Bobby Knight blasts Calipari and NCAA

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Bobby Knight Says College Hoops Lacks Integrity, Cites Calipari



INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Bobby Knight said integrity is lacking in college basketball and cited Kentucky coach John Calipari as an example.
During a fundraiser for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, Knight said he doesn't understand why Calipari is still coaching.
"We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching," he said. "You see we've got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that."

Both of Calipari's former schools were sanctioned by the NCAA for violations committed during his tenure.
Knight, the former Indiana and Texas Tech coach who won a record 902 games, did not elaborate or take questions from reporters.

regardless of your opinion of Knight as a man, two things are without dispute. his teams won without cheating, and his players graduated. as far as i'm concerned, he's spot on.Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood

 

[DixieDestroyer]

I was always a big fan of the General & his hard@$$, old-school coaching style. One of my all time college players was Steve Alford.

 

[j41181]

I was always a big fan of the General & his hard@$$, old-school coaching style. One of my all time college players was Steve Alford.

Me too! He's an all-time legend in college hoops. Shame though about his handling on Luke Recker, and the choke hold he did to that black dude.

Still, he's a legend in the eyes of everyone.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Bobby Knight believes that a young person playing college sports is supposed to be a student-athlete, with the "student" part coming first.

With the way he fought with the NCAA over the decades, if he hadn't run his programs with integrity, they would've found a way to get him out of the game.

I think his comments about John Calipari are spot on.

Of course, if ol' Temple coach John Chaney had had his way, John Calipari would've been dead.

As long as there are so many blacks in football and basketball, and the NCAA keeps making so much money from the two sports, this combination will continue to make a mockery of the student-athlete.

 

[j41181]

I hate it when most student-athletes (blacks especially) just spend 1-2 years in college and jump straight to the pros. Education seems to no longer play an important role for the student-athlete, and only a handful of coaches (like Bob Knight, Tom Izzo, Roy Williams) 100% stress it's importance. The problem lies with as usual, the money and fame thing. Most NBA teams want to enjoy a particular player for a very long time (17-18 years), meaning most players have to be 19-20 years old by draft day. The 22-23 year olds (those who spent the whole 4-year college journey) are given little hype and priority.

The NBA and it's DWF's want YOUNG players (blacks especially). It's quite true that most white athletes tend to mature a bit later, compared to black athletes. Hence, the reason why most whites stay 3-4 years in college. Also for most whites (and Asians), Academic Education is just as important as the sporting goal. Most blacks think of only the money and fame.

 

[jaxvid]

I don't see why the players should stay in school if they can make money as a pro. I'm sure the universities want them to stick around, look at the money they make from them, while only having to pay a small amount for their tuition. After all isn't it going to college about getting a good job? If some company in another industry wanted to hire a student away before he graduated and offered good compensation who would blame a student for going? Anyway the guy can always go back and get his degree, it's not like they are booted out of the classroom forever.