John Canzano Reflects On Covering The Late Bobby Knight
750 THE GAME STAFF
Legendary college basketball coach Bobby Knight passed away at the age of 83, his family announced on Wednesday.
John Canzano covered Indiana basketball under Knight in the ’98-’99 college hoops season and reflected on that experience on Wednesday’s Bald Faced Truth radio show (3-6 p.m. on 750 The Game).
“He was never dull, he was never boring,” Canzano said of covering Knight on 750 The Game. “I have a bunch of cassette tapes in a box in my garage, of all these interviews that I did with Knight. Group settings, one-on-one, two interviews, times when he was in a good mood, times when he was in a bad mood, times when he was in a mood when he was eager to teach.”
Canzano said the post-game media sessions with Knight could be especially memorable.
“You never knew if Bobby Knight was going to be in a good mood or bad mood when he came into that news conference,” said Canzano. “If he was in a bad mood, you’d figure it out immediately. He could walk into the news conference, he would say as he was walking to the podium ‘Anybody got a question?’, you would look up from your spot in the media room, and Knight was already leaving the room.'”
Canzano shared a plethora of stories of interacting with Knight, including a time when Knight questioned Canzano for refusing to sit in the desks in the press conference room along with the rest of the media.
“He looked at the writers and he looked at me and he says, ‘What’s the matter with you? What do you have against sitting in the desks? And I said, ‘I’m just going to stand.’ And I never sat in the damn desks.
“He was such an intimidating person, and I think he was comfortable intimidating people, and I think he kind of did it to see how you would react, that when you pushed back a little bit against him, he didn’t buck. I think he respected it a little bit.”
The podcast of Canzano’s comments and stories from covering Knight will be posted shortly.
John Canzano delivers the Bald Faced Truth afternoons 3-6 p.m. on 750 The Game.
More reaction to Knight’s passing below.
BREAKING: Bob Knight, the brilliant and combustible coach who won three NCAA titles at Indiana and for years was the scowling face of college basketball, has died at age 83. https://t.co/dZ17nc5TpO pic.twitter.com/u2Umc1kney
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) November 1, 2023
“When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want them to bury me upside down, and my critics can kiss my ass!”
– Coach Bob Knight #RIP
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 1, 2023
Sad day for the sport of basketball
The legendary Bob Knight has passed away at 83
Will be remembered for as long as the sport exists
A giant of the game and a bigger personality
He will be missed by many 🙏
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) November 1, 2023
All time moment when Bob Knight returned back to Assembly Hall. RIP pic.twitter.com/TFyPLjd2Lg
— Aaron Handler (@aaronhandler) November 1, 2023
