Bob Knight, Greg Oden/D.J. White, Mike Conley Jr.
You may have noticed a lack of content recently. I've been pretty busy since the holidays. I should be posting regularly again soon.
1. So Bobby Knight is now the winningest coach in men's college basketball history. He's also probably the sport's most controversial figure, so his 880th victory is certainly a noteworthy event.
I grew up in Central Vermont, and played for one of the more successful coaches in the area (not exactly a basketball hotbed, I know). He's won, I believe, three state championships, and always seems to get the maximum out of his teams.
He's also a huge Knight fan, and to a certain extent, has modeled his leadership style after the legendary Indiana and Texas Tech coach. This has made him somewhat of a controversial figure from time to time in his career. He has actually mellowed quite a bit over the years, and by the time I played for him the truly explosive tirades of which I had heard tale were nowhere to be seen. He did, however, earn complaints from parents for the severity of a late-game blowup at our 2 guard during a crucial road battle on the eve of the postseason. Not the player's parents. Not parents on our side of the court, for that matter. The opposing team's parents.
I tell that anecdote to illustrate that often, coaches like Bob Knight appear a lot worse than they actually are. Yelling, screaming, and cursing isn't part of my personality? No, it isn't, and there are few areas of my life where I'd put up with being yelled at. But the basketball court is one of them. It's an intense environment, one that can't really felt from up in the stands. I had attended plenty of my high school's games prior to playing there myself, and I was terrified at the prospect of playing for a coach who appeared to be a monster. By the time I dressed for my first varsity practice as a junior, I had had enough contact with him (as a jayvee player) to realize it wasn't a big deal. It was never an issue in my two years.
Now, I don't happen to think that it's the most effective coaching style. There are some kids who simply don't respond well to it, and neither Knight nor my old high school coach are particularly skilled at toning it down depending on the player. It could be that they are too competitive, or they could be opposed to treating one kid differently from the rest. I tend to subscribe to the "everyone will be treated fairly, but not the same" theory (which I first saw attributed to then-Michigan coach Steve Fisher in Mitch Albom's "Fab Five"), but that's just a philosophical difference. Besides, Bobby Knight and my old high school coach have won a hell of a lot more games than I ever have.
In closing, let me point out that not a single player who has played for Knight in the last several years hasn't known what he was getting into. Knight's style has been widely publicized -- exaggerated even. Knight's persona is out there, and an 18-year-old kid can choose whether he wants to deal with it for four years. He probably won't get the basketball education somewhere else that he'd get under Knight, but it's his decision.
That's not necessarily the case with all of Knight's peers. I don't want to get into specifics because the only true evidence I have is hearsay, but it's highly likely that other prominent coaches subject their players to the same kind of treatment as Knight does. But because they put on a different face for games, or because they haven't been coaching as long, or because they haven't had the high profile flareups that Knight has, they have a more pristine reputation. In those cases, a young man choosing his school may get more than he bargained for.
That's not to say that Knight hasn't crossed the line on occasion in his career; he has. And I'm not vouching for Knight as a person, either -- I've never met the guy. But I am supremely confident in saying the following three things: 1)It's not nearly as bad for the players as so many observers think it is; 2)He's probably the best teacher of basketball coaching in the college game today; and 3)The young men who play for Knight end up as least as well off -- and better, in many instances -- than had they chosen to play basketball somewhere else.
2)It's rare for opposite numbers to have a substantial positive impact on their respective teams in the same game, but despite inferior numbers, I thought Indiana's D.J. White went pretty much toe to toe with Ohio State's Greg Oden Tuesday night.
It was the first "signature" game for Oden, the first time in his career that they needed a big performance from him, and he delivered with 21 points and four blocked shots, including an emphatic rejection up five less than a minute to go.
White never back down from Oden and, drawing the big freshman's third foul -- which led to him having to sit with four fouls with more than six minutes remaining Unfortunately, by that time, White had played too many minutes to take advantage of Oden's absence -- something he did earlier in the game when Oden took a breather (note to Kelvin Sampson: I know you pride yourself on having well-conditioned players, but 34 minutes is too many for a man of White's size, particularly when so many come against a guy like Oden). White finished with 11 points, and outrebounded Oden 10-3.
3)Mike Conley Jr. simply hasn't gotten enough credit for his performance for Ohio State this year. Oden is the headline-grabber in Columbus (in terms of basketball, anyway), and players like Daequan Cook and Ron Lewis have gotten the pub for their scoring. But with a 10-assist, no-turnover performance against Indiana, the Conley improved to an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.4 to 1. That's a remarkable statistic for a freshman.
It goes beyond that, however. With Oden sidelined for the first part of the season while recovering from wrist surgery, the Buckeyes have had to jell twice: without Oden, and now with him. Conley has been instrumental in assimilating his old high school teammate into the offense -- an offense that was hitting on all cylinders before Oden's return.
I hate to keep comparing Ohio State, Florida, and North Carolina with each other, because they aren't the only championship contenders. However, they are similar in that they are loaded with offensive talent and scoring ability, while the other top schools aren't as deep this year. Of that trio, Florida has an established point guard in Taurean Green, who played a key role in the Gators' title game victory over UCLA last season. North Carolina doesn't have one, at least not yet. It's safe to say, however, that Thad Matta and the Ohio State Buckeyes have found theirs.
1. So Bobby Knight is now the winningest coach in men's college basketball history. He's also probably the sport's most controversial figure, so his 880th victory is certainly a noteworthy event.
I grew up in Central Vermont, and played for one of the more successful coaches in the area (not exactly a basketball hotbed, I know). He's won, I believe, three state championships, and always seems to get the maximum out of his teams.
He's also a huge Knight fan, and to a certain extent, has modeled his leadership style after the legendary Indiana and Texas Tech coach. This has made him somewhat of a controversial figure from time to time in his career. He has actually mellowed quite a bit over the years, and by the time I played for him the truly explosive tirades of which I had heard tale were nowhere to be seen. He did, however, earn complaints from parents for the severity of a late-game blowup at our 2 guard during a crucial road battle on the eve of the postseason. Not the player's parents. Not parents on our side of the court, for that matter. The opposing team's parents.
I tell that anecdote to illustrate that often, coaches like Bob Knight appear a lot worse than they actually are. Yelling, screaming, and cursing isn't part of my personality? No, it isn't, and there are few areas of my life where I'd put up with being yelled at. But the basketball court is one of them. It's an intense environment, one that can't really felt from up in the stands. I had attended plenty of my high school's games prior to playing there myself, and I was terrified at the prospect of playing for a coach who appeared to be a monster. By the time I dressed for my first varsity practice as a junior, I had had enough contact with him (as a jayvee player) to realize it wasn't a big deal. It was never an issue in my two years.
Now, I don't happen to think that it's the most effective coaching style. There are some kids who simply don't respond well to it, and neither Knight nor my old high school coach are particularly skilled at toning it down depending on the player. It could be that they are too competitive, or they could be opposed to treating one kid differently from the rest. I tend to subscribe to the "everyone will be treated fairly, but not the same" theory (which I first saw attributed to then-Michigan coach Steve Fisher in Mitch Albom's "Fab Five"), but that's just a philosophical difference. Besides, Bobby Knight and my old high school coach have won a hell of a lot more games than I ever have.
In closing, let me point out that not a single player who has played for Knight in the last several years hasn't known what he was getting into. Knight's style has been widely publicized -- exaggerated even. Knight's persona is out there, and an 18-year-old kid can choose whether he wants to deal with it for four years. He probably won't get the basketball education somewhere else that he'd get under Knight, but it's his decision.
That's not necessarily the case with all of Knight's peers. I don't want to get into specifics because the only true evidence I have is hearsay, but it's highly likely that other prominent coaches subject their players to the same kind of treatment as Knight does. But because they put on a different face for games, or because they haven't been coaching as long, or because they haven't had the high profile flareups that Knight has, they have a more pristine reputation. In those cases, a young man choosing his school may get more than he bargained for.
That's not to say that Knight hasn't crossed the line on occasion in his career; he has. And I'm not vouching for Knight as a person, either -- I've never met the guy. But I am supremely confident in saying the following three things: 1)It's not nearly as bad for the players as so many observers think it is; 2)He's probably the best teacher of basketball coaching in the college game today; and 3)The young men who play for Knight end up as least as well off -- and better, in many instances -- than had they chosen to play basketball somewhere else.
2)It's rare for opposite numbers to have a substantial positive impact on their respective teams in the same game, but despite inferior numbers, I thought Indiana's D.J. White went pretty much toe to toe with Ohio State's Greg Oden Tuesday night.
It was the first "signature" game for Oden, the first time in his career that they needed a big performance from him, and he delivered with 21 points and four blocked shots, including an emphatic rejection up five less than a minute to go.
White never back down from Oden and, drawing the big freshman's third foul -- which led to him having to sit with four fouls with more than six minutes remaining Unfortunately, by that time, White had played too many minutes to take advantage of Oden's absence -- something he did earlier in the game when Oden took a breather (note to Kelvin Sampson: I know you pride yourself on having well-conditioned players, but 34 minutes is too many for a man of White's size, particularly when so many come against a guy like Oden). White finished with 11 points, and outrebounded Oden 10-3.
3)Mike Conley Jr. simply hasn't gotten enough credit for his performance for Ohio State this year. Oden is the headline-grabber in Columbus (in terms of basketball, anyway), and players like Daequan Cook and Ron Lewis have gotten the pub for their scoring. But with a 10-assist, no-turnover performance against Indiana, the Conley improved to an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.4 to 1. That's a remarkable statistic for a freshman.
It goes beyond that, however. With Oden sidelined for the first part of the season while recovering from wrist surgery, the Buckeyes have had to jell twice: without Oden, and now with him. Conley has been instrumental in assimilating his old high school teammate into the offense -- an offense that was hitting on all cylinders before Oden's return.
I hate to keep comparing Ohio State, Florida, and North Carolina with each other, because they aren't the only championship contenders. However, they are similar in that they are loaded with offensive talent and scoring ability, while the other top schools aren't as deep this year. Of that trio, Florida has an established point guard in Taurean Green, who played a key role in the Gators' title game victory over UCLA last season. North Carolina doesn't have one, at least not yet. It's safe to say, however, that Thad Matta and the Ohio State Buckeyes have found theirs.
posted by H.S. Slam, Ph.D at 11:03 PM
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