Knightfall

Legendary basketball coach Bob Knight is retiring from Texas Tech. I met him, briefly, years ago when I worked from the state senator from Bloomington, IN. He's an imposing guy, more so than you realize watching him on TV because there he's surrounded by even bigger players. Even beyond that, he has this palpable physcial presence that's unusual and more than a little intimidating. It's easy to see how that, combined with a brilliant basketball mind, molded three national championship teams and the most wins in history, just as it led to his justified dismissal from IU when his temper got the better of him one too many times. Some suggest that Knight will be remembered as much for his failings as his success, but I don't think that's true; he may have embarrassed himself but he never dishonored the game through the kind of cheating that ran rampant in other programs that couldn't match the talent and execution at IU.