Coach Feldman gives credit for turnaround to Coach Bobby Knight

This article appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on Dec. 7, 2001.

By JAMAL THALJI

NEW PORT RICHEY -- For years, Steve Feldman has heard the knocks against his Gulf program:

The Bucs are a 3-point-happy team.

The Bucs play a lot of gimmick defenses.

Feldman hopes that is no longer the case -- thanks to collegiate coaching icon Bob Knight.

Knight, who after years of controversy left Indiana University for Texas Tech, imparted some coaching wisdom on the virtues of hard-nosed defense to Feldman at a coaching clinic in October.

The Bucs are off to a 4-0 start, and Feldman credits the team's new emphasis on denial defense to the philosophy he learned from Knight's lectures.

"They're going to have to come up with a new name for us," Feldman said. "I think we're playing some lockdown "D' right now.

"It looks like all that hard work is paying off. We're doing the little things that lead to the W. "

Indeed, Gulf is allowing 13.5 less points this season in four victories. That's an average of 46 a contest, after allowing an average of 59.5 points a game last season. River Ridge scored 50 in a loss, the most Gulf has allowed this season.

The team has also cut down on its turnovers -- another Knight concept -- reducing last season's 15.5-turnovers-per-game average to just eight. Free-throw shooting is also up, from 61.6 percent last season to 67.4 percent this season.

Feldman arrived in Lubbock, Texas, on Oct. 15 for the three-day camp. Feldman was waiting in Texas Tech's United Spirit Arena along with the other coaches when Knight walked right up and, without any pleasantries, started lecturing.

"Coach Knight looked really invigorated," Feldman said. "He seems like a re-energized man."

Essentially, Feldman said, Knight preached the fundamentals: denial defense, without pressing, and the elimination of all mistakes.

"On the way out there, I knew we had to play better defense than in the past," Feldman said. "I went out there and he showed us some drills and philosophies he was talking about, how to guard the post, the most important spot on the court, and it just made sense.

Some things Feldman agreed with, and some he didn't (Feldman prefers to defend the front of the post player, while Knight wants to defend from behind). But Feldman said they agreed more often than they didn't.

"One thing I am 100 percent in agreement, with, is that Bobby Knight said you don't press your opponents," Feldman said. "He says, "Your press is my offense.'

"In other words, I'm going to defend your defense, our kids are going to be smart enough to beat your press."

Feldman said along with a new, defense-first attitude, he has also simplified the team's playbook.

"I have probably simplified more things on defense than I've added," Feldman said. "We've spent a lot of time doing repetitious drills, so where there's a game, there's nothing new they can throw at us."

Feldman said he continues to learn from Knight.

"I have been spinning around the satellite dish," he said, "watching every game I can find."