Bob Knight wasn’t there, and it was very obvious at times with some of the things the Red Raiders were doing under his son - and successor. They were trapping on defense, doing screen zones and just putting a lot of pressure on the ball.
“I asked them to do a lot of things they weren’t used to doing,” Pat Knight said. “They did a heck of a job for me. For my first game to get that kind of effort, that’s all I can ask.”
Still, it wasn’t enough for the 37-year-old Knight to win his first game - leaving him still 902 wins shy of his father’s NCAA record in men’s Division I after an 80-74 loss to the Bears.
Despite their effort for the new head coach, the Red Raiders (12-9, 3-4 Big 12) couldn’t overcome missing 10 of their last 11 field goals before halftime, then having six turnovers in a 2-minute span right after the break when Baylor stretched its lead to 12 points.
Curtis Jerrells led Baylor (17-4, 5-2) with 16 points, including a 3-pointer followed by an inside bucket in that 12-1 spurt right after halftime.
The Bears snapped a two-game losing streak that had knocked them out of the Top 25 after they were in the national rankings for the first time since 1969.
“They’re still a Knight-coached team,” Baylor’s Aaron Bruce said. “They caught us at a bad time. We were really hungry and wanted to win.”
Bob Knight’s sudden resignation this week after 42 years set up a coaching change that had long been planned, but wasn’t expected until at least after this season. He wasn’t in Waco for the game.
With only two days or preparation before his first game, Pat Knight started trying to put his own imprint on the team - and didn’t worry about what anybody else thought.
“Honestly, I don’t care. I’m the head coach, not to be rude,” Knight said. “But I’m the head coach, and I think it proved that it worked. I’ve got to be my own man now. You’ve got to understand, I actually learned all that stuff from him. I didn’t do anything he didn’t teach me.”
The Red Raiders’ own miscues put them in a hole they couldn’t overcome - even though they managed to cut a 14-point deficit to three at 74-71 on John Roberson’s 3-pointer with 33 seconds left before Baylor made six straight free throws.
While disappointed with losing, Knight still had “a blast” coaching his first game.
“I haven’t had this much fun since I played,” he said. “I haven’t felt this much nervousness or energy since I was lacing it up and playing for my dad.”
The Red Raiders play at Nebraska on Saturday before before he makes his home debut next Wednesday.
