RIP Coach Knight

[LamarCheeks 17,939]

Regarding the Indy Star, I'm going to be the outlier here. If you dislike the Star and hate the Star for whatever reasons you have, that's fine. But don't hate it for this. I love Fisch, but he's the one who put this out there -- even if he didn't necessarily intend to. The Star just picked up on it and reported it. Fisch went on the air with the Lansing radio guys and said what he said. It was on the radio and on the podcast -- for anybody to consume. Others have reported on it as well.

I'm not a big fan of the Star myself. I used to go to its website all the time to get my IU news -- when Hutch (RIP) was the main man. But I don't anymore. For one, they got rid of Hutch. No offense to Osterman, but Hutch was the man. For two, they started limiting to five articles a month. If I were going to read a paper and use its website, I'm willing to pay -- but for 15-20 articles during basketball season, no. For three, their website is awful. If I do want to read something, I click on the story and then have to knock down about 10 different pop-ups -- very obnoxious. Takes me 5 minutes just to clear all the BS so I can read the story. 

Anyway, I'm gonna use a familiar refrain here: Don't kill the messenger. Again, I think Fisch is the best, but once he said that on air, he opened the box. 

And as I've written, I lost my father to Alzheimer's, so if that's what Bob Knight is going through, I wish him and his family peace. That's a horrible disease to deal with. My dad passed in May of 2017 and I think my mom is still just starting to catch her breath after the years of hell his condition put her through. 

[Chris007 43,565]

On 3/1/2019 at 8:54 PM, LamarCheeks said:

Just read the story. Fisch said Knight's health is in decline, but added he didn't mean to imply that he's on his death bed. ... To me, that almost certainly means Alzheimer's or some type of dementia. That's what usually seems to be the case when discussing an older person with health issues. 

I really, really, really hope that's not the case, because that f---ing disease robbed my dad of most of his faculties before he passed in the spring of 2017 and I can tell you first-hand, that is very, very difficult to deal with. And it's very painful to watch someone decline in that way. 

If that is his issue, I wish him peace. If it's something else, I hope he can get well. 

The same thing happened to my dad. I've known for a couple of years about Coach Knight also and if you look at his eyes sometimes when he is talking you can see that look where no one is home. Very sad way to end it with Coach

[DChoosier 7,773]

56 minutes ago, LamarCheeks said:

 

Anyway, I'm gonna use a familiar refrain here: Don't kill the messenger. Again, I think Fisch is the best, but once he said that on air, he opened the box. 

 

I am also a big fan of Fisch but he chose to put the info “out there” and it is naive/unrealistic for him to think it would not be published. He’s blaming the Star but should blame the person in the mirror.  If he wanted it to stay quiet he should have kept his mouth shut. I’m guessing this is a case of him regretting he talked.

Sad news about Knight. Unfortunately, based on some of his later broadcasts, I am not suprised as he seemed to be slipping.

[DChoosier 7,773]

PS. It’s sad how many posters, including me, have had family members impacted by this terrible disease.  Dementia scares the s@&# out me like no other disease. Hopefully a cure is found.

[bigrod 2,848]

19 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

The same thing happened to my dad. I've known for a couple of years about Coach Knight also and if you look at his eyes sometimes when he is talking you can see that look where no one is home. Very sad way to end it with Coach

My dad is going through it right now, and my grandmother (his mother) went through it as well. It's not fun at all. He is no longer the same person. His personality has changed so much.

It's sad to see the person you have always looked to for strength turn into a shell of himself.

[Chris007 43,565]

Just now, bigrod said:

My dad is going through it right now, and my grandmother (his mother) went through it as well. It's not fun at all. He is no longer the same person. His personality has changed so much.

It's sad to see the person you have always looked to for strength turn into a shell of himself.

Yes it is. Very sad. My dad remembered more in the last 3 days than he did the previous 3 years. As you probably know enjoy each day with him as much as you can, because I would give anything for one more day with my dad. 

[mamasa 15,135]

A book that helped us a lot with my grandfather was The 36 Hour Day, highly recommended

[8bucks 6,345]

Hoping this study could actually provide some help.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/01/gum-disease-causing-bacteria-could-spur-alzheimer-s


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[LamarCheeks 17,939]

This is kinda sad to read. And boy, does it sure hit close to home. My dad passed from Alzheimer's -- it's been almost two years now -- and he had struggles very similar to this. We have a family reunion in central Indiana every year and one year, while I drove in from Virginia with my dog, my brother, mom and dad drove down from NW Indiana. When we all left, my dad rode back to NW Indiana with my dog and me. At one point, I looked in the back seat and said to my dog, "You doing OK, girl?" ... My dad said, "Oh, I forgot she was back there; she's so quiet. Such a good dog. ... I wish we had a dog." ... I said, "Dad, you do have a dog. You've had him for 4 years now." ... My dad said, "Oh yeah, that's right. See -- I forget this stuff. I'm so stupid about that." ... Luckily, it was dark -- I didn't want my dad to see that my eyes were getting moist. 

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/2019/04/04/iu-basketball-coach-bob-knight-witty-but-struggles-memory-speaking-appearance/3359396002/

[Class of '66 Old Fart 83,827]

Lamar beat me with the link to the Indy Star article but sometimes you can't read their articles without a paid subscription so here's the full article.

 

The General was at Center Grove High School last night and this is story about the evening from Dana Benbow of the Indy Star.  It's not a particularly pleasant read as it does confirm he's having memory issues.

 

GREENWOOD – Sparks of the feisty, cursing college coach with a wicked sense of humor showed up Thursday as Bob Knight spoke to hundreds for 90 minutes at Center Grove High School.

But there were also uncomfortable moments as the former IU basketball coach seemed to forget his wife had already been introduced, said former player Landon Turner had passed away and repeated  a story about a game — replacing Damon Bailey for Michael Jordan as the subject of the anecdote.

"It was sad to watch," said Brett Cripe, who purchased a last-minute ticket at the door for "An Evening With Bob Knight." "To see someone who was once so vibrant and with it this way."

Knight, who sat in a chair on stage next to friend and former Bloomington Herald-Times editor Bob Hammel, would stare into the audience without reacting as Hammel told stories about the coach and his legendary career. When Hammel finished, more than 20 times, Knight said to him, "Well, I'm surprised you knew that."

Knight's health was recently called into question after IU broadcaster Don Fischer said he was "not well" during a February appearance on "The Drive with Jack & Tom," a radio show based out of Lansing, Mich. 

Fischer later told IndyStar he had no first-hand knowledge of Knight's health status, but later sent a statement reiterating the coach's health "has declined." Hammel did not return an email from IndyStar seeking comment regarding the coach's health at that time.

Knight's health wasn't mentioned Thursday. Though, at one point — 36 minutes into the event — Hammel said, "I meant to tell you all earlier, by the way, I'm 82 and Bob is 78. Now, if you have a grandpa or great grandpa that age, I guarantee you A: his memory isn't what it used to be; and B: probably his hearing isn't very good, either."

There were moments throughout the appearance in which Knight was endearing and charming, and had a fiery, quick wit.

At one point, as an audience member asked him his advice on coaching mental toughness, Knight's cellphone rang. "Hang on," Knight said.sketball movies of all-time

"What the hell do you want?" he answered the caller. "Well, I'm busy. Can you give me a call, give me a call in about a month. All right, well, call me in a little bit. Well, hell yes I'm busy. What do you think? You know, I don't just sit around on my @$$ like you do."

Knight displayed emotion at times and mentioned five times that the best days of his life were when he coached IU. The first time he said it, he got a standing ovation. The second time, the crowd clapped. In subsequent mentions, the audience didn't react.

At one point, Hammel introduced his and Knight's wives, who were sitting in the audience. Five minutes after the women had been introduced, Knight interrupted a story to ask if his wife was there. "Where are you?" He spotted her and said. "Please stand."

"OK, well the reason I ask you is because my wife is so ... she's without any exception the smartest person I've ever known and she was a damn good coach and I actually would listen to her."

Knight prompted confusion when a man asked him for an update on Landon Turner, who played for IU until he was paralyzed in an auto accident in July 1981 between his junior and senior seasons.

"Well, Landon was just a great kid. He started out (and) really didn't care about class attendance. I got that straightened out pretty quickly," he said. "It was a really, I think probably in my lifetime even there with my parents, it would be like losing him was like losing my parents. He was a great kid."

Some members of the audience turned to one another: "Did Landon Turner die?"

Hammel seemed to help Knight remember that Turner hadn't died. He mentioned to Knight that he was paralyzed and praised how Turner had gone on to live a life where he contributed, "rather than feeling sorry for himself."

Next, Hammel said he was going to read a list of really great basketball players who lost their final college game to Knight and IU in the NCAA tournament. First on the list was Michael Jordan. "What do you think about him?" Hammel asked Knight.

Knight said Jordan was one of the best players of all time, then turned to Hammel, "What was that one when ...  what was that little story when Jordan called time out?"

Hammel started talking about the Olympics gold medal game Knight coached in 1984, when the U.S.beat Spain by more than 30 points.

"No, it was toward the end of the game he called time out," Knight said. "And so there wasn't that much time left, maybe, I think there was four minutes on the clock."

"He was still in there?" Hammel asked, surprised Jordan would be in with the U.S. ahead by so many.

"He was still in there; if you'll be quiet, I'll get to it," Knight said.

"Jordan, he was just one of a kind. So he called time out and I wondered what it was and so I had to get up and I walked out on the floor. I'll never forget. This is about my favorite thing in coaching," Knight said. "I said, 'Mike what is it?' And he says. 'Coach, just take a look at the clock. We've already beaten their @$$.'"

Minutes later when a 10-year-old boy stood up and asked about Damon Bailey, Knight didn't respond. So Hammel started talking about the four national championships Bailey had won with AAU by the time he was in eighth grade.

Knight interrupted: "'Isn't that when Bailey called time out with about four minutes to play in the game? I got out to see what was going on. He said, 'Coach, I just wanted you to check the score. It's over.'"

Mary Wicker, who was standing outside talking to her sister after the performance, said she felt sorry for Knight.

"I know people will say he was acting off tonight," she said. "But I think people should understand he was great at one time and remember that." 

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.

[mookied39 347]

51 minutes ago, LamarCheeks said:

This is kinda sad to read. And boy, does it sure hit close to home. My dad passed from Alzheimer's -- it's been almost two years now -- and he had struggles very similar to this. We have a family reunion in central Indiana every year and one year, while I drove in from Virginia with my dog, my brother, mom and dad drove down from NW Indiana. When we all left, my dad rode back to NW Indiana with my dog and me. At one point, I looked in the back seat and said to my dog, "You doing OK, girl?" ... My dad said, "Oh, I forgot she was back there; she's so quiet. Such a good dog. ... I wish we had a dog." ... I said, "Dad, you do have a dog. You've had him for 4 years now." ... My dad said, "Oh yeah, that's right. See -- I forget this stuff. I'm so stupid about that." ... Luckily, it was dark -- I didn't want my dad to see that my eyes were getting moist. 

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/2019/04/04/iu-basketball-coach-bob-knight-witty-but-struggles-memory-speaking-appearance/3359396002/

Jeez.....that was hard to read.  And that story was rough....I am pretty sure my mom is sliding down that path.....ugh.

[ccgeneral 38,084]

 

[Brass Cannon 24,222]

So is the curse over then?  Does this break it or does he have to go to AH

[maharkn 1,684]

So is the curse over then?  Does this break it or does he have to go to AH

Best me to it I was thinking the same thing

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[JSHoosier 19,811]

8 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

So is the curse over then?  Does this break it or does he have to go to AH

Better get him in AH to be safe.

[Napleshoosier 10,137]

Damned story from Indy star was on Drudge today!


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[Napleshoosier 10,137]

Welcome home Coach! I actually got tears in my eyes watching those videos. And yes, a few of them ran down my cheeks!


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[Napleshoosier 10,137]

Needs to be a huge bronze statue of the man in front of AH!


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[Stuhoo 79,586]

His declining health seems seems to be mellowing his hatred. 

Kinda sad that this is what it took, but it’s better than hatred til one’s last day.

 

[Napleshoosier 10,137]

His declining health seems seems to be mellowing his hatred. 
Kinda sad that this is what it took, but it’s better than hatred til one’s last day.
 

Hope he goes to every home game we have next season.


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