| | By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Now that Indiana has allowed Bob Knight to remain as coach, he needs to be able to be a coach.
That means Knight should be given the latitude to be angry with an official during the game -- even get a technical foul. He can get upset with
his beat writer when he writes something Knight doesn't agree with in the paper. All beat writers have felt a wrath from a coach while sitting courtside
after practice.
|  | | Bob Knight, shown here with Charlie Miller in 1996, must be given a chance to coach his team. |
Acting out, like a normal, intense coach, shouldn't be construed as crossing the line of the zero-tolerance policy. Embarrassing the university
is a different matter.
If Knight were to get up at a news conference, with the Indiana or
NCAA banner behind him, and then lash out at the media with expletives and
other choice words, then that should be grounds for dismissal under the new
guidelines.
Over the next few months, athletics director Clarence Doninger has
the tough task of coming up with parameters for Knight's behavior. It won't
be easy. Knight could blur the lines almost daily. But they have to be
clear. Embarrassing the university and/or being physically or verbally abusive
should be understood as violations of the policy.
The actions Knight was accused of (grabbing the neck of Neil
Reed, throwing a vase near secretary Jeanette Hartgraves, threatening Doninger and Ron
Felling and hitting SID Kit Klingelhoffer) should be the type of incidents that
are grounds for dismissal under the new policy. Knight's tirades at the media
after the Iowa-Indiana game or the NCAA Tournament
game in Boise, Idaho, a few years ago fall in line with this, too.
But the university and the national media should watch people who
try to bait Knight into crossing the line. Getting Knight to go off could
become a badge of honor for media members, fans and/or athletic department
personnel. Then the interaction with Knight takes on ulterior, sinister motives -- like someone trying to get a recovering alcoholic to drink or giving a cigarette to someone who is trying
to quit smoking.
Stephen Backer, one of the nine Indiana board of trustees, said the
board and president Myles Brand won't tolerate another abuse by Knight. But he
said the board and Brand changed their mind on Knight's dismissal once he
came out with a public apology last Saturday. Politically in the state of
Indiana, Brand and the board would have had a hard time firing Knight after
his admission that he has an anger management problem. Nationally, critics
don't buy the political pressures, but they were real.
Now, the onus is on Knight to adhere to the new policy. If he
embarrasses the university from this point forward he will be gone. But, the
policy can't be vague nor can it be manipulated. Knight can still rant and
rave like most coaches do in practice or during a game. But he can't be
allowed to make the university look foolish. If he does, he'll be gone. It
should be that simple.
NCAA scouring the summer
NCAA spokesperson Wally Renfro said members of the staff who are in charge of gathering information on summer recruiting will be out in force
this July.
Renfro said the staff will attend most of the high-profile summer
camps across the country. But there will be one notable omission from the
scene.
Syracuse chancellor Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw isn't expected to check out
the adidas, Nike or Big Time Tournament camps. He told the chief
researcher for ESPN Magazine that he had no plans to go out this summer
after the NCAA said they thought he would be making the rounds.
Why is this significant? Shaw is in charge of the committee to
revamp summer recruiting and come up with a new system for the NCAA in 2002.
This is the final summer of recruiting under the current structure of 24
allowed days. NCAA coaches will be allowed to go out for 14 days in 2001.
Shaw's reluctance to witness what goes on in the summer first-hand won't win
over the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the sneaker companies
or perhaps even the new Student Basketball Congress. All would be less likely to
fight change if they felt the committee had seen what they all go through
every summer.
The NCAA staff might get a sense of the summer scene, but the committee has to see what
goes on to be able to offer a realistic alternative. Not going out will only divide the
two sides.
Summer coaches aren't all evil. In fact, Syracuse just hired former
D.C. Assault coach Troy Weaver to be an assistant after Weaver served on New
Mexico's staff for a year.
Weekly chatter
Remove Murray State senior Isaac Spencer from any draft
consideration. Spencer is going back for his fourth season of eligibility
after earning it under NCAA rules. Spencer averaged 19.9 points and 8.2
rebounds per game last season. The first-team Ohio Valley Conference forward
has a chance to be a draft pick in 2001, as well as keep the Racers in
contention for the OVC title.
Fresno State redshirt freshman point guard Tito Maddox is a
few summer courses away from being eligible next fall. Maddox's status had
been questioned throughout the season. If he's eligible, the Bulldogs have a
chance to compete for the WAC title. Without him, their perimeter depth will
be a concern.
Hofstra's Jay Wright is the logical candidate to
replace Mike Jarvis at St. John's once he likely takes the Washington
Wizards job. But don't be shocked to see P.J. Carlesimo make a run at the
post. Friends close to Carlesimo told ESPN.com that St. John's is the one college job in which he'd be interested.
The ACC finally wised up and got rid of the No. 1 vs. No. 9 game
and went back to a play-in game between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in the ACC
tournament in 2001. The previous format took the top-seeded team out of the
Friday night lineup. There should be four quarterfinal games on Friday to
give everyone a fair shot in Saturday's semifinals.
Former Connecticut guard Doug Wrenn told ESPN.com that he
wants to go transfer to the Pac-10. His list includes his hometown school of
Washington, USC, Oregon and Oregon State.
Does the NCAA have the right or the need to look into DeShawn Stevenson's test score jump now that he has declared for the NBA?
Just a thought.
New Mexico pulled off another transfer coup when the Lobos
landed Washington's Senque Carey. The Lobos have more high-profile talent in
place than when Fran Fraschilla got to Albuquerque last year, but the key
will be if he can keep the current players happy and if the newcomers can mesh quickly enough to
get the Lobos back to the NCAAs.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word is updated Thursdays throughout the offseason.
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