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PAINT ME WITH COACH KNIGHT'S BRUSH
By Dan Dakich, Bowling Green
What you may not know about Coach Knight
This is my fifth season at Bowling Green State
University and people still refer to me as a former
Bob Knight assistant.
Guess what -- That's fine with me.
Playing college basketball for coach Knight at Indiana
was a dream come true. Various schools showed interest
in having me come to their respective schools, but as
soon as Indiana called, it was over.
That was an easy choice for me, but I had no idea at
the time that it would prove to be one of the best
decisions of my life.
It did not take me long to recognize that coach Knight
was not only a great coach, but also a great person
and a great teacher. Having grown up watching the
Hoosiers on television I thought I had a pretty good
idea of what to expect. As it turned out, I had no
idea, whatsoever.
Like every other player that played for coach, I
learned a great deal, most of which I have applied to
my trade as a head coach. Aside from the x's and o's,
perhaps the best things I learned from him are the art
of handling players and preparation.
When you're in high school, you can pretty much just
show up. When I got to Indiana it was eye opening.
Coach Knight got us prepared as a team, as well as for
the opponent. Down to the last detail, I felt we were
as prepared as a team could possibly be.
Handling players is something that can often make or
break a coach. You have many different personalities
to deal with. Some coaches will tell you that having a
master's degree in psychology is a must in today's
game. Coach Knight helped me in a big way with this.
Of course, that doesn't sit well with people who don't
know Coach Knight, but his approach to handling
players is second to none.
Halfway through my senior year, Coach Knight came to
me and said, "Next year, I'll let you be a graduate
assistant, and you can see if this is really what you
want to do."
It was sort of difficult, because I went from playing
basketball with and hanging out with guys like Steve
Alford, to having to coach them. But I was serious
about coaching so I didn't want the same relationship
that we had previously. But I also knew I couldn't
really be coaching these guys. I felt like more of a
captain so I wasn't really somebody who would get on
the players.
I remember the first time they were scrimmaging, and I
was on the sidelines as a coach, and ready to put
myself in. That's how things worked at Indiana --
Coach Knight didn't put you in the scrimmages, you put
yourself in.
I went to do that a couple times. But as the years
went by, I adjusted, and started to feel more like a
coach. It was an experience that could not have been
any better.
In time I became more comfortable with the situation
and Coach Knight helped me to make that transition,
which can be very difficult.
Of course, over time I developed my own style and
approach to coaching, but everything I do today stems
from working with coach Knight.
If I were to surmise my style with two words I would
choose the words 'intense and competitive.'
Often the term 'intense' is misinterpreted as being
overbearing our out of line, but I totally disagree.
I get on players at practice, swear, raise hell, and
everything else. Coach Knight does things in a similar
fashion, but he also has great relationships with
those who play for him. It's the same here at Bowling
Green.
Being competitive is something else I can attribute to
my years at Indiana. I want my players to be
competitive at everything. My approach is that you
should learn more from basketball than any class you
have.
What gets you through life is being able to handle
good, being able to handle bad, and more than
anything, being a very competitive person.
That's how we go about it. Of course, when the day's
over, kids can come in my office and talk, laugh,
whatever. But when it's time for basketball, we're all
business. We're going to be competitive and we're
going to be intense.
Now that doesn't sound all that bad does it? Guess
what -- That's exactly how coach Knight does it.
Some people may listen to some of the views the media
has about coach Knight and they want to shy away from
it. Well, I welcome it.
After spending 16 years under Coach Knight, including
12 years as an assistant, I know the real deal.
I know how Coach Knight really is and if he wants my
son to go and play for him at Texas Tech, no question,
that's where my son goes.
So if people want to paint me with Coach Knight's
brush, go right ahead. |
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