Legendary college basketball coach Bobby Knight’s tenure as an ESPN analyst was certainly eventful, and mostly not in a good way, but he did make a positive impression on one of his coworkers in highly unusual circumstances. ESPN college basketball reporter Holly Rowe joined The Dan Patrick Show (Audience/NBCSN/NBC Sports Radio) Monday to discuss numerous topics, including Dan Shaughnessy’s criticisms of the UConn women, but she also took the time to relate a great story about travelling with Knight:
“So, a couple of years ago, Wichita State’s undefeated, they’re doing their final game at home to, I think, become 31-0 or 32-0,” Rowe said. “Bob Knight’s there, and his flight gets cancelled. Well, I’m driving from Wichita to Stillwater, Oklahoma because I have a game there on Monday, so I go, ‘Hey, I can get you south out of this storm if you want.’ So he and I go on a four-hour ride in a blizzard, and I’m like white-knuckling on the wheel. And he’s hungry. So we drive through the McDonald’s drive-thru, we get some food, and as I drive, Bob Knight feeds me french fries. And he is lovingly, one-at-a-time, feeding me french fries, and hands me the straw for my drink so I don’t have to take my hands off the wheel. And for four hours, he and I talk about his relationship with John Wooden and things he wishes he had done differently in his career, and I am so grateful for these precious, precious moments.”
“Doesn’t that sound like the name of the book, ‘Bob Knight Is Feeding Me French Fries,'” Patrick asked.
“It could be the title of my autobiography,” Rowe said.
That’s a great story, and one showing a very different side of Knight than what we often got as a high-profile coach or ESPN analyst.
The Dan Patrick Show can be seen every morning on DirecTV’s Audience and NBCSN and heard on a wide range of radio affiliates. Clips can be found at danpatrick.com.
