You’d think during a fantastic sports weekend I might find a place somewhere in my heart to write a blog. Unfortunately, when my weekend wasn’t filled with thoughts of Bob Knight, the Aussie Open Final or the Superbowl, I had a massive headache. I drank waayyyyy too much Kool-Aid and Gatorade (Red) and the electrolytes really messed with my system.
We’ll start with Bob Knight and the rumors surrounding the now-vacant Georgia basketball position. I’ve been doing some thinking as to whether he’d be a good hire for Georgia right now. The Pro’s are pretty obvious: Instant credibility, 902 wins, automatic interest from the top recruits in Georgia and a chance to compete for SEC championships each year. The guy would be an insane hire for Georgia. I would freak.
But the negatives are a bit more interesting to think and write about. First, Knight is 68. I’m not calling into question his coaching ability for his age. But how long would he really stick around for? He coached at Texas Tech for 7 years. Would he stay at Georgia for that long? I wouldn’t bet anything that he’d stay for longer that 7 years. 4 years in his tenure, other SEC coaches would be whispering in the ears of recruits, “If you go to Georgia you won’t know who’ll be coaching in a couple years.”
Second, he probably wouldn’t want to talk to me. Though, I’ve been going back and forth on what would be cooler: interviewing Knight or having him throw a chair at me.
If Bob Knight were hired, he’d have to bring Georgia up to a high level of respectability in a short amount of time so he could either leave the program in stable hands or other prestigious coaches would want to come to Georgia. Could he do it? Probably. But he did that at Texas Tech and now they’ve fallen back to the level they were at before he was hired.
It’s a pretty tough call. Yes, it would bring instant success, interest and money to the program for a few seasons. But it may be more important for Georgia to find someone who can invest many years of his life to this program. Someone who can really build the program up and keep it there.
As I just mentioned, Knight’s hiring would sell more seats and bring in more money to the program. Georgia has one of the oldest arenas in the country in Stegeman Coliseum. They’ve recently spent 30 million upgrading the facilities around Stegeman including a state-of-the-art training facility. But Stegeman needs to be remodeled or rebuilt and maybe Knight is the guy to lead the charge.
I still haven’t completely decided what way I’m leaning but it’s impossible for me to say “don’t hire Bob Knight.” But if there’s someone out there who can really invest his life into Georgia that might be worth it too. But it’s Bobby freakin’ Knight! We’ll have to see what Damon Evans pulls out of his hat.
I almost considered staying awake to watch the Australian Open. Turns out I should have. I caught a lot of the highlights and it was another classic. Not quite to Wimbledon level but pretty damn close. I picked Federer to win in 4 and it’s the last time I’m going to underestimate Rafael Nadal. I thought Federer played exceptionally well against Andy Roddick and after Nadal’s 5 hour marathon just 48 hours previous, I really liked Club Fed to take this one home. But Nadal was not to be denied and played like an absolute genius.
The Superbowl was one of the best 4th quarters I’ve ever seen. I was almost ready to give Ben Rothlisberger the James Carr 4th Quarter Award (because I am the 4th Quarter) but instead am creating a new category for Big Ben. He’s now Ben “2 Minute Warning” Rothlisberger. The guy has almost as much ice in his veins as I do. Respek.
That’s about all I got for now. Until next time, Ball Hard. Holla playas.
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