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American Morning

Talk with Former Indiana Head Coach Bob Knight

Aired March 26, 2002 - 08:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Our next guest has lived a good part of his adult life on the edge. He has enjoyed great success, and he has been at the center of a good deal of controversy. Bob Knight his supporters will tell you is a coaching legend at Indiana. He won three national championships, defined there by his many accomplishments, both academic and athletic, and not characterized by what was called messy departure from the university a couple of years ago. Coach Knight is now the head man at Texas Tech. He's written his own story. By the way, he turned that program around in one year, turned it into a winner. His story is called "Knight: My Story."

Bob Knight joins us this morning to talk about his book, about March Madness. Ironically your former team, the Indiana Hoosiers, going to the Final Four. Are they good enough win it?

BOB KNIGHT, "KNIGHT: MY STORY": I think anybody that gets there is pretty good. They've done a great job getting there, as the other three teams have. When people say, well, who's going to win it? I always say, if I could figure that out, I'd be too smart to be coaching.

CAFFERTY: I was going ask you to handicap it, but you don't know the answer. What about this guy, the guy that replaced you? He had A tough assignment going into that job.

KNIGHT: I think anybody, as I said, that's been able to get a team to play well enough to go through the tournament with all the pressures and the traps that there are in tournament play, has done a very good job with the team. I think that the four coaches that are there have all done that.

CAFFERTY: Did you recruit any of the kids that are playing on this team?

KNIGHT: Most of them. I was involved in recruiting these kids, because most of the kids that are playing are either juniors or seniors.

CAFFERTY: There's no shortage of stuff in print about you. Why did you write this book?

KNIGHT: Well, I think that you kind of get to a point where you say, OK, I'm going to write the book. I mean, I'm tired of seeing something that's half truth, or very little truth to it. So I'll just write it. Now, if people like it or don't like it, it's at least what I've said, not what somebody else has said.

CAFFERTY: What's the biggest misconception about you?

KNIGHT: Well, I think that there -- I don't think any of them are particularly important. But I'll just give you an example. Officials, and really getting after officials. I've often thrown out, why don't you check on technical fouls, as an example, and you'll find that I've had very, very few.

CAFFERTY: Is that because the officials gave you Bob Knight the coaching legend maybe more latitude than somebody else?

KNIGHT: I think that's a myth in all sports. I think somebody says -- Al McGwire used to say you've got to work the officials. I think guys get tired of hearing you talk to them. I was just with the Cardinals for a few days, and we were talking about umpires that worked the exhibition games, and they were going over some things with me such as, this is a guy you don't want to say anything to. This is -- and so...

CAFFERTY: You learn that over time.

KNIGHT: I think the official is in total control of the game. He doesn't have to fiddle around with coaches, or players, or fans or anybody. He's the guy that has complete charge.

CAFFERTY: At the time that you left Indiana, you characterized your dismissal from there as a charade. A couple of years has passed now. Reflecting back on it, do you still feel the same way?

KNIGHT: Well, the reason that I would use a word like "charade" to describe it is because all of the things that transpired because of it, that were negative, for everybody involved. All that had to happen at that time was simply saying to me, hey, coach, we have a different administration, we have a different approach, and you don't fit into it; we'd like to make a change. That would have been fine with me. I could have understood that, instead of all of the things that were used, and thought up, and going through the whole rigmarole that ensued.

CAFFERTY: When the publishers send out the press kits for these books, they send along little quotes and excerpts, things to help us interviewers prepare for these little encounters. Let me read you two, OK, get your reaction.

First one, "You remember when you were a kid growing up and you believed in Santa Claus? There's not much difference between Santa Claus and me. We're both overweight lovable guys that kids really enjoy."

KNIGHT: I think that's true a point. I don't think I'd say that's entirely true, but that was a takeoff on somebody saying to me, well, describe yourself. So I kind of did it in what I hope was sort of a humorous way.

CAFFERTY: I like it. Here's the other one, which your critics would say is the epitome of Bob Knight, "When my time on earth is gone and my activities are passed I want them to bury me upside down so my critics can kiss my" -- posterior.

KNIGHT: Do I need to supply the rest of it?

CAFFERTY: No, we'd better not. It's a live show. They can't bleep it.

KNIGHT: You know, critics, somebody gave me this a long time ago. Bullfight critics row on row, crowd the enormous plaza full, but there's only one man there who knows and he's the one who fights the bull. So critics are I think somebody that is on the end of critiques, develops a certain approach toward critics, and that was mine.

CAFFERTY: Fair enough. Thank you for coming in, sharing a few memories, recollections was us.

I'm a fan. I have enjoyed following your career. I appreciate the opportunity to sit and talk with you.

KNIGHT: I appreciate very much the opportunity to visit with you.

CAFFERTY: All right. The book's called "Knight: My Story." The author is Bob Knight.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Coach, I have a question for you. You seem so mellow today. Are you a kinder and gentler person now that you've left Indiana University?

KNIGHT: Santa Claus, Paula, I told you that. One thing that you should know is that a person that I had speak to our team almost each year I was at Indiana is one of the world's most accomplished cellists, and his name is Yanno Starker (ph).

ZAHN: I sort of admired him over the years. Never could play at his level, but dreamed of doing that. In my next life.

KNIGHT: Great motivational speaker, too.

ZAHN: All right, coach, thanks for dropping by.

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