for him. I love Coach A (Anderson), though.”

Seconds after the final buzzer, Knight and Anderson met at center court. The two embraced, with Knight congratulating Anderson on the win, telling the Missouri coach he’s doing a good job with his team. After that moment, Knight, accompanied by a police officer, walked back into Texas Tech’s locker room. He kept looking straight ahead, his steps as purposeful as always.