Knight's Sites

The Bob Knight saga has more legs than an Ethan Allen warehouse. Last week alone Indiana English professor Murray Sperber, Knight's most vocal critic on the Bloomington campus, went on a leave of absence after receiving death threats stemming from his negative remarks about the Hoosiers' basketball coach. Meanwhile, the school cleared Knight of the charge that he had punched a former player, not identified but believed to have been Matt Nover, during halftime of a 1990 game.

Good Knight or Knightmare? Chances are that you already have an opinion on him, but do you have a zero-tolerance policy for a contrary view? If not, check out two Web sites that are at opposite ends of the spectrum: coachbobknight.com, which is Knight's snazzily designed official site, and the cruder-looking location members.aol.com/rmkgeneral, which bills itself as "The Dark Side of Bobby Knight." Some comparisons:

?Hands-on coach. The home page of the official site has a photo of Knight laying his right hand upon the shoulder of his Wisconsin counterpart, Dick Bennett. One assumes that the two red-sweatered gurus are sharing a congenial word or two. The Dark Side site provides a link to www.cnnsi.com, on which you can view the tape of Knight choking player Neil Reed during a practice in 1997.

?Video. The official site has a brief snippet of a Knight chalk talk (topic: creating off the dribble). The Dark Side has grainy footage of the notorious 1985 chair-throwing incident.

?The record. The official site, unsurprisingly, devotes copious space to his accomplishments. "Knight has proven over and over again that he is the finest basketball coach in America," it declares, and lauds what it claims to be his 96% graduation rate among players who have completed their basketball eligibility. The Dark Side has different stats, such as a partial list of players who have transferred from Indiana during the Knight era. A more entertaining read is the chronology, dating back to 1975, of Knight's aberrant behavior. "Thanks to the coach's apparent lack of self-control," says the Dark Side, "this page is permanently under construction!"

?Language. Rate one G, the other R. The official site is as clean as the Hoosiers' record with the NCAA Infractions Committee during Knight's 29 seasons. The Dark Side isn't for the easily offended. An audio link catches Knight, circa mid-1990s, in a full-throated screed launched at his players, in which he drops F-bombs with Glengarry Glen Ross frequency: 16 in 75 seconds.

?Coaching philosophy. Official site: "Victory favors the team that makes the fewest mistakes." Dark Side: "I'm not here to get my ass whipped!"

The official site, however, isn't totally devoid of humor. In the "Interactive Corner," visitors are invited to play a game of Indiana basketball trivia. "Pick the correct answer and make coach happy," it instructs. "Pick the wrong one and receive, well, a pep talk."