Bob Knight apparently thinks Georgia is the right situation
By Eamonn Brennan
[Linked Image from archimedes.galilei.com]

Over the weekend, news broke that Bob Knight was maybe, possibly interested in the now Dennis Felton-less Georgia job. That sounded a little farfetched, to say the least. Then Dick Vitale got in on the act, showcasing his typical restraint and discretion in saying he believed Knight had interest, and that if he did the job was so good Vitale would become his "assistant and chauffeur." OK then.

So it was only a matter of time before Knight actually had to use his prominent post on ESPN's college basketball production to address the rumors. Here comes the quick, easy dismissal, right? Here come the Tubby Smith-esque denials, yes? Erm ... not so much:

“It has to be a situation that I think is right for me and one where I would be right for the university,” Knight told ESPN Radio. “It has to be one, from my standpoint, where I think we would have the wherewithal to recruit and be able to compete with anybody.” “You know, never say never,” Knight said during Monday night’s broadcast on ESPN2 of the Tennessee-Oklahoma women’s game. “I’ve always said if I had a chance and it was a good one and I was good for the situation, I’d be interested.”

Maybe I've been rendered tone-deaf by all the non-denial denials already happening this season, but that is just about the clearest statement of actual interest yet. Knight doesn't have to curtail his comments like other coaches -- he's not coaching anywhere currently, and doesn't have to worry about a forlorn fanbase freaking out at his every dalliance -- so he can pretty much say whatever he wants. And so he did.

The question now is whether Georgia is actually that mythical "good" Bob Knight "situation." I'm not sure how well Knight could recruit to Georgia; he's never been a master recruiter, even in his best years at Indiana, and it could be argued that his best years left him in the early 90s. Since then, he's been a semi-brilliant coach working with less-than-brilliant squads. Could he actually make Georgia a contender? Could he actually steal some of that Atlanta hoops talent that has thus far fled to Kentucky and Tennessee and Florida? Or would working with Georgia be nothing more than a post-retirement muse, a chance to feel like a coach again, even if it leads to little in the way of institutional success?

Of course I don't know. But any familiarity with Knight causes one to lean closer to the latter than to the former.

Luck is for the ill prepared