The Indiana basketball program is well known for the success on the floor, but it is what its former players do once they leave Bloomington which is so impressive. Whether it be playing professionally or taking their skills to the business world, everyone seems to make a positive impact.
That is again the case with former IU player John Laskowski. Now an owner of a Culver's located in Bloomington, he says the game of basketball has helped him adjust to life with COVID-19 impacting the restaurant business.
"One thing athletics does for you, is you put your game plan together and now all of a sudden it doesn’t go as planned and you have to adjust on the fly," Laskowski told Indiana Sports Beat. "That’s exactly what has happened in the restaurant business and we have simply gone to a drive through.”
Though this is a different type of business model, it is something that has been trending for some time.
"The trend in the restaurant business in the last 10-15 years is less people are coming in to dining areas and more people are going through the drive through.” Laskowski added.
One of those people who has loved Culver's and especially the Bloomington location is Bob Knight, Laskowski's former coach. While Bob Knight doesn't go through the drive through anymore, Laskowski delivers his favorite meal to his house in Bloomington and that includes his 'Rootbeer Shake' made specifically for Knight.
While Bob Knight was his head coach at IU, Laskowski was also lucky enough to play for another all-time great in Coach K. A graduate assistant at Indiana from 1974-75, Coach K wasn't exactly ready to be in control of the best team in the country at that point.
"He was a graduate assistant that year and during a practice when we scrimmaged Knight gave Coach K the first team," Laskowski explained. "He [Coach K] came over to the huddle and looked around the huddle and didn’t say a word, he didn’t know what to say.
"Coach Knight looks over and sees he's not coaching and in Bob Knight fashion with some swear words… oh my gosh he blurts out a few things and it was a great minute of Coach K thinking ‘am I going to have a number one team someday' to coach."
While Coach K has gone on to have a very successful career, it was all under the guidance of Bob Knight. Laskowski went on to tell a few more stories about his encounters with Coach K after he took over the Duke program.
Duke, like many top programs in the country, has had to deal with roster turnover year in and year out. While it is due to their recruiting style, the transfer portal has also contributed.
"In the 70’s or 80’s not many kids transferred and now kids are leaving and teams are changing after just one year so I don’t like the portal," Laskowski said. "Look at Kentucky, they get the top players every year but they can’t win it because their team is changing every year.”
Laskowski noted that he believes Archie Miller is doing it the right way and his recruiting style will pay off.
To listen to the rest of the interview and more, check out the tweet below.
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