Bobby Knight Speech at Trine University Commencement 2010 Part 01

Please give a warm welcome to Trani University to Coach Robert M. The night of our

2010

commencement

speakers I discarded my robe because I had told dr. Brooks, who only works in a sweater, buys a towel, wears a suit with a tie and talks too much. I limit myself when I have to say that I think that with a sweater, first of all I would like to say that that dr. Brooks read some things that have been given to me over the years, but nothing has touched me more or been more important to me personally than the degree that was awarded to me by this great

university

here this morning and that leads me to talk to you 360 degrees. who are about to receive their degrees, they know that there is no better institution anywhere in the country than the one they are about to graduate from and this institution has truly put them at the starting line of life, this is where the Life really begins for you because From this moment on, you, eminent graduates, will have to depend more on yourselves than at any other time in your short experience with life.

I'm going to talk to you a little about some of the things you're going to do. I find out from this day because you're going to be alone, you're going to work for people, some of you have to work for a guy like me, you know I wasn't the easiest coach in history to play for you know that was never my intention. My intention was to see the guys who played for me come out of basketball with a better opportunity to succeed in life than anyone else anywhere could have and with that it took a certain amount of different changes.

Kind of breath in my parking lot for all those years and people ask me what, in a nutshell, what would be your philosophy and I tell them this story: You know, you young people, remember that you're going to work for someone like those people. I'll tell you a little about that here Johnny came in to see that he was dead one night Johnny was 16 years old he had just completed his junior year in high school his dad was watching a baseball game supporting the Cardinals and Johnny said dad, mom, do you did he say that? I passed the driving test today, dad said not only Johnny, mom told me you passed the test, she said the state trooper who gave you the test said you got the highest score on both the written portion and the handling that exam that no one had ever had.

I once gave it to her she said, I think it's great, dad, that leads me to ask you this question. Well, will I be able to use the car from time to time? Your car or mom's car, John, you know, I anticipated that question and here it is. my answer there are going to be some stipulations John now you are going to have stipulations you are going to have restrictions here are the stipulations that John's dad gave him in the first place I am tired of his mom telling me how your brother and sister mistreat him and how reluctant you are to do things around the house how slow you are to pay attention to things that have to change second your grades have to improve you have to have better grades John, this last grading period was just not well you have to have better grades and thirdly I want to see you read you have to learn to read as the basis of all knowledge and not only the ability to read but the desire to read and I think that while you read I want to take a look at the Bible from time to time when, not because of the religious implications, but simply because there are so many good things in the Bible about life and then, John, the last thing, the fourth thing, the fourth stipulation for you to use the car is, damn boy.

You have to cut your hair. I'm tired of seeing that long hair and I want a haircut now, when you've been around John long enough that you think you've changed these things and you're under control, come back and we'll do it. I talked about the car, so about three weeks later, John had been working hard and he thought now was the time to go visit my dad and see where I am as far as using the car, so he came into the living room and was Dad watching. Cardinal game again and he said, Can I tell you about the car?

This dad said, certainly, John and he said, well, I worked on those things you told me about and I hope I've improved some and maybe I'll be ready to have the opportunity to use the car and his dad said, well, first of all, not only because your mother stopped complaining about your behavior at home, but she was also very complimentary about how you helped and what you did with your brother and sister and what she wants done and even things she didn't even tell you about. request you make. You have done it very well. Number one.

Excellent. Number two. I've been carefully monitoring your grades. They've all gotten better, but John, they have to. Stay there and they have to continue improving. You have to understand that, thirdly, I have seen you read and I have seen you open the Bible from time to time and I have seen you be interested in other things than just looking. television and I'm very happy with that, so three out of four John is pretty good, but you have to do all four things John and you still don't have a haircut and I told you I'm tired of that long hair and John Now I said I have something to say about it.

You know, you encouraged me to read the Bible. I have read the Bible and I saw in the Bible that Matthew Mark Luke John Peter Jesus himself had long hair and his father said that is exactly right. John and them walked like crazy everywhere and that's the kind of person you're going to run into from time to time as you move away from this starting line and move on to the next phase of life and then there's another. What I really love is self-sufficiency, learn to trust yourself. You will now be in a situation where self-sufficiency will be important.

You know, get up in the morning and get to work. time doing what you're supposed to do trying to get better trying to get better It really bothers me when a guy hits a home run and crosses the plate and points to the Almighty thanking the Almighty for giving him the strength to hit this. homer, you know, leave the almighty alone, what the hell does he care about baseball, let him work on something else, leave him, let him work on homeless homes and better health care and one thing on another, and so on when this guy sets his Raise your hand in the air and thank the Lord for helping you hit that home run.

I see this on television. I tell myself God screwed the pitcher. Now think about that in life. In the life. Know. Believes in God. I have strong beliefs, but above all I believe. learn to swing good pitches on yourself don't mindlessly swing up into the strike zone never back away when you're not aware of the strike zone don't swing it down and out don't swing it up and in Make sure you do it What you're making is a good pitch and when you have that good pitch, make sure you hit it. One of the great contemporaries of mind and training happens to be a guy who played for me at West Point Mike. key to success and many of you were simply rooting for your Duke team to be defeated by Butler a couple of weeks ago in Indianapolis, but I can assure you that I was rooting for Duke to win that game because I have tremendous respect for Mike as a player. as a player, as a person and as a coach, and he has become one of the great coaches in the history of the game and I am going to pass on something that he once did as a player, at about the same age as you.

I was a senior at West Point at the time and we were playing South Carolina in the NIT and they had a great player named John Roach and I told him, Mike, you're going to guard Roach and I don't want Roach to get 10 points. They play a 2-3 zone, you are going to play above the zone Mike and Oxley will be on your right and Simmons will be on your left Oxley shoots Simmons shoots you pass you don't shoot I want to see you shoot Mike, he wasn't a very good shooter, he said no , is there anything in this that you don't understand, he said no, sir, and I said, Oxley shoots, Simmons shoots Gouveia and Clevenger working up the middle, you pass, you pass?

I have a coach. I have about eight minutes left in the game. We are ahead by 14 points and my grandmother used to tell me that at some point in life the devil will try to take your soul and that happened to Mike with that 14 point lead. and I can still see Mike stepping into the free throw line with the ball and now no one 8 feet away is playing basketball and not being allowed to shoot, it's a tough proposition and you guys are going to have some tough situations. There will be some things where you'll say why I'm doing what you're doing so well, because someone told you to do it or it's

part

of your job and then it's

part

s of your job and your life.

It's not as interesting or as entertaining and maybe not being able to shoot and that game was certainly one of those things and when he went into shooting, the devil had his soul and he reached out to shoot and the shooting guiding hand of him really appeared. he brought out the ball and started the shooting motion, then Bill Parcells, the great football coach, is sitting next to me on the bench and I said Zeff Ski is about to die and with that, at the last moment possible, he threw the pass to Oxley on the right. On the other hand, years later, I cut that image out of the movie and sent it to Mike with this inscription Mike, this pass saved your life.

Now I use it as a reference point because those of you who follow sports and even those who Don't Mike has been synonymous with success throughout his career at Duke, the most success anyone has ever had in basketball and when he got to West Point had been the Chicago Catholic League's leading scorer for two years, one of the best in basketball. He played in leagues in the United States and he had a lot of things going to the basket and getting fouled a lot, but he was never really a very good shooter. He made the best adjustment from high school basketball to college basketball of any player he has ever known.

I've ever been trained and I think the ability to adjust the ability to be able to see something and adapt to it to change your focus because there's a better focus is going to be very important to each of you and like I say, I've never been around anyone who made a better fit than Mike