ESPN.com - NCB - Knight to make statement Thursday

But Knight, fired in September after 29 years at Indiana, has confirmed he plans to visit Texas Tech later this week for a meeting about the school's coaching vacancy.

Texas Tech will hold a news conference with Bob Knight on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Knight will make a statement at the news conference, but will not answer questions. Athletics director Gerald Myers is not scheduled to attend the news conference.

In a separate interview broadcast Monday, Knight said Texas Tech has impressed him a lot over the years. He noted his friendship with Myers and said he once visited Tech when Bill Parcells was an assistant there.

"It's a situation I find very appealing, and they're interested in talking about it and I am, too. We'll just see what happens," Knight said.

Knight, in a story posted on The Dallas Morning News Web site Sunday, said his visit to Lubbock will last three days.

When asked if he was optimistic a deal could be reached, Knight replied, "Oh, yes."

Texas Tech officials could offer Knight the job when he visits Thursday. But a school spokeswoman said Tuesday they have no plans to bend a university policy requiring that the job remain open for 10 working days, a period that ends March 23 at 5 p.m.

"There are provisions where you could get around it, but we are not going to get around it," spokeswoman Cindy Rugeley said. "There's no good reason to get around it. We've never done it and we're not going to do it in this instance."

Meanwhile Tuesday, Myers said he developed a list of about 10 potential candidates, though Knight is the only one who has been invited to the campus. Regent Carin M. Barth of Houston said much depends on the visit, regardless of a perception that Knight will get the job if he wants it.

"I think it's absolutely an incorrect feeling," she told Houston television station KRIV. "Coach Knight has got to come on campus, see the school, and we get the opportunity to see him on campus."

Contrary to previous news reports, Texas state law does not require that the position stay open for 10 working days, said Gerry Hill, general counsel for the Texas Workforce Commission.

State law merely requires universities to notify the commission of a vacancy, and then the commission must post it on a circulated list for 10 working days unless the opening is filled sooner, Hill said.

But under Texas Tech University System rules, all positions must be posted for 10 business days before a job can be offered, Rugeley said.

The job became available Friday when Tech fired 10-year coach James Dickey, who went 9-19 this year.

Also Thursday, March Madness begins without Knight, and he joked that it won't seem all that different than in recent years. His Hoosiers failed to get past the second round in the last six NCAA tournaments.

"The last couple of years I've done more watching than coaching," he said. "You never want to get used to that."

During the conference call, Knight avoided talking about the Texas Tech opening and instead promoted the Web site that has posted his picks.

His chart – which has Stanford winning it all and Indiana losing in the regional semifinals – is on Sandbox.com, which reportedly paid Knight about $50,000.

The Reston, Va.-based Web site runs a variety of fantasy sports leagues and casino, arcade and trivia games. It's free to play, but users must be registered and prizes are awarded.

NCAA spokesman Wally Renfro said Knight's participation doesn't appear to violate any NCAA rules. Even if Knight were hired to coach again, it would be up to the university to approve any continuing involvement with Sandbox.

"We've had our folks look at it and it doesn't appear to be a gambling site," Renfro said.

Knight, who led Indiana to three national championships before he was fired for misconduct, plans to keep close tabs on his former colleagues and players.

"No matter how far we went, the times we went all the way to finals or got beat early in the tournament, it's always been something I've enjoyed watching and I will this year," he said.

"There's a lot of people I like and care about that are competing in the tournament, and I'll follow them very closely."

Meanwhile, Knight's attorney Russell Yates would prefer an out-of-court settlement with Indiana rather than proceeding with a lawsuit.

Last week, the university received a letter from Yates notifying them of Knight's intention to sue the university over wrongful termination. Yates accused Indiana President Myles Brand of slander, libel, inflicting emotional distress and interfering in Knight's subsequent job search.

There's one item Yates wants deleted from any agreement – the "noncompetitive" clause that prevents Knight from taking a Division I job in Kentucky, Indiana or in the Big Ten for eight years.

"My thing is you're firing a guy, but he can't go anywhere else in the Big Ten," Yates said Monday from his Denver law office. "I don't think that's enforceable. I want that out of there, I want it gone and that's not negotiable.

"I think putting in this clause is an attempt to keep coaches from moving," Yates said.

If Knight does not abide by the clause, he would forfeit deferred compensation owed to him by the university. Yates said the total is about $4.5 million.

Yates said Monday that Knight has received the first installment – about $450,000 – of his deferred payments, which is to be paid out over 10 years.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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Bob Knight would hope that the Texas Tech faculty would reserve judgment of him until they meet him. (courtesy HBO Sports)
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