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Texas Tech basketball: The Bob Knight era all-time team

By Matthew Conner

16 November 2001: Texas Tech head coach Bobby Knight yells at his team from the bench while they play against William & Mary during the Ford Red Raider Classic at the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, TX. The Red Raiders defeat the Tribe 75-55. DIGITAL IMAGE Mandatory Credit: Ronald Martinez/ALLSPORT Mandatory Credit: Ronald Martinez/ALLSPORT
16 November 2001: Texas Tech head coach Bobby Knight yells at his team from the bench while they play against William & Mary during the Ford Red Raider Classic at the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, TX. The Red Raiders defeat the Tribe 75-55. DIGITAL IMAGE Mandatory Credit: Ronald Martinez/ALLSPORT Mandatory Credit: Ronald Martinez/ALLSPORT /
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Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight speaks to his team  (Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images)
Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight speaks to his team  (Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images) /

The all-time Texas Tech basketball team from the Bob Knight era features some of the biggest and most beloved names in program history.

When former athletic director Gerald Myers made the bold stroke to bring Bob Knight to Lubbock in 2001, it instantly took the Texas Tech basketball program from irrelevance to prominence. Suddenly, a program coming off of four-straight losing seasons was the talk of the nation but not everyone was on board with the move.

Just six months prior, the 3-time national championship head coach was fired by Indiana for what the school said was a “pattern of unacceptable behavior.”  Thus, some Red Raider fans and boosters were not keen on the idea of entrusting the program to one of the most controversial figures in the game, one who had recently been accused of choking a former player during practice and putting his hands on another Indiana student to cap off what was a laundry list of unpleasant incidences during his legendary career.

However, those who were concerned were greatly outnumbered by those who were overjoyed at the instant credibility and excitement Knight’s arrival brought to a program that was still trying to recover from NCAA sanctions that cut short what could have been a nice run under previous head coach James Dickey.  And when Knight was introduced at a hybrid press conference/pep rally at the United Spirit Arena on March 24, 2001, there were more fans on hand to welcome him to town then there were at any of the previous season’s home games.

I was one of those on hand as a student at the time and it was one of the more surreal experiences of my time at Tech.  Seeing the larger-than-life head coach don a red sweater with the Double-T on it and watching on the big screen as he learned from Myers how to put his guns up was a special moment during my time in college and one that was such a big event that my mom, who had probably never watched an entire college basketball game in her life to that point, wanted to attend.

Fortunately, the hype that surrounded Knight’s arrival was validated with on-court success.  Going 138-82 in six-plus seasons, he took the program to four NCAA Tournaments, including the 2005 Sweet 16.  When he retired in the middle of the 2008 season, he had the best winning percentage in program history (.627) and though his protegee Chris Beard now owns that record (.721) Knight remains second in school history and with 138 career wins in Lubbock, he’s the program’s fourth-winningest head coach.  Keep in mind that the three men ahead of him were all on the job in Lubbock for at least three years longer than Knight was.

So of course, there were some fantastic players to come through the program during Knight’s tenure.   And as we mourn the absence of an NCAA Tournament, it’s a perfect time to take a look at the all-time Bob Knight era Red Raider team because remembering the great players that played for “The General” in Lubbock is a great way to spend our time now that the world has slowed to a crawl without live sports.

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