The night I saw good Bobby Knight at his best

By TOM SHANAHAN Bobby Knight kicked me out of Assembly Hall during an Indiana basketball practice. That’s not a bad thing to have on your journalism resume. I was reminded of that day, October 15, 1977, with the news Knight, the iconic and controversial basketball coach, died on Wednesday at age 83 after a long bout with dementia. Knight sent a student manager to up to climb the to the top seats of Assembly Hall to tell both…

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Izzo’s unique consistency knocking on Final Four doors

PHOTO: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo opened his 25th straight NCAA tournament guiding the Spartans to a first-round win over USC. Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report By TOM SHANAHAN It’s true a Final Four opportunity escaped Michigan State with the Sweet Sixteen loss to Kansas State, but that’s a backwards view – an over-and-back violation of the program’s 25-year streak of NCAA tournament trips. The drought, after all, is only three seasons! Plenty of schools and coaches –…

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Blame fake wrestling for NCAA women’s Final Four sideshow

PHOTO: LSU's Angel Reese (10) and Iowa's Caitlin Clark lifted their sport in the 2023 NCAA women's Final Four, but the discussion later shifted to taunting. Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report By TOM SHANAHAN We should be still awash in the glow surrounding the 2023 LSU-Iowa NCAA women’s basketball title. The parallels with the 1979 Michigan State-Indiana State men’s championship deserve more discussion. When Michigan State’s Magic Johnson faced Indiana’s State’s Larry Bird, the showdown captivated the nation.…

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