Commentary: Disgruntled Knight stuck in another era

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By Marc F. Pendleton, Staff Writer Updated 1:49 AM Wednesday, April 20, 2011

I would have thought that nothing Bob Knight says or does by now could surprise me.

This time it’s a favorite of his, University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari.

JC is the Teflon Don of college hoops. All the many infractions at UMass and Memphis were under Calipari’s watch, yet nothing was ever attributed to him.

That’s only so much hot air to anyone who worships the Wildcats. But for the rest of us, including Knight, it’s reason to think otherwise.

But this time Knight whiffed. He was mad and wasn’t going to take it anymore because Calipari had the audacity to recruit one-and-done players. Worse, those players didn’t even attend class during the second semester of the 2010 NCAA season.

Turns out the first-round NBA draft picks did attend class.

It’s not uncommon for players to shun the classroom while playing in the second semester. That’s an NCAA problem. No high schooler could do that.

More interesting is Knights’ lambasting of UK’s ever-reloaded and draftable roster. The game might not have changed, but recruiting and leaving early for the NBA sure has.

Every college coach who has a legitimate shot at a roster full of first-round picks would go that route. Calipari’s recruiting system now feeds itself. There is no reason to bemoan the loss of as many as five starters. Heck, his next class might be even better.

I liked Knight’s teams at IU. They were tough and they won national titles. That also was a couple of eras ago. I’m reminded of that every time Bob Knight comments on today’s game.

Contact this writer at (937) 225-2381 or mpendleton@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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