Open letter to you Coach Knight: I want to thank everyone whos taken the time to send a message congratulating me on my most recent accomplishment. If you dont know by now, I was recently nominated for induction into the Indiana University sports HOF along with 4 other worthy members. Honestly I initially heard about the news a couple months ago while vacationing in Texas so it didnt come as a major surprise when it was announced yesterday. One thing I remember is having a feeling of shock, joy and disappointment. What could be disappointing you ask? Upon hearing the news from Dr. Fred Glass, I was saddened. I started thinking about the bad games I had and how my career at Indiana ended. How could they still want me in the HOF after that? I felt a feeling of undeserved because I didnt win any big ten titles nor did I lead any teams past the second round of the NCAA tournament. Being etched into the history of IU basketball means you lead, won & conquered right? I know Isiah Thomas wouldnt approve. Ive always been aware of that & I make sure my utmost respect goes to the real winners at Indiana University, the champions. After getting reassurance from family members & former competitors (Mateen Cleaves being one of them) that I was deserved, I still felt theres something missing. As I was riding home from the store, I saw a facebook post from a friend who lives in Texas. It said, at Bob Knight field house, about to take the court. That was the Ah HA moment! Whats missing is the man who personifies Indiana basketball. The man whos the bridge between the past & the present. The negative feeling I had was knowing he wouldnt be a part of this celebration. I realized at that moment how much his approval meant to me, mainly because hes the sole reason Im considered for this honor. I feel the Indiana basketball community is torn. My loyalty is & has always been with Bob Knight. I attended IU because there was an opportunity to play & people said I couldnt make it under Coach Knight. He didnt overly recruit me, there was no press conference. He simply asked after my visit so are you coming to Indiana or not as he gripped my shoulder tightly. Yes sir I replied. That was it! The turning point from deciding to go to Michigan State was Coach Knights one simple statement to me & my parents. I cant guarantee youre going to play right away but you will have a fair opportunity to earn minutes, you will graduate in 4 years, you will leave here a better person, & theres nothing I wont do for you once you graduate. Ive called Coach on 4 different occasions since ive graduated without any prior contact with him & each time he did what I asked. This is why my loyalty has always been with Bob Knight. On the flip side, I am Indiana basketball. I couldnt abandon the few fans, supporters & memories I still have. I made multiple efforts to ingratiate myself back into the IU basketball family. Once I did, I realize how different it is, how separated we are. Theres only one trace of Knights time and thats old reliable Tim Garl. I believe there will be & has been a black cloud hanging over Indiana University because of the severed relationship. Indiana has just as much or more history as Duke, UNC, Kentucky, UCONN & UCLA, the storied programs. The one common denominator is the relationship the school has with the coaching legends (Dean Smith, Jim Calhoun etc) & former players. The break up was bad, it was awful, it ruined my Senior season of basketball. We couldnt prepare for Pepperdine the way we normally could & on top of that Kirk Haston was injured. It was a perfect storm of issues to destroy my senior season at IU. I truly believe Indiana would have won a national championships with the team who finished 2nd in 2002 if Coach Knight was coaching those kids. Those were his recruits & even though we didnt win a title, our work ethic showed in Tom Coverdale, Kyle Hornsby, Dane Fife & Jarod Odle. I personally think IU would have won 2 more titles. All these things factors into why the relationships seems to be forever damaged, the relationship between Coach Knight & Indiana University. Im saying this to say, without you Coach Knight, the relationships are strange at IU. We are accepted and appreciated but theres a mission to move on from us. Youre the only person who can make everything right & bridge this gap. Its not about the former administration, its about the players you created. Where are in limbo, stuck in between. We are all experiencing various successes but not knowing how to include IU basketball. Receiving this induction without being able to look you in the eye and thank you for creating me makes it less authentic. I remember you couldnt attend the Wooden Awards because of all the things going on at IU during that time. I didnt go without you. Coach Knight, you taught each and every one of us how to over achieve by being the best AT being prepared. To believe its not about talent, its about outsmarting talented players. To be there for one another on & off the basketball court, for life. To have a short memory when it comes to mistakes, but also train yourself to make as little mistakes as possible. To make up for those mistakes by making the right plays. I dont know what happened during that time & Im certainly not asking anyone to apologize for anything. Im simply extending a public invitation for you to do ME a favor, attend the induction ceremony on November 7th, it would mean the world to me as a former player and supporter. For you to come see the young professional youve helped create. I believe its time, i believe the time is now. We think that forgiveness is weakness, but its absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive. Its a long shot, but if we share this letter enough, it might end up in the right hands. Ill never speak of this again, I also believe in moving on. Indiana University, what ever charity you have to donate to on Coach Knights behalf, lets get it done. Times ticking & we all deserve a homecoming. Im asking you Coach Bob Knight, you said youd do anything for me once I graduated, can you please attend my induction ceremony, which is coming back home to Indiana University?
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 16:59:38 +0000
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