Bob Knight On NCAA One-And-Dones: 'I Think It's A Disgrace'

Bob Knight talks about his career during an induction ceremony into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Just because basketball legend Bob Knight finally said "Kentucky" during the tail end of March Madness, that doesn't mean he won't go out of his way to bash the school, its fans and the NCAA's "one-and-done" rule that has allowed some of the teams stars to jump directly from their freshman seasons directly to the NBA.

Speaking at Carmel, Indiana's Center For the Performing Arts on Saturday, the former Hoosiers basketball coach ripped "one-and-done" players, going as far as to say that said he wouldn't pick them if he was an NBA general manager. Given the success of 2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose and two-time NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant, who both left college after just one season, Knight has likely ensured that he will never be an NBA GM.

"I think it's a disgrace," Knight said via Josh Weinfuss of The Indianapolis Star. "If I was an NBA general manager, I would never want to take a kid 18, 19 years old, a year out of college. I'd wait until someone else worked two or three years with him to adjust him to the NBA and I'd trade a draft pick."

Later in his speech, Knight talked about the criticism he drew from referring to Kentucky as "that team from the SEC" for most of the season and too a shot at Wildcats fans.

"Kentucky managed to get irritated over that because I mentioned them as the SEC team rather than Kentucky," he said. "Well, they might not have known that Kentucky was in the SEC. I thought that was always a possibility with them."

Knight has targeted Kentucky coach John Calipari and his habit of recruiting one-and-done players for quite some time now. Last year, Knight claimed that several players on the team led by John Wall in the 2009-10 season didn't go to class throughout one whole semester.

"That's that one-and-done philosophy," he said.

Despite Knight's longstanding disdain for the Wildcats and early entry players, he's not the only one to speak out recently against the rule, which requires draftees to be 19 and a year out of high school.

NBA Commissioner David Stern bashed the NCAA rule while speaking to reporters in Phoenix two weeks ago. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said on Sunday that he too believes that players are being drafted too young.

"It's not even so much about lottery busts. It's about kids' lives that we're ruining," Cuban said, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. "Even if you're a first-round pick and you have three years of guaranteed money, or two years now of guaranteed money, then what? Because if you're a bust and it turns out you just can't play in the NBA, your 'rocks for jocks' one year of schooling isn't going to get you far."

For his part, Calipari also said he'd love to see the ruled revised to force players to stay in school. After winning the 2012 NCAA championship with Kentucky, Calipari quipped that he wants to the rule changed to keep Anthony Davis and some of his teammates in Lexington for another season.

@HuffPostSports
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Calipari on 1-and-done rule: I don't think it's a good rule. I hope we change it before this week's out so these guys all have to come back

April 3, 2012 4:34 am via web Reply Retweet Favorite

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Comments

[Puzzlr]

10:57 AM on 04/13/2012

These guys have every right to start earning money for themselves, instead of all their hard work becoming money for the schools. Money that they can't access. They can't even make money off their likenesses or celebrity.

[troutboy]

12:40 AM on 04/13/2012

I think that when an player leaves school early at any time, that scholarship should be held vacant for the following year. So, let's say that the NCAA allows schools to have 12 basketball players on scholarship each year. If 3 players choose to leave school early, then the following year the school can have 9 active players on scholarship and 3 vacant ones. That might discourage big-time colleges from pursuing so many obvious "one-and-done" players. The "one-and-done" players will always find schools to give them scholarships, but it might keep schools from having large numbers of them...which would help give teams that seldom have blue-chippers a chance to land one occasionally. Teams like UConn, Duke, Kentucky, UCLA etc, won't be able to dominate year after year after year.

I know that people will think this is a crazy idea...and I know that the NCAA would never adopt anything like it. But some parity in college sports wouldn't hurt. Personally, I'm tired of seeing the same schools dominate every year. It's always great to see smaller programs like Gonzaga, George Mason and Long Beach State have success in the NCAA playoffs.

[Ezra Black]

05:52 PM on 04/14/2012

Yeah it is a crazy idea ... the one and done rule should not exist , if they are 18 they should have the right to go professional ... in America if you are 18 you have the right to quit school and head out to the work world

[JacksonHts]

11:26 PM on 04/12/2012

What is a disgrace in my humble opinion is for a man who assaulted a police officer and then jumped bail in the jurisdiction of his assault to be allowed to continue to coach college basketball for decades afterwards and to preach any kind of morality to Kentuck or anyone else.

[AbeMartin]

10:58 AM on 04/12/2012

This is the first time in decades I actively agree with Professor Knight.  One and done enables first tier schools to actively recruit students who have no interest in pursuing a degree but, instead see playing for a year in a premier program as a final "seasoning" to get some high level experience and national exposure before entering the draft.  One and done, under NCAA's arcane rules structure, effectively exempts these schools from having to count the "One and done" student in the calculus of a program's effectiveness in having students maintain academic progress and a GPA that would enable them to graduate within five years.

Mr. Knight, knows of what he speaks.  During the early 1990's, while he was teaching old-school ball and forcing his players to attend class, do their assignments, pass their courses and graduate, he was working against UNLV's Jerry Tarkanian who actively recruited from the streets and playgrounds with no expectation or concern that his players would graduate.  His only concern was that his team would win and further enrich him and his family. 

Knight and his program achieved nearly a 100% graduation rate, which certainly benefited former players who did not make the pro's or did but didn't succeed.  Tarkanian players who graduated, like Dave Rice, were few and far between.

Knight was a coach and a full professor who cared about his players.  The coaches of the generation that followed him at Indiana such as the discredited Kelvin Sampson as well as many who are running the big programs now and recruit with the expectation of having a player for a year or two, couldn't care less that their stars are also students who will have to earn a living after their "Glory Days" have passed them by.

[Jondrea Smith]

12:29 PM on 04/12/2012

I think requiring four years of free labor is a disgrace as well...but that's just me. In my opinion this thing needs to be evaluated from both ends. If the scholarship is supposedly what the athlete is playing for, then shouldn't steps be taken to ensure that that scholarship is worth something? It's no favor to recruit a kid, put him in kinesiology, educational psychology, or underwater basket weaving so that he can practice, meet and workout the nearly 30 hours a week necessary to keep his spot--all the while the university is making major bank off his efforts--and then turn them loose four years later with a useless degree, and few opportunities outside of their sport. What incentive exactly is there for the freshman to stay?

[KLF88]

01:05 PM on 04/12/2012

Free labor? How about more like a free education? There are some people out there who would love to get an education for free and get a degree in something that won't make them half the money that these professional athletes make. Athletes who are on the team and aren't necessarily going to the NBA have to put in the 30 hours a week on the court and in the weight room, as well as having to attend class. I don't understand your logic on how a scholarship needs to be made sure it's worth something. Of course it's worth something, an education. A chance to get a degree without putting your family or yourself in student loan debt. A chance to play for the big time school and get one step closer to the NBA. As far as I'm concerned, that's worth something. Basketball won't last forever, just ask all the players who were hyped up in college and flopped in the NBA. Bet they wish they had a degree to fall back on. No one should get anything for free. All this one and done is teaching kids that they don't have to work for anything, that everything will just be handed to them as long as they play basketball.

[another looker]

08:50 AM on 04/13/2012

Four years of free labor? It's an athletic scholarship to pay for an education. How many financially-struggling 3.5 GPA students could use that money to finish to your education to make $60000/year? It's unfortunate that we do not expect more of this athletes instead hoping they will play for our favorite NBA team.

We should eliminate such university scholarships for athletes, and give that money the general scholarship fund of universities.

[C-Bing]

08:35 AM on 04/12/2012

First, that is why he is not a NBA general manager, or even coach. The guy is out of touch.

Second, educationally..there is really no difference if a player left his first, second, or third year of college. He still didn't graduate.

Finally, it's up to the player to decide. Hell, if the money is calling and you can go get it, go get it!! You can always go back to school (as a millionaire). Steve Jobs and Bill Gates left college early to pursue their careers, nothing was wrong with that, so whats the big deal now? I think I know the real reason, but we'll save that for another day!

[MyNameIsJames]

08:44 AM on 04/11/2012

Here is the bottom line. Black male basketball players are supporting the tire NCAA basketball racket. NCAA basketball's Final Four is a huge racket -- coaches, marketers, female basketball players, athletic departments, shoe companies etc all make millions. There is not an interest in these kids getting an education at all. It is all about making money. It needs to be broken up.

[George Picard]

08:39 AM on 04/12/2012

I agree with much of your post, but how are female basketball players making millions from the Final FOur, I assume you meant to say something else.

I dont konw how you break it up, too much money to stop it.

[AbeMartin]

11:04 AM on 04/12/2012

Joe Nocea, a columnist for The New York Times has been pointing out the unholy partnership between the NCAA and its Executive Committee, which is comprised largely of millionaire Division I Presidents, who exploit the student athletes to enrich their schools and endowments.    The Title IX provisions which mandated that colleges provide equal opportunity for female athletes have only gone so far.  The top women's teams such as Connecticut, Notre Dame, Purdue and Tennessee play before large audiences of thousands of spectators.  Most women B-Ball players compete in small gyms that were used by the men's teams until the moved into the huge arenas.  They play before hundreds if they are lucky.

[bratscheldn]

10:08 PM on 04/10/2012

Athletics have changed in the last 40 years. Until the early 1970's freshman could not participate on the varsity level in college. They played on freshman teams. Players could not become pros until their graduating class graduated, whether in school or not. The pros could not touch high school players. Bobby Knight's career spans the two eras. As a result of the changes, the universities have made a lot of money and coaches have multi-million dollar contracts.

[unhipcat]

09:46 PM on 04/10/2012

throwing a flower pot at a secretary is a disgrace

[doughnut70]

01:53 AM on 04/11/2012

It also never happened as several people stated when this ridiculous rumor started.

[cindyperry]

09:04 AM on 04/11/2012

yeah but ole bobby did choke that kid

[AbeMartin]

11:15 AM on 04/12/2012

Of course.  He didn't throw it AT her.  He threw it against the wall next to her desk in the office area of Assembly Hall.  If he had thrown it AT her, he would have hit her.  And he never was convicted of assaulting a cop on court at the Pan American games in Puerto Rico. He never chucked a chair across the court during a Big Ten game when he didn't like a ref's call.  Neither did he take a dump on the floor of his practice facility at IU to demonstrate to his players what he thought about their practice play.  He never grabbed his player Neil Reed by the throat.  And never, ever punched Kit Klingelhofer, an IU press director, or kicked his son, Neil, in the a*s.

Knight has his critics and his supporters and, has a reputation of quietly helping out friends, former players and people in the community that had gotten sick or fallen on hard times.  But do not pretend that he is "nice."  Or that he has not engaged in atrocious behavior directed at those who he has power over.

[ohioglobetrotter]

07:37 PM on 04/10/2012

I am a Bobby Knight admirer and he has been talking about the one and done rule for some time now. He is one of the few sports figures that will speak what is truly on his mind without mixing it with fluff. I don't always agree with him, but I do admire his honesty.

[Rick4646]

05:18 PM on 04/10/2012

If what Knight said is true, about theses kids not going to class, the NCAA should make a rule to make these kids still go to class and at get passing grades otherwise there will be a penalty for the school.

[elcastle]

07:52 PM on 04/10/2012

I have no idea how other schools work, but my child - D-1 athlete and her teammates had to have certain GPA to retain athletic scholarship...how it is possible it is not enforced same way everywhere????

[Rick4646]

08:23 PM on 04/10/2012

because they are the 1 and dones -- they are only there to go pro, not for the education. From what I understand about the rules, and the grade requirements start until their 2nd year

[bratscheldn]

10:16 PM on 04/10/2012

It is enforced the same way everywhere. Academic achievement (grades) are not factored until the end of the second semester of the freshman year. You can't assess academic achievement until the final grades are reported. Athletic scholarship standards are the same everywhere and are regulated by the NCAA and the US Dept. of Education.

[bratscheldn]

09:45 PM on 04/10/2012

What he is complaining about is the basketball player who attends and passes classes in the fall semester, but does not attend classes in the spring semester. Those students will not receive spring semester grades until the season is over and remain eligible for the NCAA Tournament. Those problems can only be resolved by the athletic dept. of the university. The coaches who permit students to compete without verifying academic progress during the playing season semester are at fault. All major programs have athletic dept. academic support for student athletes. The coaches, however, seem to be mostly concerned about getting students into their playing season semester with academic eligibility. They are not about to lose their highly recruited stars before the season begins. The money the university and the coaches make is enormous.

[AbeMartin]

11:19 AM on 04/12/2012

Good post.  And spot on. F'ed and F'ed.

[LurchMcGirt]

04:57 PM on 04/10/2012

The entire notion of student-athletes in D1 football and basketball is just a really awful joke. The following comes from the NCAA website's eligibility section for prospective D1 athletes:

"A sliding-scale combination of grades in high school core courses and standardized-test scores. For example, if a student-athlete earns a 3.0 grade-point average in core courses, that individual must score at least 620 on the SAT or 52 on the ACT. As the GPA increases, the required test score decreases, and vice versa."

Six effing twenty!? You start off at 200 points in each section! And the 3.0 GPA requirement is largely for show considering that star athletes often take easy classes and get preferential treatment in the classroom in high school. Now, reference that score with the average SAT scores for the Class of 2011: Verbal - 497, Math - 514. When you set the bar THAT low for athletes, is it really a shock when some of them show up and aren't really interested in that whole "student" thing? That's like saying the housing collapse was caused by those greedy borrowers who took advantage of lenders' generosity and good faith when they failed to pay their mortgages. Then again, seems like blaming the enabled is the American way.

[FireThemAll2012]

04:30 PM on 04/10/2012

They should have to remain in college for 3 years. It would make for better college games and better prepared NBA players.

[profideous man]

06:34 PM on 04/10/2012

But how is Calipari going to be able to recruit monster teams without being able to promise recruits a jump to the league after one year of playing time, and only one semester of actually going to class?

[elcastle]

07:54 PM on 04/10/2012

It would be hard...

[Puzzlr]

11:14 AM on 04/13/2012

It would also mean more money for the schools. If the schools had their choice we'd go back to the bad old days, when the players had to stay in school, while earning millions for their schools and getting very little in return. The schools can't pay the players, can't give them or their families houses/apartments, can't give them cars. Suddenly entering the draft sounds like a win-win.

[enlightened45]

04:13 PM on 04/10/2012

The Bobby Knight sour grapes comments will be long forgotten, but that #8, baby, banner will be hanging proudly in Rupp Arena....

[enlightened45]

04:07 PM on 04/10/2012

Sleeping on TV during Gameday broadcast and having to be poked by the other reigning curmudgeon Digger Phelps, sure ....whatever you say...Bobby.

[profideous man]

06:34 PM on 04/10/2012

So because a guy is old, his word is not worth anything? Ummmmmmmkay...

[enlightened45]

04:11 PM on 04/11/2012

His word has never been worth anything....

[enlightened45]

04:02 PM on 04/10/2012

Change the NBA rule this week....Anthony Davis can play point guard for us next year. Please.