Gary Varvel: In memory of Coach Bob Knight

Plus: what college students are learning

REMEMBERING BOB KNIGHT

Being a lifelong Hoosier and a cartoonist, I’ve drawn a lot of cartoons of the legendary coach Bob Knight over the years but I hated drawing this one the most.

AWARDS

Knight died yesterday at 83. Nicknamed the General after his coaching stint at West Point, Knight won 3 national championships at IU in 11 years (‘76, ‘81 and ‘87). His 1975-76 championship team still holds the record for a 32-0 perfect season. Oh, and he won the gold medal for coaching the Olympic team in 1984.

Life is our most valuable possession. But life has an expiration date and near the end, all of the trophies, titles and records are best summed up in the words of King Solomon: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

RELATIONSHIPS

Most of Knight’s former players will recall the man they dearly loved. Steve Alford called him a mentor, father figure, friend. ‘I'm a mess. I loved that man so much.' Alford detailed his experiences on an off the court in his 1990 book, Playing For Knight.

Knight had a contentious relationship with sports writers. Now they are writing critical reviews of his life, career and accomplishments along with his angry outbursts like the chair throwing incident in 1985 and IU firing him in 2000.

Despite his profanity-laced tirades, Knight will always be known as one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time. And although some people described him as a bully, many others tell stories of Knight’s compassion and good deeds. Some even think those good deeds will get him into heaven.

LIFE AFTER DEATH

But the Bible says, good deeds can’t get you into heaven. No, the Bible says that we’ve all sinned (Romans 3:23) and the ‘wages of sin is death…’ (Romans 6:23a) Therefore, only someone who has never sinned is qualified to pay the death penalty for our sins. That someone was Jesus Christ. Romans 6:23b says, “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD.”

And how do we receive this gift of eternal life? By faith. Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Unfortunately, I haven’t found any information stating that Knight repented and trusted in Jesus. That is why I didn’t draw him in heaven. I hope and pray that someone who knew him personally will testify that Bob Knight trusted, not in himself, but in Jesus who said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) 

Question: When you die, do you know where you’re going? If you’re trusting in anything besides Jesus, remember this; eternity is a long time to be wrong.

According to Reuters, “Antisemitic incidents in the United States rose by about 400% in slightly over two weeks since war broke out in the Middle East after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, advocacy group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said Wednesday.”

My cartoons begs the question, what are they teaching at college these days. Marxism? Hate?

Meanwhile Kamala Harris unveiled an anti-Islamophobia strategy amid soaring antisemitism. The goal is to "protect Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim from hate, bigotry and violence.” Huh?

RIGHT LINKS

Townhall - Larry O’Connor: Sen. John Kennedy sums up aid for Gaza in a way only he can.

Townhall - Sarah Arnold: Sen. Josh Hawley makes damning revelation about Mayorkas and Pro-Hamas staffers.

Western Journal - Johnathan Jones: Top Zelenskyy adviser admits the truth about corruption in Ukraine: 'people are stealing like there's no tomorrow.'

Cal Thomas: Matthew Perry and the cult of celebrity.

HUMOR ME

HUMOR ME: Fix my cartoon with a snarky remark. Email your entries to gary@garyvarvel.com. Winners announced in Friday’s newsletter for paid subscribers.

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My Latest Series of Essays

Part 1 — God’s 7000-year timeline: Mount Sinai, Transfiguration, Jericho and Sabbath Prophecies

Part 2 — The Rapture

Part 3 — God’s 7000-year timeline: Hosea and Woman at the Well Prophecy

Part 4 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Lazarus Prophecy

Part 5 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Job Prophecy

Part 6 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Jubilee Prophecy

Part 7 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Good Samaritan Prophecy

Part 8 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Creation Prophecy

Part 9 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Wedding in Cana Prophecy

Part 10 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Esther Prophecy

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