Bob Knight apologizes for comments about Kentucky basketball

A day after Hall of Fame coach and current ESPN analyst Bob Knight came under fire for derogatory comments he made regarding the academic progress of the Kentucky basketball program, Knight issued a formal apology.

"My overall point is that 'one and dones' are not healthy for college basketball," Knight said in an article on ESPN.com. "I should not have made it personal to Kentucky and its players and I apologize."

During a speaking engagement in Wabash, Ind., last Saturday, Knight was talking about the things he finds most wrong with college basketball today. Knight noted that one of those things was Kentucky basketball players who play in the NCAA tournament, but don't go to class.

"There's a situation in college basketball that really bothers me beyond anything that's ever bothered me in my career," Knight said. "Kentucky, year before last, started five players in the NCAA tournament games that had not been to class that semester. And that's that one-and-done philosophy that we have now."

Knight had no evidence to back up his statement. Kentucky posted a poor 2.025 fall semester GPA and a 2.18 spring semester GPA, but there's no evidence to support Knight's claim that the Wildcat players didn't go to class.

Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart said he took "great offense" to Knight's comments. He called the accusations "blatantly erroneous" and that all five of this year's starters finished in good academic standing.

This isn't the first time Knight has taken a shot at Kentucky coach John Calapari. In 2009, Knight claimed that Calipari was a sign of the lack of integrity in college sports.

"That kind of thing really bothers me, there's no one who appreciates the integrity of the sport more than I have,"�Knight said of Calipari while speaking at a engagement in Indianapolis in 2009.

"You got a coach at Kentucky that put two schools on probation," Knight said. "The University of Massachusetts and Memphis State, and he's still coaching."

Emilie de Ravin Tara Reed Avril Lavigne Bridget Moynahan Noureen DeWulf