A lot has already been said about the incident between Bob Knight and Michael
Prince. If you haven't seen it, Knight popped him under the chin when he
came out of a game against Gardner-Webb.
Knight says he didn't do anything wrong; Prince, his parents, and Knight's
boss agree. A number of people in the media have concurred as well.
It was a forceful lesson though, and the camera showed Prince on the bench
wincing.
Knight has never cared what anyone thinks of his behavior, which in some ways
is good and some ways bad. Actually, it's probably a positive, but what's
always gotten Knight in trouble is his difficulty controlling his temper.
More to the point, as he approaches Dean Smith's record for career wins, an
accomplishment which he says means little to him, Knight's mercurial nature is
going to be front and center.
We saw the movie Anger Management the other night, where Knight makes a cameo
as a guy who shows up at an anger management seminar, although he's looking for
help as a sex addict.
Naturally, he loses it.
It was a funny bit, but with Knight you never know for sure what to
expect. He'll be in the limelight as he stalks the record, something he
adores and simultaneously hates. He's a complex man who engenders strong
reactions. That was true when he was a fresh face at Indiana in 1973; it's
even more true today.
It wouldn't surprise us at all if something happened and he got fired before
breaking the record. But on the other hand, we suspect that despite his
protestations, he generally got the best of Dean Smith at least when it counted
and his competitive nature and his very healthy opinion of his considerable
talents means that he very much wants the record.