14Red
Well-known member
Should get some interesting opinions on this, not being in Indiana.
I finally got to watch the documentary The Last Days of Knight last night.
Now I'm sure there will be alot of differing opinions on this, Knight is such a polarizing figure. Being in Ohio, and Knight is from Ohio and won a national championship as a player at Ohio State, there is also the Woody Hayes comparisons.
I thought the show was pretty fair for the most part, although it was very, very clear where the writer and the former CNN exec stood. And I'm not saying I condone what Knight did, or had done.
I've been a big IU hoops fan my whole life. I grew up in Indiana in the 70's and 80's and IU basketball was huge and still is to a certain degree.
IMO, this whole story came down to two major points, the "choking" of Neil Reed, and Knight wiping his butt in the locker room as a "prop".
Do successful college coaches get a pass on questionable behavior?? Absolutely...it's happened for 100 years or more. When coaches get older, in to their 50's 60's, do they lose their filter and are more open?? Absolutely.
I would had liked to seen alot more balance in the story to all of the good things Knight did at IU over those same 15-20 years. And I don't know if any of Knight's former players were asked to interview for the show, but there was only a handful who actually spoke.
Over this time, we've never heard of any issues with Scott May, Quin Buckner, Kent Benson, Randy Whitman, Ted Kitchel, Issiah Thomas, Daryl Thomas, I could name dozens and dozens more. So was Neil Reed just singled out by Knight one time, or did this happen to others and they have never said anything? And why? Certainly Issiah Thomas would not fear Knight, even 25 years ago.
I'd encourage anyone interested to look up Dan Dakich and see what he thought about this. For the record, he's not friends with Knight anymore. They have no relationship and there's no repercussions. He said Reed wasn't a chior boy, Reed's dad and Ron Felling, who gave up the tape, were best buddies. IU gave jobs to Reed's family because they were broke. The writer of this 30/30 wanted Dakich to interview for the program and flat out did not. He told the guy this is old news and he should just let it drop. Knight's and old man living out his days and this program is silly.
I have no idea what went on in Reed's head. I know growing up in Indiana and being an IU fan, you had to be an "Indiana guy" to be recruited by Knight. There were several good players in Indiana who could never play for Knight. Not sure why Reed felt he could play there. It's sad that he passed away at such a young age. He seemed to have his life back together. You just wonder if there was a little more digging into his background if there was some other demons out there.
I finally got to watch the documentary The Last Days of Knight last night.
Now I'm sure there will be alot of differing opinions on this, Knight is such a polarizing figure. Being in Ohio, and Knight is from Ohio and won a national championship as a player at Ohio State, there is also the Woody Hayes comparisons.
I thought the show was pretty fair for the most part, although it was very, very clear where the writer and the former CNN exec stood. And I'm not saying I condone what Knight did, or had done.
I've been a big IU hoops fan my whole life. I grew up in Indiana in the 70's and 80's and IU basketball was huge and still is to a certain degree.
IMO, this whole story came down to two major points, the "choking" of Neil Reed, and Knight wiping his butt in the locker room as a "prop".
Do successful college coaches get a pass on questionable behavior?? Absolutely...it's happened for 100 years or more. When coaches get older, in to their 50's 60's, do they lose their filter and are more open?? Absolutely.
I would had liked to seen alot more balance in the story to all of the good things Knight did at IU over those same 15-20 years. And I don't know if any of Knight's former players were asked to interview for the show, but there was only a handful who actually spoke.
Over this time, we've never heard of any issues with Scott May, Quin Buckner, Kent Benson, Randy Whitman, Ted Kitchel, Issiah Thomas, Daryl Thomas, I could name dozens and dozens more. So was Neil Reed just singled out by Knight one time, or did this happen to others and they have never said anything? And why? Certainly Issiah Thomas would not fear Knight, even 25 years ago.
I'd encourage anyone interested to look up Dan Dakich and see what he thought about this. For the record, he's not friends with Knight anymore. They have no relationship and there's no repercussions. He said Reed wasn't a chior boy, Reed's dad and Ron Felling, who gave up the tape, were best buddies. IU gave jobs to Reed's family because they were broke. The writer of this 30/30 wanted Dakich to interview for the program and flat out did not. He told the guy this is old news and he should just let it drop. Knight's and old man living out his days and this program is silly.
I have no idea what went on in Reed's head. I know growing up in Indiana and being an IU fan, you had to be an "Indiana guy" to be recruited by Knight. There were several good players in Indiana who could never play for Knight. Not sure why Reed felt he could play there. It's sad that he passed away at such a young age. He seemed to have his life back together. You just wonder if there was a little more digging into his background if there was some other demons out there.