Members of basketball’s royal court lost one of their own on Wednesday when hall of fame coach Bob Knight passed away at 83.
Jason Kidd never crossed paths with Knight. But as a member of the coaching fraternity, his respect for the polarizing but outrageously successful former Indiana Hoosiers and Texas Tech coach was clear.
“You’re talking about one of the best coaches at any level,” Kidd said. “It’s incredible what he did at Indiana. I don’t know if he could coach today, but just the imprint he left behind. There are a lot of coaches that have come from under his coaching tree. You’re talking about one of the best coaches to ever do it.”
Kidd then did a little re-thinking about whether the controversial Knight, who once through a chair during from the bench area onto the court during a game, would be able to handle the different sorts of players in today’s game.
“He wouldn’t be able to throw chairs,” Kidd said with a grin. “He was intense. And that’s something that as players change, coaches have to change, too. Maybe he could have coached today.
“He understood what his team needed and won a national championship. He’s done it not just for the college kids he’s coached on the floor, but off the floor, too.”
Chicago coach Billy Donovan never coached against Knight as a head coach, but he got to know him well during his years as an assistant coach at Kentucky and for 19 years as head coach at Florida.
“(As an) assistant coach when I was at Kentucky, we played them every year,” Donovan said. “Never as a head coach. I got a chance to spend a lot of time with him when he started to do a lot of television for a year or two years. He did a lot of SEC teams and we had a chance to spend time at shootarounds and after games. So I always really enjoyed him and got a chance to spend some quality time with him.”
Knight always stressed fundamentals and never tolerated shenanigans from his players.
“Obviously, coaching in general, from all the way back when he started to where it is now has totally changed, right,” Donovan said. “His programs, he was always about doing things the right way. His programs were filled with discipline. He was very, very demanding. But really got the most out of his guys. Graduated players.
“Some of the things that happened were unfortunate for him because it may have taken away from his greatness as a coach. But my time with him was always really positive.”
Hail to the Rangers: The Mavericks have been paying close attention to the Rangers during their playoff run to the World Series title.
Before the Mavericks and Bulls played, and before Game 5 of the Series started Wednesday night, Kidd said runs like this and the one the Mavericks had to the 2011 NBA championship have a terrific and perhaps therapeutic impact on everybody.
“I think it’s great what the Rangers have done, understanding that the (regular) season didn’t end the way they wanted it to,” he said, referring to the last game of the season when the Rangers lost home-field advantage in the early rounds of the playoffs. “It just shows that staying together and making plays (are important). And they’re doing that at the plate and in the field.
“It’s exciting. You talk about Dallas, and sports towns, it’s one of the best in the country and when you got a team with a chance to win the World Series, it’s big.”
The Mavericks’ game ended about the same time the Rangers were getting insurance runs in the ninth inning. They switched the jumbo video screen to the Rangers’ game for the end of the World Series. When the Rangers won it, a loud, lingering roar erupted in the arena as many fans stuck around to see history.
Kidd was happy for the Rangers and also for Bruce Bochy, the skipper who has made a habit out of piling up World Series rings as a manager. This is his fourth World Series win.
“When you talk about the manager, he’s just calm,” Kidd said. “And you listen to the players talk about him, they have confidence in what he’s doing and the moves he makes.
“He’s a hall of fame coach. It’s pretty cool, just like Dusty (Baker, in Houston, who recently retired), to be able to coach as long as he has and to have success.”
About that defense: The Mavericks came into the Chicago game with the No. 1 offensive rating in the league.
They were 20th in total defensive rating.
But that’s not the whole story, especially when it’s such a small sample size. Three games is only scratching the surface of an NBA season.
But Luka Dončić said that he’s noticing the difference defensively. Kidd has mentioned how players not generally known for their defense like Luka and Seth Curry have taken more responsibility on that end.
But Luka threw the credit elsewhere.
“The best improvement is having Grant (Williams) on the team,” Dončić said. “He said he’s trying to be all (defensive) NBA team. I think he deserves a spot. His communication is a big thing for us and he can guard one through five. He’s our leader on defense. We all follow him on defense.”
Briefly: Kidd was asked what the difference is for Derrick Jones Jr., who had 22 points at Memphis on Monday and had another solid shooting night against the Bulls. “One, being comfortable. Two, he’s going to be open, just like everyone else, understanding Luka and the problems he causes,” Kidd said. “He’s gonna be open. He’s gonna make some, he’s gonna miss some. But he’s been in the league and he knows we have confidence in him.” Jones had one of the plays of the game when he came flying on the baseline for a putback slam . . . The Mavericks got a key four-point play from Tim Hardaway Jr. with 7:11 left that put them ahead 94-92. Hardaway has been a starter for much of his career, but he’s been terrific coming off the bench in the first four games, averaging just over 20 points per game.
X: @ESefko
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