This seemed a bit of a formality, given the fact that Bob Knight told IU to take that lawsuit-settling alumni money and shove it, but I suppose formalities have to be handled formally. And so it is that Bob Knight officially called IU athletic director Fred Glass yesterday and told him he would not be attending an IU Hall of Fame induction ceremony in his honor in November. Ouch:

Glass said Knight said he was concerned the media interest in his attendance would take away from others being inducted. Along with Knight, Steve Downing, Katrin Koch, Joe Norman, Mike Rabold, Alan Somers and Jerry Yeagley are also entering the Hall of Fame.

"I absolutely respect his feelings on that and very much appreciate his response, which in no way suggested he opposed being inducted," Glass said.

In a statement released by the university, Glass also added, "Coach Knight expressed his tremendous appreciation for the support his teams were given by the IU student body and fans all over the state of Indiana and the contribution that support made to the success of his teams. Coach Knight also noted that there is no one he appreciates more than his players, who he said were the most responsible for the success the program had during his tenure."

That's a very nice, political response from Knight, but come on now. Really? That's the reason? If there's anything we know about Bob Knight, it's that he doesn't mind the occasional camera in his face. Were media attention something he were trying to defray, he wouldn't carry these things out to their furthest possible endpoint. He wouldn't keep people on their edge of their seats for months after the initial invitation. And he certainly wouldn't have taken a gig with ESPN, which as a member of the media, tends to involve a fair amount of media face-time.

No, of course not. The reason is obvious: Knight still doesn't want all that much to do with Indiana. Or, if he does, he wants his return to the school to be on his terms. This is how Knight operates. Which is fine for him, I suppose; it's not his fault so many IU fans still want some sort of symbolic return to happen now that the ebullient Tom Crean is the program's figurehead. It's those fans' faults for keeping this thing up for so long when it should have been let go years ago. But more than anything, the way this has been handled is on Knight. IU couldn't have been more conciliatory to the man. If he doesn't appreciate that, he's never going back.

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