Layups are so simple, even a 12-year-old can make them at Texas Tech
January 3, 2009 by Kevin Hunter
Filed under Basketball
This is a cute story from the Associated Press via ESPN.com.
But it makes you wonder if Pat Knight is slowly taking the Bob Knight route to silliness and unusual stunts to motivate his team.
LUBBOCK, Texas — Texas Tech Red Raiders coach Pat Knight grew tired of watching his team miss shots that even a child could make. So he found one to illustrate his frustration.
While the Red Raiders (10-4) were busy botching about 15 layups against Stephen F. Austin on Thursday, Knight scoured the stands and invited a youngster to join the team huddle.
Knight asked the boy whether he could make layups. The boy said he could.
“I was just tired of having 18- or 21-year-olds miss layups that a 12-year-old could hit, so I brought a 12-year-old in to let them know that he could hit layups,” Knight said. “He’s 12 and he can hit layups, so why can’t you when you’re 18 to 21?”
The psychological maneuver evidentally worked. A layup by Mike Singletary with 8:44 remaining in the game put Texas Tech up 52-36, and Stephen F. Austin (7-4) couldn’t cobble together a comeback. The Red Raiders beat the Lumberjacks 69-55.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
