Knight and Gibbs: Night and Day Success

Two coaching legends recently resigned from their respective teams, moving on to a new era in their lives. For some, these two fellows were as different as night and day, yet their accumulation of wins and championships is remarkable. Yet, Bob Knight and Joe Gibbs both saw their roles as more than just winning.

As a longtime successful college hoops coach, Knight viewed himself as a teacher first. A lot of people, some who I feel are too quick to judge without looking in the mirror first, have tuned him out due to his occasional tantrums and outbursts. Coach Knight has a passion for his profession and he saw it as worthy of getting ugly for at times. The fact he could win championships while keeping his programs compliant with the sometimes crazy rules of the NCAA, plus pushing his players to achieve in the classroom and graduate deserves our applause and respect. Again, for the ones who thought he was and is a jerk, well he wasn't being one just to be one. He has results, and in this world, the results are what counts.

As a school librarian, I appreciate Knights dedication to the libraries on the campuses where he coached. He saw these facilities as very useful to people working on achieving their goals and dreams, and this is where he focused his fundraising work. So behind the highly publicized tirades, there was and still is a good man who has genuine concerns for his players and for all the students, plus a hope for them to have success in life not only in basketball, but beyond.