In Indiana, Long National Knightmare Never Ends

By DAVID WHARTON

March 11, 2002 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

The ghost of Bob Knight still haunts Indiana, his likeness on billboards above city streets, his name in all the newspapers.

More than a year after the controversial coach was fired, die-hard fans have not forgotten. Many have adopted his new school, wearing Texas Tech caps, a sacrilege in the land of the Hoosiers.

At games this season, as Indiana played its way into the NCAA tournament, his supporters were known to mention Knight whenever they heard profanity in Assembly Hall--and not for the reason you might expect. They proudly insist he never tolerated foul language from the stands, grabbing the microphone to castigate fans.

Such is the cult of personality that surrounded the man.

“People are resolved that Bob Knight is not coming back,” said David Martin, a university administrator who oversees the booster club. “But with the fervor that Bob Knight creates, they have kept him very much alive.”

Not everyone mourned his departure in September 2000, when he was dismissed for allegedly accosting a student, the last in a string of troublesome incidents.

Professors say they no longer hear snide comments when they attend academic conferences out of state. And though some alumni angrily turned their backs, the university attracted enough new donors to raise $220 million, a school record, last year.

“Before, they told us they would never give as long as Bob Knight was coach,” said Barbara Coffman, a spokeswoman for the Indiana University Foundation. Now those benefactors are saying, “Here’s my check.”

The anti-Knight contingent is quick to point out that Indiana had a proud basketball tradition long before the man known as “the General” came along. There were two national championships and a much-honored coach in Branch McCracken. Now there is praise for Mike Davis, a quiet and capable leader who guided the team to 21 victories--a school record for a first-year coach--last season. The Hoosiers are Big Ten co-champions this season.

Moreover, the program is enjoying a newfound calm. Gone are the distractions of a man infamous for behavior that ranged from throwing a chair and allegedly assaulting players to an altercation with a Puerto Rican policeman and accidentally shooting a hunting pal.

“People watch the players now,” said Murray Sperber, an English professor and one of Knight’s loudest critics. “It has gone back to being a normal basketball school.”

But for all the baggage that Knight carried, he also ranks among the winningest coaches in college basketball history, which counts for much in a hoops-crazy state.

His record of 661-240 over nearly three decades far outpaced what McCracken managed in the 1940s, ‘50s and early ‘60s. He recruited--and coached--a long list of All-Americans, was coach of the year multiple times and led his team to three national championships.

Since his departure, some believe Indiana basketball has lost more than just that famous red sweater. Bob Hammel, the longtime former sports editor and columnist for the Bloomington Herald-Times--and a Knight confidant--says the difference is obvious to a basketball-savvy populace.

“People became so used to seeing the motion offense, nothing but good shots, and good man-to-man defense,” Hammel said. “Even things like decorum in the stands. This is one arena in America where you never heard the word ‘bull ... ‘ Now you do.”

University administrators know better than to get upset at such comparisons. They know that firing a legend is never easy.

Maybe if the Hoosiers win their first-round game in the NCAA tournament this week--something Knight struggled with near the end of his tenure--the specter of the former coach will be nudged somewhat aside.

If the team loses, however, a few more fans might stop by the General’s Store in Indianapolis. Owned by Knight’s son and run by Knight’s former wife, Nancy, the shop sells all manner of Texas Tech paraphernalia--caps, shirts, flags, media guides, glow-in-the-dark basketballs.

“We don’t even advertise,” Nancy said. “People come looking for us. It’s all by word of mouth.”

Indiana administrators are not amused. “I don’t like to see people wear those caps around town,” Martin said.

Nor does it help that ESPN showed a feature-length movie about Knight on Sunday, a program that was discussed prominently in newspapers and advertised throughout the state on billboards showing actor Brian Dennehy with the trademark sweater and scowl.

A biography, “Knight: My Story,” co-written by Hammel, will arrive in stores soon.

The coach will have a book signing in Bloomington next month, albeit at a shopping mall some distance from campus. A large crowd is expected.

“Has the fervor around Bob Knight died down?” Martin asked. “I think it has cooled a little bit ... but I’m not certain it will ever go away.”