MINNEAPOLIS _ He's on a path toward Bob Knight-like success ... without the volatility.
Texas Tech men's basketball coach Chris Beard cherishes his days as a Red Raiders assistant under Knight, saying it was like studying for a doctorate in basketball.
The influence is obvious, especially on the defensive end. Texas Tech leads the nation in defensive efficiency, smothering Michigan and Gonzaga to win the West Regional and earn a spot in the Final Four. Tech will face Michigan State here on Saturday.
"Coach Knight was a strong defensive coach, one of the best ever," said Gerald Myers, the former Tech athletic director who hired Knight in 2001. "Chris has taken a lot of those ideas and expanded on them. I think it's the best defense in college basketball."
So good that Myers, who won 326 games as Tech's coach from 1970-91, said he marvels as much at what happens away from the ball. "Watching the four others play, that's where it makes a difference," Myers said.
Beard has shared Bob Knight tales during media opportunities at every step of the tournament. Along the way, he has revealed a storytelling side of his personality, relating moments about his own basketball background _ a side of his personality that Knight rarely revealed.
Knight, known as "The General" during his long coaching career, could be an intimidating presence. His tenure ended at Indiana, where he won three NCAA championships, because Knight failed to adhere to a zero tolerance policy of behavior established by the school president. This after a player claimed his was choked by Knight during a practice.
Beard spent part of his Thursday media session at the Final Four recalling how, as an assistant coach who attended the coaches' convention at the Final Four, he'd share a hotel room with seven others _ with two to a bed, several on the floor and another in the bathtub with pillows.
"The problem was in the mornings with the towel situation," Beard said. "I guess I'll share a bar of soap if you wash it really good. But I'm not sharing a towel with another man."
Beard has preached to his team the importance of enjoying this experience: being the first team in school history to reach the Final Four.
"But when it's time to play, it's time to play," Beard said. "And when it's time to practice, it's time to practice. We have a two-part mission here. Smell the roses but also be us. Be disciplined and prepared."
Sounds like any Knight-coached program, doesn't it?
Beard's path toward his big break started in college. He attended Texas and served as a manager for coach Tom Penders' teams in Austin. Beard then started working his way up the ranks and got his first job as a head coach at Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College in 1999, where in his one season he led the team to its first winning record in eight years.
He moved to Seminole State College in Oklahoma the next year. And that's where Beard was discovered by the Knights _ Bob and his son Pat, then a Red Raiders assistant.
Tech had a job to fill and Beard gladly accepted, beginning a decade on the Red Raiders' bench with Bob until 2008 _ and Pat, until he was fired in 2011.
New Tech coach Billy Gillispie and Beard didn't get along, and both coach and program began separate odysseys. Gillispie was the second of four Tech coaches in four years.
Beard, meanwhile, embarked on a trek that included coaching a low-level professional team in South Carolina, McMurry, a small, private Division II school in Texas, and then to Angelo State. Beard became a Division I head coach at Arkansas-Little Rock in 2016 and parlayed a first-round upset of Purdue in the NCAA Tournament into an offer at UNLV.
That lasted three weeks. Tubby Smith left Tech for Memphis and Beard skipped out for Texas Tech.
As he accepted the Associated Press Coach of the Year Award on Thursday, Beard mentioned every athletic administrator and coach who hired him, including "my mentor" _ Knight.
Earlier this week, a New York Post reporter caught up with Knight about Beard.
"I'm tickled to death he's done the type of job he's done," Knight said. "I think he's done pretty damn good."
Myers agrees, and sees more similarities in the two coaches than he does differences.
"When they're out on the floor coaching, they're both intense," Myers said. "As far as holding kids responsible and teaching them, they're terrific teachers. ... This was a great opportunity for Chris, and he took advantage of it."
