Bobby Knight takes a shot at Coach Cal

Bobby Knight has always said what was on his mind.

It was part of his charm. (Did I really just call Bobby Knight charming?)

And just because he is now working for the World Wide Leader, you thought that was going to change?

Knight spoke last night at a fundraiser for the Indiana Hall of Fame, and, as he usually is, Knight was candid, outspoken, and hating on the NCAA.

If this current NCAA administration planned the Normandy invasion, we would have landed in Portugal.

See? Charming.
(photo credit: DoubleAZone)

But the line that is going to draw the most attention around the blogosphere is a shot he took at Coach Cal:

We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching. You see we've got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that.

He continued:

And very few people know this, but a kid can play the first semester as a freshman, pass six hours of anything and play in the NCAA tournament without ever attending a class in the second semester. I don't think that's right.

He's right. We talked quite a bit this summer about the very issue of college basketball's integrity. Its a cesspool, and while the NABC's Ethics Committee is at least posturing like they want to make changes, it probably doesn't hurt to have someone with the national notoriety of a Bobby Knight publicly pushing for a change.

The ironic part?

Knight may have actually railed against a way to clean up at least a portion of the sport. Part of the reason that a coach will cheat on the recruiting trail or look the other way when a player is not getting the most education out of his scholarship is a direct result of the pressure on these guys to win and win quickly. A major conference coach is almost always "put on the hot seat" if a team he is coaching that is expected to make the NCAA Tournament doesn't a few years in a row.

Knight said during his speech that he doesn't believe the NCAA Tournament should expand because he doesn't believe any team should get a bye. But if the tourney did expand to 96 teams, and fewer major conference coaches were put on the hot seat, wouldn't that mean that fewer of those coaches would risk their career and reputation by committing recruiting violations or influencing grades?

Possibly. Probably not.

College sports are a business, and a very profitable one at times. If Enron and Bear Stearns taught us anything, ethical practices are not the first priority when money's involved. It's all about the benjamins, baby.