When Bobby Knight took over as Texas Tech basketball coach in 2001, the Red Raiders had won only three NCAA tournament games since 1962 and had reached the tournament only six times in that stretch.
One of the first assistant coaches Knight hired was Chris Beard, the head coach at Seminole State Junior College. He remained an assistant at the school through 2011 under Knight and Pat Knight, who replaced his father when he retired in 2008.
Knight ended up coaching part of seven years with Texas Tech, and Beard was on the staff the entire time. They took the school to four NCAA tournaments, including a Sweet 16 run in 2004-05. I was at all of those tournament games with Knight, who has long been a close personal friend.
