Candace Buckner

candace.buckner@indystar.com

Pat Knight can remember the two fleeting moments he shared with Larry Bird.

Once, while getting his ankle tapped inside the Assembly Hall training room, and the other while he was an assistant coach on his father's Indiana Hoosiers team.

Those meetings, if you wish to refer to them as such, lasted no more than five minutes and were the gist of the relationship between the two. Now, Knight lives the dream of any basketball-loving boy who grew up in Indiana.

Starting this week, Knight can begin calling Bird his 'boss' as he has signed on as the Indiana Pacers West Coast college scout.

"I'm back to where I was at the beginning," said Knight, who started his professional career as a do-everything scout with the Phoenix Suns after he graduated IU.

In 2008, Knight became a first-time head coach by taking over for his father, Bob Knight, at Texas Tech before his three-year stint at Lamar Univ. This February, In a twist of fate, Knight actually landed with the Pacers after he was fired as the Lamar head coach in the midst of a 3-22 season. Knight remembers the consoling phone call from Ryan Carr, the current Pacers director of scouting and his former roommate at IU. In the conversation, which was simply two best friends checking in with one another, Knight talked about his goals for the future, which included possibly getting a TV gig or returning to the NBA but not to the sidelines. Knight, who accomplished his goal of making the NCAA Tournament in 2012 with Lamar, said he was "kind of done with coaching."

Soon after sharing his vision, Knight and Carr hung up.

"And then honest to God, he called me like five minutes later," Knight recalled. (Carr said) 'You're not going to believe this. Larry just texted me and said he wanted to hire you.'"

When told about the Pacers' West Coast plans and the prospect of moving his family, Knight still jumped at the opportunity.

"No problem. I would have done anything. If Larry had a job on his farm, I would've done it," Knight joked. "I mean, it's Larry Bird!"

Though the job offer came in February, Knight did not officially become the team's West Coast scout until this Tuesday. Knight is currently with the team in Orlando for the Summer League games. Next week, Knight will attend the NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas, his new home base for scouting.

"I tell people I probably would have taken this job if I was still coaching," Knight said. "If you get a call to work for the Pacers and Larry Bird, I think I would have left coaching anyway. But I wouldn't have had that opportunity, so I'm kind of glad I got fired. I've got a chance to work for Larry Bird so it's strange how things work out."

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.