Bobby Knight, a true college hoops legend

College basketball and Robert Montgomery Knight are synonymous.

Owner of the most wins in… College basketball and Robert Montgomery Knight are synonymous.

Owner of the most wins in the history of college basketball, Knight has transcended a sport that has grown tremendously in his time as a coach. I’ve never met the coach, and now it appears that chance now will be slimmer, but his impact on this sport, which I have studied and watched since I knew how to breathe, is unforgettable.

He taught the value of being a student-athlete. His players played with the utmost discipline. He coached old-school teams, teams that learned the importance of defense and hard work.

No one would question how much Knight loves the game of basketball.

At Texas Tech, Knight seemed to lose the luster he had at Indiana. Not because he was any worse of a coach but solely because Texas Tech doesn’t have the allure, the clout that Indiana has. He managed to make a low-level Big 12 school popular. Texas Tech, prior to his arrival, had not been to the NCAA Tournament in six seasons.

The Red Raiders were 66-75 between the 1996-97 and 2000-01 seasons. They were 23-9 in Knight’s first season and 138-82 in his six and a half years in Lubbock.

“The General” had three national championships, one NIT title and 11 Big Ten Conference championships with Indiana. His coaching tree includes the likes of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, UAB coach Mike Davis and Nets coach Lawrence Frank.

The man has 902 wins during 43 seasons as a head coach. He’s been around basketball from the UCLA dynasty of the 1960s to the televised eruption of college basketball’s success.

His personal success as a head coach allowed the coach to remain above the fray of corporate climbing and money chasing that dominates college sports today, which, unfortunately, speaks loudly to the kind of guy he is.

It’s sad that the sport has moved in that direction, but Knight’s ability to stay away from that aspect of college sports separates him from most.

Yes, there has been controversy. No summation of Knight’s career would be complete without mentioning the chair-tossing incident, the physical altercations Knight has had with his own players and the somewhat prickly relationship he has had with the media.

While that controversy comes to mind almost as quickly as Knight’s famously arched eyebrows and egg-white hair, anyone with a desire to coach, anyone with a desire to report, anyone with a desire to enter college basketball could learn something from Knight.

His impact as a coach will never be forgotten, and hopefully he will make public appearances now that he has retired from the sport that he helped make famous.

Let’s get to the rapid fire on page:

Boy, now even the players are saying they need Levance Fields back. This is sign No. 1 when people ask, “how do I know Pitt hoops is in trouble?”

This is a critical stretch for the Panthers, by the way, with two games at home tonight against West Virginia and Tuesday against Providence. Both of those teams need wins for their Tournament resume, and Pitt needs wins to stop the bleeding and get some momentum.

TRIVIA: I’ll give you a hearty pat on the back, Roc, if you can tell me what Pitt’s new defensive coordinator Phil Bennett and first-year West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins have in common.

The Patriots are 8-1 against the Steelers and Eagles since 2001. Yeah, just thought you might want to know.

Miley Cyrus, who plays the famous – or is it infamous? – Hannah Montana, assessed her high-powered tour with a ground-breaking, “It’s like, wow!”

“The Bucket List” is actually funny.

Heidi Montag, from “The Hills,” has a single?

TMZ.com is basically all about Britney Spears.

Shaq is still in the NBA?

TRIVIA ANSWER: Both Bennett and Huggins have been employed by Kansas State.

It’s good to see Sen. Arlen Specter working hard to investigate the NFL when there are wars erupting in every corner of Africa, two American wars overseas and more economic problems than Alan Greenspan has in his nightmares. Keep working hard, Senator.

Parting thought: Senioritis is a disease. If anyone has a cure, well, tell school officials. I don’t want any help.