Being in the same conference with Bob Knight carries a certain amount of risk
- not of bodily harm, but certainly the risk of grudges and some intense
conflict. Jeff Capel may be about to find that out.
His player, Longar Longar, hit Texas Tech's Esmir Rizvic in the face with an
elbow, and Rizvic
is likely out for the season after breaking some bones around his eye.
Capel says it wasn't intentional, and Duke fans know him well enough to know
he wasn't a dirty player and isn't a dirty coach.
That said, we haven't seen what happened yet, and it sounds pretty
horrible.
Pat Knight says that "[h]e might not play again. We sent
the tapes in [to the Big 12] and there are lawyers involved and everything. It
was brutal."
He also suggested (we think) that Longar be permantently banned: "I'm not sure
that [Longar] should be able to play anymore. Swinging your arms like that with
elbows out the height of some kid's head. That's not good."
Coaches usually call each other when stuff like this happens, and when he
makes the call, Capel is going to get a view of Bob Knight that most people only get from a considerable distance. And it's not like he doesn't have reason to
be angry: a kid's career is at stake.
Surgery is scheduled for Monday morning. This is going to be a big mess
all the way around. Best of luck to Risvic in his recovery.