If the shock of Pat Knight’s in-season promotion as Texas Tech basketball coach had not worn off already, he certainly could not dwell on it Saturday. In the time it took to walk from courtside to the locker room, Knight had to come up with something to say to his team after a home loss to Oklahoma on a 3-point buzzer-beater.
Legendary coach Bob Knight abruptly stepped down Feb. 4, leaving his son in charge.
“I just left the guys alone for a little bit and let things simmer down,” Pat Knight said. “Then I didn’t make a big deal of the last play. I talked about all the dumb plays before that.”
Good answer, his famous father might say. At least that last part. Bob Knight isn’t particularly fond of simmering down.
For sons to also rise, Pat Knight, Oklahoma State’s Sean Sutton, Washington State’s Tony Bennett and Drake’s Keno Davis say they must do things their way. Comparisons with their fathers are unavoidable.
Texas Tech (13-11, 4-6 Big 12) stands 1-3 under the younger Knight entering its game tonight against Colorado in Boulder. This hasn’t exactly been a fairy-tale start for Pat Knight, who commiserates with Sutton, a longtime friend. Sutton has a losing conference record in two seasons after replacing Eddie Sutton. Meanwhile, Bennett and Davis have their teams rising in the top-25 polls after being promoted from “head coach designate” to the top job.
“I told Pat, ‘You’ve got to be yourself,’ ” Sean Sutton said. “I told him: ‘You can’t worry about comparisons people are going to place on you, with your dad. You’ve got to be Pat Knight. There’s only one Bob Knight.’ He has to have a thick skin and be able to block out things that are said.”
Sutton probably has heard plenty from Oklahoma State fans accustomed to winning big. Eddie Sutton averaged 23 victories during 16 seasons at his alma mater before taking a medical leave of absence in February 2006.
Bob Knight wanted to give his son the experience of coaching at least 11 games this season to get a jump start on next season.
“I thought I’d pick it up in the spring,” Pat Knight said, “but my dad had all this planned out for me. The disadvantage is, we just don’t have a very good team. (But) this way the guys get to know me. And it’s kind of an evaluation process to see who I want around after the season.”
Bennett and Davis are making this father-to-son dynamic look easy, if not brilliant. Dick Bennett, who had guided a lineup of overachievers at Wisconsin to the 2000 Final Four, began the reclamation project at Washington State and got the team competitive in three seasons.
Tony Bennett took things to another level last year, earning five national coach of the year awards after tying a school record with 26 victories. This year the Cougars are 20-5 and ranked No. 17 in The Associated Press poll.
“I feel so fortunate because the system was in place and I have upperclassmen,” the younger Bennett said. “What’s good about this situation is continuity for recruiting, continuity for the program, just knowing things are going to keep rolling.”
Tom Davis guided Drake to its first winning season (17-15) in 20 years last spring and decided the time was right to give Keno the keys to the gym. He probably deserves the keys to the state. The Bulldogs are ranked (No. 16 by AP) for the first time since 1975 and already have clinched the Missouri Valley’s regular-season title.
“It’s an amazing year where everything just kind of falls right,” Davis said. “But I’m not expecting it to be the norm.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
