Bobby Knight at UGA?

Well, since the firing of Georgia men’s basketball coach Dennis Felton last week, there have been rumors that Bobby Knight could end up in Athens. For those of you who don’t know who Bobby Knight is, well he is probably the most famous college basketball coach in the world and has the nickname ‘The General”. He is known for his disciplined style of coaching and by the way he has over 900 wins, more than any other college coach in history. He is also known for his time as the Indiana University head coach where he won three NCAA titles. He recently retired from coaching the Texas Tech Red Raiders and has been working for ESPN doing some analysis work.

He has said he would think about coming back to coaching if the situation was right and some close friends of his, mainly Dick Vital, have said that the Georgia job would be perfect for Coach Knight and he would more than likely accept if there was an offer. That is good and bad! Listen I know Coach Knight comes with a lot of baggage. Knight was one of college basketball's most controversial coaches. He threw a chair across the court during a game, was arrested for assault on a player, and displayed a combative nature during encounters with members of the press. On the other hand, Knight has been praised for running clean programs and graduating most of his players.

Here is my view on bringing Coach Knight to Athens. First off, it would bring instant credibility to the program. It would show that Damon Evans wants to improve the basketball program and become a player in the conference again. It would increase the season ticket sales and increase the attendance not only in Athens, but also in the schools that Georgia plays. I will definitely go to more Georgia basketball games if Coach Knight is on the sidelines. It will improve the caliber of players that are being recruited and that will sign with Georgia. Also, I assure you the graduation rate of the players will increase if Bob Knight is the coach. I also think the players would be coached up and there wouldn’t be any off the court incidents like there have been in the past. But on the flip side, having Coach Knight in Athens would create a media circus and a ton of distractions to the team and to the university. I know that Coach Knight is still a good coach and would be good for the team, but he is 68 years old and I don’t think he would be here more than a couple of years at the most. Another issue I see with trying to bring in Coach Knight is President Michael Adams won’t be able to handle another strong personality in Athens. President Adams is close friends with Miles Brand who was the one the fired Knight at Indiana. Therefore, I am sure he will be loyal to his buddy and will do his best to steer Damon Evans away from making an offer to Knight. I wouldn’t be surprised if Adams veto’s it completely and an offer is never made.

There are pros and cons to bringing in Coach Knight and even though I might not agree with all of Knights philosophies, I know he is a coach that is serious about fundamentals, conditioning, and schoolwork. So even if he is only able to come to Athens for a couple of years, I think it would be a good thing. I know he has had some troubles in the past and who’s to say he won’t have them again, but he runs a clean program and would take care of the players on and off the court. He would bring the UGA basketball program back from the dead and would make a huge impact on recruiting just by agreeing to be the coach. I will not be upset if he doesn’t end up as the coach, there are a lot of other qualified coaches looking to come to a big 6 conference like the SEC. But I think athletic director Damon Evans should at least talk to Coach Knight and see where it goes. The University of Georgia doesn’t need to be known only for its academics and it football team. It can also be a basketball school like it was back in the early 80’s! Hiring Coach Knight would make it a basketball school once again. In addition, Coach Knight would still be able to wear his trademark red sweaters! It is a win-win!

Go Dawgs!

P.S. If Coach Bobby Knight comes to UGA to coach the men’s basketball team, the state of Georgia would have the winningest active college coach (Bob Knight) and the winningest active high school coach (Ron Bradley). That is pretty cool!