It`s finally March, so Indiana coach Bob Knight greeted the new month by recalling some of his memorable performances of years past.
Knight`s second-ranked Hoosiers overcame a bad start and an even worse finish to stave off Illinois 76-70 Sunday in Assembly Hall. But Knight`s antics on the bench stole most of the attention.
Though Knight did not care to comment afterward, sending assistant coach Ron Felling to the postgame media briefing, his feelings were rather obvious.
During the final four minutes, while his Hoosiers let a 22-point lead dwindle to six, Knight:
– Threw a full cup of water to the floor and then watched assistant Dan Dakich mop it up with a towel.
– Picked up a chair during an Indiana free throw attempt and slammed it back down.
– Screamed ”Stay out there!” to his players as they returned to the bench for a timeout.
– Grabbed two of his players by their jerseys and took turns hollering at his players and his assistants.
It was vintage Knight, to be sure, though not exactly vintage basketball played by Indiana (21-4, 12-2 in the Big 10).
Acting as Knight`s postgame mouthpiece for the second time in the last four games, Felling termed the Hoosiers` effort both ”lethargic” and
”apathetic.”
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”For some reason, we didn`t seem mentally prepared to play,” Felling said.
Defensively, the Hoosiers were fairly sound, blocking eight shots and forcing 19 turnovers. The tone of the game was set early, when Indiana forward Eric Anderson blocked two straight Deon Thomas shots in the post.
Sunday, Anderson got plenty of defensive assistance on Thomas from freshman Alan Henderson (14 points, six blocks), who was able to ignore Brooks Taylor on the perimeter and sag in on the Illini center.
Indiana hit only 12 of 31 shots (38.7 percent) in the first half, but still led 29-22 as the Illini went 8 of 24 (.333). Surprisingly, Henson sat Thomas out the final 12 1/2 minutes of the half because he had two fouls.
Henderson blocked Thomas` first three shots of the second half, and Indiana hit 11 of its first 14 shots to take a commanding 54-35 lead with 12 minutes left. Only then did Thomas finally put the ball in the hole.
Thomas wound up hitting his last six shots of the day, but as Henson said, ”It`s easier to hit them at the end when the game is over.”
Hoosiers forward Calbert Cheaney scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, and Indiana went 20 for 33 (.606) in the final 20 minutes.
The Illini (12-13, 6-9) did launch a belated comeback from a 22-point deficit, pulling to within 73-67 on a three-pointer by Taylor with :48 left. While Knight went berserk on the bench, Damon Bailey missed the Hoosiers`
second straight one-and-one opportunity three seconds later to give the Illini a glimmer of hope.
But Thomas dribbled the ball out of bounds on the ensuing possession, and after Bailey hit one of two free throws, Rennie Clemons was called for traveling to end what little suspense their was.
Knight`s postgame no-show was not particularly shocking. He didn`t show after a recent 91-60 victory over Northwestern, claiming he had a sore throat. Felling offered no such excuse for Knight this time, and an Indiana spokesman said Knight just didn`t feel like talking.