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Vitale: Arizona should have hired Knight

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05:58 AM ET 11.21 | Bobby Knight as the interim head coach for the Arizona basketball team? As if the Wildcats don't have enough to deal with after losing Tuesday to Alabama-Birmingham 72-71 on a late foul, ESPN analyst Dick Vitale on Wednesday said UA should have hired the Hall of Fame coach to fill in for the retired Lute Olson this season. "I probably shouldn't be saying this but I'm going to say it anyway. I was real shocked that Arizona didn't go after Bob Knight," Vitale in a conference call. "I'm serious when I say that. He would have been the ideal guy to step in and I firmly believe he would have accepted that role to step in and take the program and get it moving again until they were going to hire in the future." Vitale, who was the first to report last month that Olson would retire, reiterated that former UA interim coach Kevin O'Neill also would have been a good choice for the Wildcats. "Kevin O'Neill got a raw deal," said Vitale, referring to UA's original plan to let O'Neill succeed Olson when he retired. "He would have been perfect there. He can recruit. He knows how to get discipline and defense. He would have been perfect."

Arizona Republic

Bobby Knight, Streeter Lecka/Getty Images Bobby Knight, Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
November 21, 2008  06:17 AM ET

Sure go from one of the most serene coaches to one of the most insane ones, talented but insane.

November 21, 2008  08:52 AM ET

Note to **** VITALE:

I Challenge you to go more than 10 minutes without making a comment about Mike Shechefski or Robert Mongtomgery Knight. You perpetual orgasm for these two is effin pathetic. Have a brain tumor on me!!!!!!!!

November 21, 2008  08:57 AM ET

Vital pushing KNIGHTmare that's shoking!!!! Stop the re-treads. UA has a AD, how about Vital showing some respect for some other than DUKE, UNC and KNIGHTmare.

November 21, 2008  11:29 AM ET

B.Knight....good coach, but I wouldn't want him representing my team. don't like him. Jerk, Ahole....he's that guy in the restaurant that talks loud and wants everyone to hear him.

November 21, 2008  11:34 AM ET

Lil' Dicky V., your credibility was already low. With your new book, you've sunk to gutter depths. Keep your mouth shut, PLEASE.

November 21, 2008  11:59 AM ET

I was so excited when DV lost his voice last year... I was hoping it would be permanent. He is worse than Madden. I wish they would both hang up the microphones.

November 21, 2008  12:16 PM ET
QUOTE(#6):

I was so excited when DV lost his voice last year... I was hoping it would be permanent. He is worse than Madden. I wish they would both hang up the microphones.

DV might be the only announcer more annoying than tony kornheiser. How did DV get so famous, he is annoying, was a terrible basketball coach and says the most stupid things i have ever heard.

November 21, 2008  01:22 PM ET

The Truth, you're a jerk for wishing anyone with a brain tumor!! Get a life!

November 21, 2008  02:15 PM ET

Note to "The Truth"

You called him Mike Shechefski . At least learn how to spell the man's name. It's Mike Krzyzewski.

November 21, 2008  02:51 PM ET

DV may be annoying, and he may have a east coast bias but at least he's thinking which is more than can be said for the present UA AD.

November 21, 2008  04:59 PM ET

livengood needs to grow a pair and hire a top notch coach, pennill is a good coach but who's ever heard of him

November 21, 2008  06:58 PM ET

Typical Vitale, recycle an old retread. Gives you a good idea about how irrelevent Vitale has become. Let's get some new blood, how bout it ESPN? Make me not want to listen to the ball games on my radio...please.

November 21, 2008  10:56 PM ET

Cut Dukey V some slack. The thought was probably implanted in his head as Knight whispered in his ear while spooning last night.

November 22, 2008  08:36 AM ET

DV does his job and more that the others despise. The likes of Knight, who is nothing more than a bullying loudmouth. He's even so idiotic that he even dresses like a slob compared to the rest of the crew. I'll betcha that was a special dress code in his contract with ESPN. Knight should go to UA and good riddance.

November 22, 2008  09:08 AM ET

I have seen few more dedicated to college basketball than Dickie V. Without him, the games aren't the same in how they are called, and thank god for someone who isn't afraid to express an opinion. Bobby Knight got a bad rap in part because the Indiana U President wanted some attention (which he used to be come the head of the NCAA, and failed at it). The fact is that Bobby Knight is an excellent coach and made Coach K the excellent coach that he is. Dickie V comes from an era of basketball - particularly in the ACC - when we had great coaches, such as Jimmy Valvano, Dean Smith, Bobby Cremens, Dave Odem, and their contemporaries, such as Eddie Sutton, John Thompson Jr., Pete Carrill, as well as kids that stayed on and didn't jump to the pros. Basketball was much more fun there than seeing the greed of professional basketball start to drip down to the high school level.

November 22, 2008  09:51 AM ET
QUOTE(#15):

I have seen few more dedicated to college basketball than Dickie V. Without him, the games aren't the same in how they are called, and thank god for someone who isn't afraid to express an opinion. Bobby Knight got a bad rap in part because the Indiana U President wanted some attention (which he used to be come the head of the NCAA, and failed at it). The fact is that Bobby Knight is an excellent coach and made Coach K the excellent coach that he is. Dickie V comes from an era of basketball - particularly in the ACC - when we had great coaches, such as Jimmy Valvano, Dean Smith, Bobby Cremens, Dave Odem, and their contemporaries, such as Eddie Sutton, John Thompson Jr., Pete Carrill, as well as kids that stayed on and didn't jump to the pros. Basketball was much more fun there than seeing the greed of professional basketball start to drip down to the high school level.

Helluva first post, keep it up! I'm old enough to remember all of those ACC coaches, good memories..........and that's coming out of a Michigan fan's mouth!

November 22, 2008  12:03 PM ET
QUOTE(#16):

Helluva first post, keep it up! I'm old enough to remember all of those ACC coaches, good memories..........and that's coming out of a Michigan fan's mouth!

I concur...

November 22, 2008  03:15 PM ET

Dickie V is wrong.

Arizona is a top ten caliber program -
they need a YOUNG coach who can continue the job lute did

Knight is not a long term solution-
why waste the time ??

November 22, 2008  09:41 PM ET

Knight is the best college basketball coach ever. He demands respect and academics from his players, which is unheard of these days. It's hard to tell if he would have been a good fit for Arizona, but I would have liked to see him back on the bench. For all you Knight critics out there, he may not be perfect, but he graduates 93% of his players. Oh yea, he also won three national championships, Gold Medal Olympics, Pan Am Gold, NIT Championship, just to name a few. Its time for fans to understand that college basketball is not the NBA, these kids need to go to class and act like young adults and not criminals.

 
November 23, 2008  08:27 AM ET

Yea, he'd be a great recruiter. "Look kid. You need to come to Arizona. I won't be the coach next year and I don't know who will, but it will be a great fit for you."

Knight has many plusses but he had as many or more minuses.

They really should have hired Kelvin Sampson. Five minutes after signing his contract, he would have committed 756 NCAA violations and Arizona would be on probation.

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