A better coach, and a better guy. There was never a controversy about Dean Smith's character. He didn't get fired, because he never choked anyone. He got to 879 with 99 fewer losses, at 2 fewer schools and in one more privately funded arena which he reluctantly allowed UNC to name after him. Win all you want, Knight. You'll never measure up.
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I respect Bobby Knight like I respect John Thompson and John Chaney. They are all three men who have dedicated themselves to molding young men in sometimes controversial ways. (Yes, I know choking isn't cool. Slapping isn't either, but I still think that if you went to Indiana or now go to Texas Tech, you know what you're in for...) However, Coach Smith transcends that. Yes, he did that too, but he is so much closer to the founders of the college game that it puts him in a category by himself.
My posts were fueled by incessant media comparisons (Len Elmore during the UNC-Rutgers game, chiefly) between the two that failed to properly acknowledge Dean's merits in the comparison. Bobby Knight is indeed a great coach, and I think the fact that he's at Texas Tech is a testament to his commitment to teaching and shaping players. All I'm saying is that Dean is holistically a greater coach and role model, because he had control over himself.
I am completely unbiased.
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