Gulf basketball coach admires Knight's tactics

This article appeared in the Tampa Tribune on Oct. 2, 2002.

By DARYL PRESGRAVES

One thing surfaces in Steve Feldman's mind when he thinks about getting to talk to Coach Bobby Knight again.

"I'm going to try not to be so much of a Babbling idiot," Feldman said, laughing. With that in mind, the Gulf boys basketball coach has an important message for the Texas Tech coach when he travels to his coaching clinic Oct. 11-13.

Thank you. And keep winning.

In what Feldman considers a notable coincidence, Texas Tech and Gulf finished with 23 wins last season while resurrecting programs.

"I've already got a line on what I'm going to say," said Feldman, who hopes to get a couple of minutes to talk to Knight during a meet-and-greet session. "I'm just going to say, 'You are like my rabbit's foot. We came out last year and won the most games in school history and won our first district championship in 39 years. Whatever good luck you gave me, I've come back for more.'"

A few years back, Feldman never would have attended a Knight clinic. When he started coaching, Feldman did not like the former Indiana coach.

Then about five years ago he started to understand Knight and realized his dislike was not directed as much at Knight as Indiana.

"I quit looking at him as a bully and looked deeper," Feldman said. "I have an appreciation for how he taught the game. When he stepped away, he ranked up there as one of the greatest basketball minds of all time.

"I said to my wife, 'When he comes back, I'd really like to see him speak.'"

So Feldman traveled to Lubbock, Texas, last year to attend Knight's first camp at Texas Tech.

Knight's presence still amazes Feldman, the way everyone surrounding him respects him and his wishes.

While speaking to coaches, Knight asked his players to do something. Everything stopped and "froze on a dime like I have never seen before."

"I've been to a lot of clinics, and I've never seen anything like I saw at Texas Tech," Feldman said. "When he asked for something, there wouldn't be an extra shot or an extra dribble. No extra nothing. I don't know if it was respect or fear or a combination of those things."

That discipline is what Feldman admires about Knight.

"I'm not into the chair-tossing and whatever you want to call that thing with Neil Reed [choking accusation]," Feldman said. "But I certainly share a lot of his ideas. He's a master of circling the wagons with his personnel."

An economics teacher, Feldman said he has three passions in life - basketball, the stock market and philosophy.

All three, as diverse as they may be, require discipline.

No one projects discipline like Knight.

"There seemed to be this aura of walking among the basketball gods," Feldman said.

And some irony. Feldman laughs at the road he drove to get to the basketball arena - Indiana Avenue.

It does not take much for Feldman to consider a coaching clinic a success.

"The value of any clinic you go to is that if you learn one new thing, it makes the whole trip worth while," he said.

Feldman accomplished that before he even made it to Lubbock last year.

Some coaches from Milwaukee were on Feldman's connecting flight. They exchanged some coaching ideas, and Feldman suddenly had a new set for his offense.

He called it Milwaukee.

"I started to visualize the play " he said. "With the guys I had, it could be successful. Last year it became a bread and butter thing."

Those coaches will not be there this year, but Feldman is taking some coaching buddies from Tampa Catholic, Coach Don Dziagwa and assistant coach Tom O'Connor.

Feldman already has begun preparing by ordering some of Knight's playbooks online.

And he read Knight's most recent book, "My Story."

The book will accompany Feldman to Lubbock, and he hopes another successful season will not be the only thing he brings back.

"I want to get it autographed," Feldman said. "I'll be like a tourist. I'd take a picture with him again, listen again. I'm just a humble foot soldier After all, he's the general."