Jeremy Schaap’s ESPN career is marked by remarkable reporting, with perhaps his most notable moment being the tense interview he conducted with Bob Knight nearly 25 years ago. Following Knight’s firing from Indiana University on Sept. 10, 2000, Schaap found himself in the spotlight just three days later for a live, unedited interview in Bloomington, Indiana. For 31-year-old Schaap, it was one of those exceptional career highlights where all eyes were on him.
“The banner headline on the back page of the New York Post was, ‘Schaap aces Knight test.’ You don’t get a lot of moments like that,” Schaap recalled during an appearance on the Awful Announcing Podcast. “Having just turned 31, you think this is how it will always be! It takes years to realize such moments are rare… It was thrilling and significant; everyone wanted to hear from Knight, and I had him live in the chair, which made it even more confrontational.”
The most notable confrontation arose when Schaap pressed Knight on his claims that his son, Pat, was the biggest victim of his firing. This reaction followed Knight’s dismissal due to an altercation with Indiana University student Kent Harvey, violating a “zero-tolerance” policy stemming from previous misconduct. After a fraught exchange over interruptions during the interview, Knight retorted, “You got a long way to go to be as good as your dad; you better keep that in mind,” referencing Schaap’s father, the legendary sportswriter and broadcaster, Dick Schaap.
“We were on the clock, and he’s filibustering,” Schaap reminisced. “One of my close friends, longtime ESPN producer Willie Weinbaum, had said, ‘He’s gonna say something about your dad to throw you off during this interview.’ That thought might have lingered, but my main strategy was like, ‘Okay, so Bob Knight insulted me. Get in line!’”
“It felt like the closest I’d ever come to a boxing match,” Schaap reflected. “It garnered massive media coverage; we decided on a remote location far from campus for the interview. When I arrived, there were satellite trucks from various outlets treating it as a notable event, complete with state troopers everywhere. It was wild!” While Knight had a rapport with his father, it was actually former college basketball coach and ESPN analyst Digger Phelps who facilitated the interview setup. Throughout the day, Phelps made attempts to introduce Schaap and Knight, but Schaap successfully avoided Knight before the interview, ensuring their conversation remained unswayed. What transpired was a 35-minute exchange that would be cherished as one of the standout interviews in both Schaap’s career and college basketball history.
Listen to the full episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast featuring Jeremy Schaap starting Friday, Feb. 21. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, check out AA’s YouTube page.
