Texas Tech basketball docs we need: Bob Knight at the salad bar

Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at some stores from Texas Tech past that would make great documentaries. One tale from the history of the Texas Tech basketball program that would fit that category is the time Bob Knight threw his salad at the university’s chancellor.

Sports and documentaries go hand-in-hand because the stories that come from the world of sports are often beyond belief.  And like the rest of America, Texas Tech basketball fans are loving the 10-part documentary about the Chicago Bulls titled “The Last Dance”, which airs another episode tonight on ESPN.

In fact, ESPN has perfected the art of the sports documentary with its iconic 30 for 30 series, which began airing 2009 with a run of 30 films to celebrate the network’s 30th anniversary.  Since then, that brand has lived on and annually produces some of the most discussed documentaries of the year.

During that initial run of 30 films, college basketball was the subject of only one.  Episode nine, which aired in April of 2010 was titled “The Guru of Go” and chronicled coach Paul Westhead’s coaching tenure at Loyola Marymount University where his up-tempo style of play revolutionized the game.

Since then, other films to feature college basketball include “The Fab Five”, which chronicled the famous Michigan Wolverine 1991 recruiting class, “Survive and Advance”, which retold the tale of the N.C. State Wolfpack’s run to the 1983 National Title, “Requiem for the Big East” which detailed the rise of Big East basketball, “Playing for the Mob”, which shed light on the Boston College points shaving scandal, “I Hate Christian Laettner”, which featured former the former Duke All-American forward, “Phi Slama Jama”, a look at the 1980s Houston Cougars, and “The Last Days of Knight”, which took an in-depth look at the end of Bob Knight’s legendary career with the Indiana Hoosiers.

That last film was particularly fascinating to Texas Tech fans because just a few months after Knight was fired by Indiana, he took the job in Lubbock to help resurrect one of the most downtrodden major college programs in the nation.  Of course, Texas Tech fans know that he helped do just that by taking Tech to the NCAA Tournament four times in his six full seasons on the job.

But he wasn’t able to avoid controversy in West Texas, not that he tried very hard to do so in the first place.  And perhaps the most infamous incident involving the game’s most polarizing coach during his time as a Red Raider took place in February of 2004 when Knight allegedly threw his salad at Texas Tech Chancellor David Smith during an argument at a United Supermarket.

While we don’t have a documentary on this crazy story, we can look back on what took place in one of the strangest moments in the history of Texas Tech basketball.  As we do, we will see that all the makings for a great documentary are already in place.