Its performance hardly approached perfection, which is the standard Bob Knight continually preaches. But while escaping with a 70-68 victory over New Mexico on Monday in Lubbock, Texas Tech often did reflect the philosophies he has espoused on his way to the record book.
That, of course, was only appropriate since this was the 880th victory of his career, which made him the winningest Division I men’s basketball coach in history. It pushed him past Dean Smith, who had 879 wins while guiding North Carolina, and it came in a manner that mirrored so many of the others that had preceded it.
Knight’s best teams have been steeled by an unbending will. After blowing a 20-point first-half lead Monday, his Red Raiders had enough will to compose themselves, respond and earn their win in the final two minutes.
Knight’s best teams have performed with relentlessness and unflagging vigor. With a two-point lead and less than two minutes left Monday, Red Raiders guard Alan Voskuil dashed to the left corner, ran down a loose ball and got his team another possession, which it used to further milk the clock. Later, during the postgame celebration, Knight called Voskuil out to the court and held up his arm.
Knight’s best teams have featured singular performers who embraced hard moments and treated them as nothing more than their personal playthings. With the record-setting victory in jeopardy Monday, his Red Raiders stars did just that with all the assuredness of their many predecessors, who stretch back from Indiana’s Calbert Cheaney to Isiah Thomas to Quinn Buckner.
First, with a little less than two minutes left, senior guard Jarrius Jackson nailed the three-pointer that gave Texas Tech the lead for good. Then, during the remaining frenetic seconds, junior swingman Martin Zeno corralled two rebounds off Lobo misses that helped seal the deal.
That was the most appropriate conclusion to this occasion. Earlier this season, Zeno was playing poorly and deep in Knight’s doghouse. But, and this is what made it a luscious moment, he is just the kind of player who responds to his coach’s often controversial ways and winds up flourishing.
I learned that some 15 months ago in a conversation with Zeno, who said of Knight’s demanding methods: “You take a lot of heat, but in the end it pays off. Growing up, in my family, I took a lot of heat. [My parents] wanted it done their way, they wanted you to be respectful, and if you weren’t respectful, they’d come to make you respectful.
“I caught a couple whuppings here and there and stuff like that . . . so it’s not much different, just more vocal than back at home.”
All-time career victories
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COACH YR W L
1. Bob Knight* 40 880 354
2. Dean Smith 36 879 254
3. Adolph Rupp 41 876 190
4. Jim Phelan 49 830 524
5. Eddie Sutton 36 798 315
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6. Lefty Driesell 41 786 394
7. Lou Henson 41 779 412
8. Lute Olson* 34 772 270
9. Henry Iba 41 767 338
10. Mike Krzyzewski* 31 765 251
*–active
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Highlighting Knight’s milestone victories
1965-71 AT ARMY
100 Army 64, Navy 50 on Feb. 24, 1971
1971-2000 AT INDIANA
April 1, 1971, his first day on the job; goes on to win 11 Big Ten titles (1973, ’74, ’75, ’76, ’80, ’81, ’83, ’87, ’89, ’91 and ’93), 3 national titles (1976, ’84, ’87)
200 Indiana 93, Georgia 56 on Dec. 19, 1975
300 Indiana 83, Northwestern 69 on Feb. 7, 1980
400 Indiana 81, Kentucky 68 on Dec. 8, 1984
500 Indiana 92, Northwestern 76 on Jan. 14, 1989
600 Indiana 75, Iowa 67 on Jan. 6, 1993
700 Indiana 70, Wisconsin 66 on March 5, 1997
Sept. 10, 2000, Indiana fires Knight
2002-PRESENT AT TEXAS TECH
800 Texas Tech 75, Nebraska 49 on Feb. 5, 2003
880 Texas Tech 70, New Mexico 68 on Jan. 1, 2007
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