Chances are you didn’t read Kevin Koenig’s profile of legendary college basketball coach Bob Knight when it ran in Anglers Journal in 2015. Good thing, then, that GQ syndicated the piece this week after Knight’s recent death. Whether or not you’re a sports fan, this is the kind of profile that doesn’t come around often: intimate, unvarnished, and content to spool out a three-day encounter with all the patience of a fly fisher.
Think of the strongest, most charismatic personality you’ve ever met. Now multiply it by 10. That’s Bob Knight. He is constantly testing people. Bullying, cajoling, charming, asking pointed questions out loud so everyone can hear. One minute he will lean over conspiratorially and whisper a joke in your ear. You will laugh, because Knight really is a funny bastard. You will think, This man really likes me. Then you will ask him a question he doesn’t quite like the bend of. And he will look you square in the eye with nothing short of malice and go stone silent. You will think, Wow, this guy actually hates me. Truth be told, in my five days with Knight I was never quite sure where I stood with him, which is ironic, since Knight is famous for not mincing words. His naked contempt for the media is no secret. He calls us “the press,” and spits it out like it’s an epithet.
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