WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.— For basketball junkies, it's the sort of carride of which dreams are made.
Years before he coached Purdue against Knight's Indiana teams, Gene Keady was an assistant to Arkansas coach Eddie Sutton. They were in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a coaching clinic and Bob Knight was one of the speakers.
Afterward, Keady rode along when Sutton and Knight drove to a fishing excursion. It was the first time the future Big Ten Conference rivals met each other.
"It was quite a drive to hear Eddie Sutton and Knight discuss basketball," Keady said."They were two of the best coaches I've been around."
Keady had previously ordered a defensive film from then-Army coach Knight when he was coaching at Hutchinson (Kansas) Junior College. On another occasion, Sutton flew his staff to Bloomington to watch one of Knight's practices with the Hoosiers.
Yet Keady and Knight didn't become friends until both were in the Big Ten Conference. The two still talk about once a month, Keady said. Those conversations revolved around baseball or world politics more than basketball.
They'll be back together at Purdue on Oct. 29 for An Afternoon With Coach Gene Keady and Coach Bob Knight at Elliott Hall of Music.
Tickets are still available at the Purdue Stewart Center box office, at 800-914-SHOW, orathttps://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/purdue/EN/buy/details/KEADY. A $5 discount is available for zones B and C when using the code KEADYOFFERS.
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Question: Why did you and Knight have such mutual respect for each other?
That was never a question, because he graduated his kids and kids played hard and taught the right kindof basketball. He taught good offense and good defense and those kinds ofcoaches win. Everybodythought we hated each other, but that was ourfans stirring things up.
Q: I find it hard to believe you never crossed each other. Any memorable disagreements?
A: Oh sure. One time when Linc Darner missed a 3-pointer atthe buzzerin Bloomington, and we lost. I thought he had gotten fouled. I'm going after the referees and asking them why they wouldn't call the game — show some guts in a place when it wasn't much fun.
Bob comes over to me and said he didn't like the way I shook his hand. Well, I was upset and the 'F' word came out. Later I'm thinking, 'What have I done?I've ruined one of my best friendships in coaching.'
Next spring in Orlando we had our Big Ten meetings and heactedlike a long-lost friend.Hehad forgotten about it.
Q: Do you take any pride in leading the all-time series between the two of you 21-20?
I don'ttalk about that. It doesn't mean anything. The only reason I have it is we were .500 against each other on ourcourts, but we won thegame at the United Center in the Big Ten tournament, which both ofusdidn'tlike. I thought yourseason shouldmeaneverything. So did he.
Q: Speaking of the Big Ten Tournament, this year it will be held in New York City. Last year it was in Washington, D.C. How do you feel about these east coast locations?
A: I hate it. I think it should be in Indianapolis every year,because it's betterfor fans to find cheaper hotel rooms. It's centrally located for the Big Ten. I don't know why they did that — to appease Maryland and Rutgers? Who knows? But I don't like it.
Fans that knowbasketball live inIndiana,whether it's Ball State, Indiana State, Evansville — wherever. They're the best fans, in Indiana, forbasketball.
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Q: Can I assume you're happier about the Big Ten moving to protect the home-and-home series between Purdue and Indiana?
A: Theyshould. It's the bestrivalry inAmerica for basketball. I don't care what you sayabout North Carolina andDuke.Purdue-Indiana is the best rivalry in the history of the game. Because ofhistory. It was always a great rivalry.
Q: Did the days leading up to a game against Indiana feel any different for you?
A: Every game in the Big Ten was important for me.Whoever we played next was the toughest. But it was always big because if you got beat byIndiana you had to hear the crap from your fans on the first tee box when playing golforat alumni meetings.
It was kind of a relief relief when you won at Assembly Hall. But that's the way it is for anyone who has a rivalry.
Q: What has been your reaction to the FBI investigation and arrests that recently rocked college basketball?
A: I think it's good because it's going to clean up basketball. Thank God for the FBI. Iwish the NCAA would do it because I alwaysrespected them, but I don't know. It's kind of amystery. I guess because you havesubpoenas and wiretaps youcan dothrough the FBI and the NCAA can't do that.
All they have to do is go to a tape table in the NBA (locker rooms) and listen to playerstalk about what they got. Those player shave loosetongues.
Q: So you weren't surprised when the allegations came out?
You alwayssuspected it. But unless I hadproof of it I didn't doanything about it. If I knew personally about it would maybe report it to the NCAA,but I wasn't asquealer.
Q: So can the NCAA or the coaches themselves do anything to clean things up?
Yeah, don't favor theschools that bring all the fansto the Final Four.Don't favor the money. Do what's right for thegame.
