Knight back home again

NASHVILLE --What had originally been scheduled as a 45-minute speech and a question-and-answer session to follow turned into a two-hour storytelling marathon as former IU men's basketball coach Bob Knight addressed the crowd at the Little Nashville Opry Sunday.\nKnight -- who was fired from IU in September -- made his first appearance in the area since saying goodbye to the students in Dunn Meadow nearly nine months ago. While there were a shortage of students at this gathering, there were plenty of Bob Knight supporters, as a majority of the audience that filled three-fourths of the seats sported Texas Tech and IU basketball t-shirts.\nThe event started off with an introduction from local restaurant owner Larry Hawkins. Hawkins and Opry owner Ester Hamilton can be credited for bringing the ex-coach back to the Hoosier state, as both are long-time friends of Knight's. \nAs soon as Hawkins introduced Knight as "the greatest coach ever," the crowd jumped to its feet and gave Knight a standing ovation as he walked onto the Opry stage. The stage that is accustomed to hosting country acts like Joe Diffie, Sawyer Brown and Kenny Chesney became a two-hour storytelling session as Knight started right away telling humorous stories about Hawkins.\nKnight then introduced several of his friends from the Indiana area including Bob Hammel and former secretary Mary Ann Davis. \nKnight did bring two of his long-time friends onto the stage and referred to them by their nicknames. One of the persons brought onto the stage Knight called "Red," and had to stop in mid-sentence to fight back tears when he said he was the very first friend he had ever made at Indiana.\n"When you make friends with Coach Knight, you have a friend forever," Red said.\nAnother introduction Knight made was of the local Brown County Sheriff he called "Hurt." Knight said Hurt assisted him while attending Opry shows to control the fanfare that came with the coach's appearance.\n"I consider it an honor to be a friend of Coach and Karen Knight," Hurt said.\nOnce the introductions were out of the way, Knight began with the storytelling that he has become famous for, as he told stories of his adventures in and out of basketball.\nHe began with praises for CNN talk show host Larry King, but that was the only aspect of the media Knight held in high regards.\nKnight said he would continuously make up names of at least two players on the roster when he was asked by local TV media what his starting lineup would be for the game that night, just to prove a point.\n"(The interviewers) don't pay attention to your answers," Knight said. Knight also referred to ESPN reporter Jeremy Schapp as a "little squirrel." Schapp and Knight once had a brief altercation when Knight told Schapp he has a long way to go before he can be as good as his father, fellow ESPN reporter Dick Schapp.\nKnight then moved on to stories about his family and his influences in the field of coaching. One instance Knight said made a big impact on his life is when his former baseball coach threw him out of practice for muttering words under his breath. \n"That was the first time I learned you could throw a kid out of practice," Knight said. "It also showed me that you can be really aggressive with a kid but still show him that you care for him."\nKnight continued with stories the crowd found humorous including such subjects as discipline, Adolph Rupp and college officials. Some were in praise, but some were not.\nOne instance where Knight was still critical was the IU administration. Knight has been a vocal opponent of Myles Brand and his staff, and he made that clear once again in his return. Another subject Knight touched on was his graduation rates, and how they were invalid his last couple of years at IU, because the NCAA only counts scholarship players. He did make it clear that his graduation rate was nearly 20 percent higher than the school's.\n"I think Brand was trying to bring me down to his level," Knight said. "It amuses me when he talks about the importance of academics."\nKnight wasn't completely critical of every subject he touched upon -- in fact, a majority of Knight's talk was light-hearted, and the coach held a smile for most of his two hours on stage.\nKnight closed out the day bringing his wife Karen to the stage and allowing her to say a few words. It wasn't long before she began to tear up.\n"I'm grateful for the lessons we've learned," she said. "It's been a revealing year. I'm grateful of having spent 13 years in the area. You'll always be in our hearts wherever we go."\nKnight then took the podium for the last time and thanked the crowd.\n"I blame you people for me staying five years longer then I should have," Knight said. "We've found people like you (in Texas)."\nKnight and his wife then left the stage to a standing ovation.