Generally athletic teams are best known for outstanding players while coaches remain behind the scenes. However, there is one exception to the rule - Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight.
At age 63, Knight is one of the winningest coaches in the history of college basketball. He won his 800th career game in 2003 with a win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers and he is one of only six coaches to have such bragging rights.
UNM assistant coach Brad Soucie said Knight has been a successful coach because of the discipline he has instilled in his players.
"His team plays the way he wants them to play," Soucie said. "His success comes from knowing how to motivate his players and he gets his team to do the tough things."
Knight is in his 36th year coaching college basketball, which began at Army in 1965. He helmed Army for six years, and spent 29 years at the University of Indiana. He is in his third year at Texas Tech.
In his career, Knight has been to the national championships 11 times, winning three and has won more games in the Big Ten than any other coach. There are only two other coaches in NCAA history who have won more titles than he has.
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But besides his 72 percent winning record, Knight is perhaps best known for his quick temper and aggressive behavior. The most famous incident was in 1985 against Purdue, when Knight threw a chair across the court in protest of an official's ruling.
However, that is not where Knight's aggressive behavior became known to the public.
In 1979 he was arrested for allegedly attacking a police officer after a dispute over a practice gym at the Pan American games in Puerto Rico. Knight has also been accused of attacking players and members of his staff throughout his career.
He was eventually fired from Indiana University in 2000. The IU president said Knight was terminated for his consistent defiant and aggressive behavior toward fans, officials, players and media.
But Knight was not out of a job for long and the next season led the Texas Tech Red Raiders to a record of 23-9 in the 2001-02 season.
Knight and the Red Raiders (5-2) will invade The Pit Saturday. Last season they schooled the Lobos in a 98-71 win in Lubbock, but Soucie said this year UNM will be better prepared for the Big 12 opponent.
"The players remember last year," he said. "But we're not going to be focused on Bob Knight or the opposing team. We're just going to focus on getting back to playing the way we know how."
The Red Raiders are coming off a 70-57 win over the University of Texas El Paso Wednesday night, in which Tech guard Andre Emmett had 27 points. But if the UTEP game is any indication, Emmett is Knight's only offensive weapon.
Following Emmett Wednesday night was Darryl Dora with eight points and Robert Tomaszek with six.
Tipoff against Texas Tech will be at 1 p.m.
