Considering that he is the most successful coach over the last 30 years that's quite a moutful. Second most successful is probably Coach K: trained by Knight, and also possessor of a foul temper much of the time. Guess he could have been more successful if he just mellowed out, huh?
Lots of people buy into the media hype about Knight. I followed IU for 30 years and became a Texas Tech fan this year. Watch in a couple of years and see where the two programs are. Of course, no matter how much success he has at Texas Tech, there will be those helpful sideline coaches telling him how it should be done.
I wouldn't put Knight at the top, but in terms of on the court success he's obviously in the top 5 (which is close enough so as to make your claim valid).
Guess he could have been more successful if he just mellowed out, huh?
Yes, I believe he would have been more successful. As I said earlier, Knight can coach X's and O's with the best of them (or perhaps better than the rest). But as far as managing a team over an entire season he could stand some improvement - and that's been pretty evident for most of the 1990s. One could see that his teams were beaten down by March, and had very little energy to bring to the tournament. Some teams respond positively to a coach who keeps his thumb down on them all season; but those teams are in the minority.
Lots of people buy into the media hype about Knight. I followed IU for 30 years and became a Texas Tech fan this year. Watch in a couple of years and see where the two programs are.
I will. That's part of the fun of making predictions like these, isn't it? I don't buy into media hype so much as I've taken a look at the facts on record and drawn some conclusions. Based on those conclusions I predict Knight will experience moderate success at TT (first and second round NCAA showings). His technical expertise will help him field competitive teams, but his overbearing team management will prevent his teams from going deep into the tournament.
Of course, no matter how much success he has at Texas Tech, there will be those helpful sideline coaches telling him how it should be done.
Well, it remains to be seen how successful he'll be. But you're right, sideline coaches will always exist.