Cowboys facing Tech after "newsy" press conference
Published: 2/24/2011 12:51 PM
Last Modified: 2/24/2011 12:51 PM
Is Oklahoma State facing a coach who is fighting to save his job?
OSU plays a Saturday home game against Texas Tech. Red Raiders coach Pat Knight had interesting things to say after his team dropped to 12-16 overall and 4-9 in league play with a Wednesday home loss to Colorado.
According to a story in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Knight said he’ll be coaching somewhere else next season if he’s not coaching at Tech. The story also said he’s not looking for pity.
“You shouldn’t feel sorry for coaches,” he said. “We make a great living. It doesn’t matter if you get hired. You get fired. We all know. That’s why we got in the business. We know everything that goes into it. We know there’s going to be highs and lows.”
My opinion? I wanted good things to happen for Knight, who has a senior team this season.
He’s easy to like because of his up-front demeanor, as evidenced by his quote above.
He has to know x’s and o’s, considering that the son of Bob Knight has been around gyms all his life.
But it’s puzzling that Pat Knight’s Red Raider teams have been sabotaged by, of all things, lack of defense.
Tech is in the process of hiring a new athletic director. Gerald Myers, the man who hired Bob Knight and Pat Knight, is on the way out.
Regime change doesn't sound like good news for Pat Knight. If I was him, I would be worried. If I was on the OSU staff, I would be worried about desperation bringing out the best in a good man who “gets” the big picture.
“I can’t sit here and complain,” Pat Knight was quoted as saying. “Yeah, I’m upset we lost, but there are a lot more people worse off than I am. I’m just coaching basketball. I’m not a fireman or a policeman or a doctor, who add something to this world. I’m just coaching basketball.”
The coach's comments were only a part of a newsy postgame press conference. The Avalanche-Journal also reported that senior point guard John Roberson called out fans for not showing up at United Spirit Arena.
“I haven’t complained in four years, but the crowd was awful,” said. “We didn’t have anybody here cheering us. That’s ridiculous for this to be a winnable game and for us to be playing another Big 12 school and for nobody to show up.”
Added teammate Mike Singletary, “You can look around the country and tell how some of the best teams have great fans and they come out and support, no matter who they’re playing. They could be playing a Division II school and they’re still going to be out there supporting their team.”
--Jimmie Tramel.
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
