Bob Knight on death of John Wooden … the silence is deafening, and revealing

Interesting that, as so many climb over each other this month to canonize John Wooden, there are a few notable names not on board with the hallelujahs. Practically everyone in sports media — or at least those with Twitter accounts — stopped just short of creating the coach’s likeness in stained glass at the news of his passing on June 4. Yes, Wooden was a great coach. And yep, he touched many lives; including far more than just the players he coached. But to deny the man’s blemishes at a time like this is to actually diminish his overall beauty. Sorry to report: John Wooden was not God. Two things that need to be pointed out:

* If Wooden is, as I’ve been hearing over and over again this month, the greatest basketball coach of all time, why did Pete Newell absolutely own him? The late Cal coach (the real best coach ever, in my opinion) had an 8-0 record against Wooden over their final eight meetings.
* Why are so many ignoring the Sam Gilbert factor? It’s widely known that Gilbert played fast and loose with NCAA rules all during the UCLA hoops dynasty; Wooden even himself acknowledging that he should have paid more attention to what was going on. It’s also most likely the reason, according to some, that Knight has been silent thus far on Wooden’s passing.
Anthony Schoettle in today’s Indianapolis Business Journal:

Knight and Wooden were giants of the sport, and no two men advanced the game, and quite frankly, advanced the business of the game, more than these two.

But the truth is, they didn’t like each other.

Knight has publicly stated that Wooden let the likes of Sam Gilbert, a notorious booster who allegedly provided some UCLA players with gifts in violation of NCAA rules, remain far too close to the Bruins’ program.

Knight was even quoted as saying you won’t find anyone like Gilbert loitering around the IU program while he was coach. Clearly, Knight thought Wooden turned a blind eye to things he shouldn’t have, allowing UCLA alums to buy talent that fueled the school’s magical hoops run of the 1960s and 1970s.

And Bill Livingston of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote on Thursday:

When Indiana’s Calbert Cheaney won the John Wooden Award as college basketball’s best player in 1993, he wasn’t present in Los Angeles to receive his prize. A taped acceptance speech stood in for him. Nor was his coach, Bob Knight, present.

The award was presented while Indiana had classes scheduled, which provided a convenient excuse. The subtext of the absence of Knight and his prize player was Knight’s reluctance to be associated with the award named for the UCLA coach.

Wooden didn’t care for Knight either, although he admired the IU coach’s talent. No two major coaches were more opposite in their approach to teaching. Wooden was your grandfather, who, if he caught you shoplifting a candy bar, would sit you down and tell you a story about how he walked 10 miles to return some change he found in the sofa. Knight was your uncle, who saw the same crime and turned you over to the cops. But not before making you eat the wrapper.
Hey, both got results. My opinion? Wooden was somewhat of a phony, quoting Bible verses while, in plain sight, Gilbert gouged the NCAA rulebook with a devil’s pitchfork. Knight was a better tactician, and scrupulously honest. But he was flawed as well, as the fingerprints on Neil Reed’s throat will attest. Too bad we couldn’t combine the best qualities of these two great coaches; then we’d really have something.
Oh wait, we did. His name was Pete Newell.
***
Differences drove wedge between Knight and Wooden [Indiana Business Journal]
John Wooden was the king of a different (and not pristine) era in college basketball [Cleveland Plain Dealer]