Charlie Riedel / AP file

Bob Knight's 902 victories are the most among any coach in men's D-I history.

The coaches we should be celebrating in today’s game would never do that. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, 61, coached in the Olympics last summer and gave an around-the-clock devotion to winning the gold medal. People said he would be too tired to push the Blue Devils when he returned to Duke. There’s been no sign of him letting up this season.

UConn coach Jim Calhoun, closing in on 800 career victories, has won three battles with cancer. Last August, one day after completing radiation treatments, Calhoun, 66, delivered the eulogy at a funeral for one of his former players in the morning, and then hosted his annual charity basketball game later in the day. He may be nearing retirement but he seems to be having the time of his life with the Huskies ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Knight, 68, isn't much older than Krzyzewski or Calhoun, but for some reason he hasn't landed a big-time recruit in years. And it’s hard to imagine Knight going out and kissing the rear ends of seventh, eighth and ninth grade boys to compete with the likes of coaches like Billy Gillispie and Billy Donovan. That would be ugly.

Anyone who hired Knight now for his record would be a hypocrite. Knight won three national championships but the last was in 1987. The players he would be recruiting weren’t even born then. In six-plus years at Texas Tech, Knight won three NCAA games and his Big 12 record was 53-49.

Knight walked away last year with 902 victories, still the most for any men’s major college coach. Perhaps being passed in January by Northern State coach Don Meyer for the record in all divisions is something that is behind Knight’s actions. Or maybe Summitt’s pursuit of 1,000 victories has given Knight a new goal.

Everything Knight does now, he does with an air that says, “I’m above the game.” Even in his role with ESPN, there are times when he refuses to conform. For example, in a recent pregame show, when asked to participate in the star watch, Knight picked the teams instead of two individuals. No one ever confronts him in situations like that, because they are intimidated.

When Knight left Texas Tech, many pondered his legacy. The answer may have come this week when Georgia freshman forward Trey Thompkins was asked about the possibility of playing for Knight.

“I’d like to play for Coach Knight — as long as he doesn’t hit me,” Thompkins said.

Thompkins then added that he was joking. Maybe. Either way, it’s kind of sad. And we’ve had enough.

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