Bob Knight, once a showcase analyst for ESPN, now is barely in the network’s plans for college basketball.
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Wednesday, ESPN released its lineup of announcers and analysts for the new college basketball season, and you had to look pretty hard to find the former Indiana coach’s name on the release.
Oh, there it is: “American games will see Mike Patrick on Thursdays and Saturdays with Len Elmore and Bob Knight.”
For those who can’t keep up with all the conference reshuffling, the American Athletic Conference features UConn, Cincinnati and Houston, among others.
OK, there are a few decent teams, but the American is far down ESPN’s pecking order, judging by the release. It is mentioned last in the roundup of leagues and coverage teams.
In fact, the release notes high that “(Rece) Davis will also call a Thursday Night Showcase game involving Big Ten teams.”
That likely means most of the American games and Knight will be seen on ESPN2.
Knight’s star has dropped considerably from his days of being a featured analyst at ESPN. Last year, he did SEC games. The American Conference isn’t the SEC, and it is a long way from the days of the old Big East.
There has been speculation for the last couple of years that the network finally would cut ties with him. Yet Knight is back again, albeit in a three-man situation with Elmore as a co-analyst. The set-up reduces his responsibility to help carry the telecast.
At 74, Knight still must feel the need to be connected to college basketball in some way, even if he isn’t on the big stage anymore.