Buried near the bottom of an Associated Press story about Bob Knight taking a jab at the NCAA (surprise, surprise) was confirmation that the former coach is still undecided on his plans for November 6:

Knight was fired at Indiana in 2000 after violating a zero-tolerance behavioral policy. He said Tuesday he hadn’t decided whether to attend his induction into the university’s athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 6. He hasn’t returned to the school since his firing.

Undecided is certainly better than no, right? While it was once inconceivable that Knight would return, it seems like Indiana will do everything within reason to get him back to Bloomington. Whether it works, well, that’s anybody’s guess.

Sherron Wilkerson started 25 games in two seasons at Indiana under Bob Knight and recently accepted the head coaching position at Herron in Indianapolis.

Inside the Hall caught up with the McDonald’s All-American and Mr. Basketball and talked to him about the possibility of Knight returning to IU and his new job as a head coach at the charter school.

On what it would mean to Indiana fans and former players if Bob Knight returned for his induction to the IU Athletics Hall of Fame:

“I think that it would be absolutely huge. Throughout the years, anytime that you mentioned Indiana basketball or just Indiana University period, I think that the average fan immediately thought about Coach Knight. Being that he’s been away from the university, been away from the state, I think that people still embrace the thought and embrace the idea of him coming back and being a part, not necessarily from a coaching standpoint, but just being around the fans and being there. He’s meant so much to the university and to the state of Indiana.”

“I think that more people would support the idea of him coming back than I think that he realizes. It would be a very, very exciting kickoff to start off this year’s basketball season because Coach Crean has done an excellent job of getting good guys to come in. Not only good basketball players, but good people. I think that was one of the things that Coach Knight really stressed in his thirty years of coaching there and I think that he would definitely appreciate that.”

(more…)

Word broke late last night that Indiana will announce plans Saturday to induct Bob Knight into its Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in November.

Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz spoke with Fred Glass and revealed that the AD is already making a concentrated effort to bring back Knight on November 6:

Already, Glass has sent Knight a hand-written letter asking him to come to the ceremonies.

He also has commissioned one Hall of Fame committee member — former Bloomington journalist Bob Hammel– to personally reach out to The General and convince him it’s time to come home.

Time heals wounds. But something tells me that the letter from Glass could be lost on Knight’s desk. It’s encouraging that Hammel, a long-time friend of Knight and former Herald-Times sports editor, has agreed to assist in this process. But Hammel’s involvement doesn’t guarantee Knight will return.

Kudos to Glass for realizing that it’s a sham to have a Hall of Fame at IU for athletics that doesn’t include Knight. Regardless of the way things ended nine years ago, it’s time to do the right thing and recognize Knight’s accomplishments and contributions to Indiana.

The only question that’s left to be answered: Will Knight accept Indiana’s invitation?

(You can listen to Crawford talk about the dunk here.)

The last time most Indiana University fans thought about Jordan Crawford was probably June 11, 2008. That was the day when Crawford announced he would not return to Bloomington for his sophomore season. Some of you probably cried when you realized that Kyle Taber was the last man standing.

Crawford decided a month later that he would transfer to Xavier and with Sean Miller’s departure for Arizona, he’ll suit up next year for first year coach Chris Mack.

When I think back about Crawford’s season at IU, two things immediately come to mind: 1) He was an incredibly talented and gifted player with a boatload of potential; and 2) He was often erratic and downright frustrating to watch. Some of you even referred to him as “TUO” or “The Undisciplined One.”

Based on point No. 1, it really didn’t surprise me that Crawford reportedly posterized LeBron James the other day in Akron. What did surprise me is the amount of coverage this dunk, which we will probably never see, is garnering across the Web. Here’s a healthy sampling:

+ Ryan writes at MOUTHPIECE blog that LeBron needs to lighten up. {MOUTHPIECE blog}

+ Chris Chase writes that by censoring the video, LeBron just made Crawford’s dunk into a legend. {The Dagger @ Yahoo!}

+ LeBron gets dunked on; none of us are witnesses. {Deadspin}

+ Nike doesn’t want you to know about Jordan Crawford, but Marquis Teague describes the dunk. {The Hoosier Scoop}

There’s no question that Isiah Thomas is one of the best guards, if not the best, to ever play for our Hoosiers. His recent track record, however, suggests he might not be the guy you want running your favorite NBA franchise. But now that he’s 18 months clear of his sexual harrassment fiasco with the Knicks, reports are running rampant that he might get back into coaching. This time, on the collegiate level:

Florida International is trying to hire former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas as its next basketball coach, sources have told ESPN.com’s Andy Katz.

Florida International coach Sergio Rouco was fired Monday, and sources confirm that FIU athletic director Pete Garcia made calls within the conference recently to check on the viability of hiring Thomas.

The Sun Belt has recently become a second-chance destination. Florida Atlantic hired former St. John’s coach Mike Jarvis and Arkansas State hired former LSU coach John Brady.

If Thomas lands at Florida International, I like the move for both sides. Isiah gets a chance to start repairing his tarnished reputation. And Florida International, which hasn’t had a winning season in five years, gets a little buzz for its program. If nothing else, this mention of Isiah gives me a chance to relive this classic moment between Zeke and Bob Knight (earmuffs, boys and girls).

Ridiculous Upside has the news: After a short stint on the Thunder’s bench, D.J. White was sent back down to the D-League.

If nothing else, Hoosier fans will at least be able to catch White in action this coming Sunday, as his Tulsa 66ers take on Fort Wayne at Allen Country War Memorial Stadium. Just watch out for the Nightmare Ant, D.J.

Last week, D.J. White finally got back on the court as a member of the D-League’s Tulsa 66ers. And after tearing it up to the tune of 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in three games, the Oklahoma City Thunder have recalled him to the NBA today. Supa sweet.

With the season coming to a close here and the Thunder sitting at 20-50, hopefully White will get some playing time before season’s end.

Thanks to Hoosiergirl for the tip.