Bob Knight On John Calipari: 'Integrity Is Really Lacking'

INDIANAPOLIS — Bob Knight said integrity is lacking in college basketball and cited Kentucky coach John Calipari as an example.

During a fundraiser for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, Knight said he doesn't understand why Calipari is still coaching.

"We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching," he said. "You see we've got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that."

Massachusetts and Memphis were both sanctioned by the NCAA for violations committed during Calipari's tenure.

Knight, who won a record 902 games as coach of Army, Indiana and Texas Tech, did not elaborate or take questions from reporters.

Comments

[LeeCalif]

10:39 PM on 12/20/2009

Knight doesn't need to elaborate.

Corruption is crystal clear.

[hillbillychickenfarmer]

12:18 PM on 12/20/2009

here in the bluegrass state, bobby knight's opinion about anything carries about the same weight as an old dried-up cow pile. Actually, the cow pile probably would be considered the more valuable.

[MacManLB]

08:53 AM on 12/20/2009

F**k Bobby Knight and all these so called coaches who exploit black kids so that they can get multi-million dollar contracts.

[writerjohnny]

09:08 AM on 12/20/2009

Knight and the universities exploited white players too. And Hispanic players. If you're young and an athlete you are exploitable.

[iMissMollyIvins]

06:40 PM on 12/20/2009

Whatever else you might say about Bobby Knight, you can't say that he exploited his players. His players were actually Student-Athletes who went to class and made the grades (most got their degrees) or they did NOT play. IU was not an NBA 'factory', unlike UNLV etc.

[kynycmbp]

02:32 AM on 12/20/2009

I am a UK fan and I was not aware of any of Calipari's misdeeds, but I will certainly look into it now.

I had flashbacks to the horrors of the Eddie Sutton years at UK.

I hope Calipari decides to run a clean program. I don't think I could survive another NCAA ban.

[ECB]

05:53 PM on 12/19/2009

Said the Pot to the Kettle.

[Trophoto]

03:20 PM on 12/19/2009

Coach Knight is the winningest coach in college basketball history. He did this while graduating the vast majority of players who played for him and while never ever having a recruiting violation. Sure he has a tempter but Gene Keady at Purdue had more career technical fouls than Bob Knight. He may be a flawed messenger but at least he did the 2 things you want a college coach to do; 1) graduate players 2) win games. And, he did both exceptionally well.

[skippy20008]

04:36 PM on 12/19/2009

Does that make it okay to choke and kick people? To throw chairs at officials? To throw potted plants at sixtysomething receptionist?

It is possible to win, have players graduate, and be, you know, a human being. Look at Coach K and John Wooden.

[Badger84]

01:03 AM on 12/20/2009

No, it absolutely doesn't make it OK. However, that doesn't mean his comments about Calipari were incorrect.

[lmab]

10:12 AM on 12/19/2009

Bobby Knight....righteous indignation and hypocrisy...... How very John McCain of you.

[goddess1871]

07:41 AM on 12/19/2009

Hi, Kettle. I'm Pot. Did you know you're black?

[FMC651]

02:12 AM on 12/19/2009

People here don't like Knight. And are taking shots at him. They miss the point.If they knew Coach Cal's record and what he has done at every stop
they would understand Knight has an excellent point. Kentucky sold its soul for this guy and will pay for it. I hope they lose like UMass did and Memphis did. Hopefully before the Final 4

[Phxflyer]

05:48 PM on 12/18/2009

Knight is the LAST person anyone should listen to about integrity.

[AD sandiego]

05:52 PM on 12/18/2009

Really? Can you cite some of Knight's intergirty issues?

[sloreader]

07:57 PM on 12/18/2009

Public displays of brutish physical behavior toward others for little or no reason and, perhaps more importantly, failing to recognize that Larry Bird had the character and the skills to play at IU. Need I say more?

[skippy20008]

08:10 PM on 12/18/2009

Choking kids, kicking players, throwing a potted plant at a sixtysomething receptionist, being completely classless...why, Booby sounds just like Gandhi!

[UWSDave24]

04:51 PM on 12/18/2009

Coach Knight's own character aside, what about a coach who's left two programs on probation and is welcomed by another with a multi-million dollar contract? I am definitely in the wrong business and on the wrong side of the ethics debate.

[circusfifthfloor]

01:44 PM on 12/18/2009

I'm still wondering how his teams won so frequently, having to endure his behavior day in and day out. He never had but one really great player, Thomas, and you see what happened to him later in life's character journey. No player was given any freedom to improvise or utilize their talents in any imaginative way. It was straight by Coach's book, or the end of the bench. His record was clean, but I wonder how many officials he bullied into keeping it that clean? Good recruiter, excellent teacher of fundamentals, fair game coach, but as a leader of young men.....Nope. Can you imagine how long Larry Bird would have lasted. And he was the hardest working man in the business. No, we don't need a bully telling us who be bad. Creep.....CFF

[Nommo]

03:44 PM on 12/18/2009

A lot of kids go to college from HS knowing little more than improvising or attempting to utilize their talents in an "imaginative" way. Just look at some of the HS wonders who went straight to the NBA. How lacking their total approach to the game is. If they did not allow for palming, or "turning the ball over so much" how many players would be able to dribble the ball?
The pro game can be lacking so badly in fundamentals it can be aggravating to watch. Knight teams could play the game. If Knight knew nothing else in life, he knows basketball and what made Isiah great as a player was precisely that. When all else fails, play the game the way it is supposed to be played. I don't particularly care for him ,but he is right about the Caliparis. How do they get to go from one school to another with all the scandal?

[E2DAV]

01:51 PM on 12/20/2009

First, you're wrong...one good player? Quinn Buckner, Scott May, Steve Alford, Calbert Cheney, and others that are immediately slipping my mind were some of the best in the college game. Second, even if you think he only had one good player, doesn't that make him one of the best coaches ever if he won three national championships and all those games with only one marquee player?

All this is really moot. Knight clearly had his sins, but he is one of the best coaches ever in the game that never had any recruiting scandal touch him and he graduated all his players. He is clearly a bully. But that doesn't take away any credibility on these matters.

I think it's great he is not toting the ESPN company talking points and actually criticizing Calipari. This guy deserves to be called out. The fact that John Wall grew up in Roy William's backyard and he was not recruited by UNC say A LOT. It seems that Calipari can effectively coach some of the best one-and-dones in the game and get them prepared for the NBA; but general shadiness is all around his recruitment strategies. Kentucky will probably win a couple of national championships with him ; but they might also get some scholarships lifted and some serious probation.

[PKMKII]

12:15 PM on 12/18/2009

Let's take a look at Bobby's "Integrity," shall we?

During the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Knight was accused of assaulting a police officer while coaching the US Basketball team before a practice session. He was later convicted in absentia to a six-month jail sentence, but extradition efforts by the Puerto Rican government were not successful.
In 1985, Knight threw a chair across the court to protest a referee's call during a game against the rival Purdue Boilermakers. Knight was suspended for one game and received two years' probation from the Big Ten Conference.
n 1992 prior to the NCAA regional finals, controversy erupted after Knight playfully mock whipped Indiana players Calbert Cheaney and Pat Graham during practice. The bullwhip had been given to Knight as a gift from his team, however, several black leaders complained at the racial connotations of the act (Cheaney is black.)
Former IU player Neil Reed alleged that Knight had grabbed him by the neck in a choking manner during a 1997 practice. A videotape of the incident was shown on CNN.
On September 8, 2000, IU freshman Kent Harvey told campus police Knight grabbed him roughly by the arm and berated him for speaking to the coach disrespectfully (saying "What's up, Knight?"). Knight admitted putting his hand on the student's arm and lecturing him on civility, but denied that he was rough or raised his voice. The coach was fired from IU two days later.

[WowJones]

12:48 PM on 12/18/2009

You're confusing Knight's notorious bad temper and lack of manners with the integrity of his basketball programs. There he is notoriously clean.

[simpleperson]

02:44 PM on 12/18/2009

Agreed. He may have been a nut but he never cheated.

[skippy20008]

03:49 PM on 12/18/2009

Being a completely abominable human being is okay if you don't cheat? I'm on Calipari fan at all, but Bobby Knight criticizing his character? Oh, please.

And, it is possible to win, not cheat, AND be decent. Look at Joe Torre and Tony Dungy.

[Trophoto]

03:26 PM on 12/19/2009

So one can have a mild temper but be a cheater and maintain integrity in your book. Glad I was not an alter boy in your parish, Father.

[Dolmance]

12:07 PM on 12/18/2009

What part of basketball involved integrity?

My cat doesn't have a lot of integrity when she's batting around a ball of string. But it's okay. It's not one of those activities where integrity's called for.

[sloreader]

08:02 PM on 12/18/2009

Unselfishness toward your teammates (although I will admit it is in such short supply it is very hard to find).

[platanoman]

11:50 AM on 12/18/2009

look who is talking

[slipthalo]

12:02 PM on 12/18/2009

Say what you want but name the schools put on probation when Knight was their coach and then compare his players graduation % to other coach/schools. Don't agree with a lot of his temper tantrums but he didn't 'cheat' as so many coaches seem to think they need to.

[MadamRoma]

12:16 PM on 12/18/2009

Bob Knight might not have been the ideal role model for young players, but unlike Calliope he was not dirty and played by the rules.