Knight was IU's program

The hiring of interim coach Mike Davis was a wise move by the administration ' as a product of the Bob Knight system, he will no doubt do well. But to urge players who were brought in under former coach Bob Knight to stay out of loyalty to IU is unfair. \n Players choose a school based on many criteria, but the most obvious and important aspect for most is the coach. \n Coaches nurture relationships with players, from watching them play in high school to pounding home the importance of academics and graduation. Knight did all these things for the IU basketball team. When he was fired, many players felt as if they had lost a "father-figure." \nHow could we blame freshman A.J. Moye if he wanted to transfer to another basketball program? His transfer would in no way have been a reflection of how he feels about IU as a whole ' it would have reflected his devotion to Coach Knight and his disappointment in IU President Myles Brand.\nMoye came here to play IU basketball, and for 29 years IU basketball was Bob Knight. Nothing can change that, or the fact that Moye feels betrayed by Brand. \nJunior Dane Fife echoed Moye's feelings of betrayal in Wednesday's IDS when he said, "I hope all the players transfer for the way we've been treated."\nSo far, attention has focused on Knight and the fairness of his dismissal. But we've yet to talk about how fair or unfair that dismissal was to the players. None of us are on the IU basketball team, and no one else can understand how hard it will be to play this season with a new, probably temporary coach.\nSaying the players should be loyal to an institution is valuing the institution more than the people who are part of it. The legacy and the history is with Bob Knight, and if the players didn't want to stick around to pick up the pieces, that would have been their choice.\nDavis has a tough job ahead of him, stepping in just a month before the first official practice. He needs players who truly want to be here, who can put their entire heart into the game. Players who are heartbroken can't do that. \nIt would have been hard for players to transfer at this point in the year, transitioning into a new academic and athletic program. But, it will be harder to continue to play for an institution they no longer believe in.\nNow that they've chosen to stay, good luck to them in the tough times ahead.