Geyer Quits IU Hoop Team
Tom Geyer, who had limited playing time in two seasons, quit the Indiana basketball team, saying he couldn't play for any coach but Bob Knight.
Geyer, a 6-foot-8 junior, told interim coach Mike Davis of his decision to leave the team Friday morning.
"Tom made a decision that he felt was the right decision for him, and I respect that," Davis said.
"He is the type of player that did not always show up in the boxscore, but was a big contributor to this program with his leadership and work ethic. Not many people work as hard as Tom does," he said of the junior forward. "We had a good conversation this morning, and the entire men's basketball program wishes him the best."
Several other Indiana players threatened to leave after Knight was fired Sept. 10, but they decided to stay when Davis, a former assistant and Knight's top recruiter, was named interim coach.
"The administration made a change when they got rid of coach Knight, and I guess now I feel that I need to make a change in my life and move in another direction," Geyer told The Indianapolis Star. "It's a tough decision because I really care for my teammates, and I really wish them all the best. I had to do what is best for me."
Geyer, a walk-on from Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, was redshirted as a freshman and played in only 19 games and scored 21 points in the past two seasons with the Hoosiers.
Throughout the recent Knight ordeal, Geyer was often one of the team's spokesmen.
"I just don't want to create another stir, and I don't want anyone to look at this as being a negative against the program in any way," Geyer said of his decision to leave.
Geyer, 23, said he will stay at the school. He said at the end of this semester he will need 14 credit hours to graduate with majors in accounting and finance.
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