Bob Knight: Ice Skaters Are Best Athletes

March Madness is heating up, so if Bob Knight is on ESPN talking about athletes who have impressed him, he must be talking about college basketball players, right? Not quite. In an appearance on ESPN Wednesday, Knight said that, in reality, he believes the best athletes in the country right now are not American basketball players but a visiting troupe of Russian skaters.

While breaking down the brackets on Mike and Mike in the Morning, Knight abruptly stopped and changed the subject.

"Now, before we go into any more basketball, I've got to tell you about the best athletes in the country, and they aren't American, they're Russian," Knight said. "They're Russian ice skaters. I went to see them last night at the Riviera with (wife) Karen, and the title of the show is Ice. This was the most incredible athletic scene for an hour and 20 minutes that I've ever seen. Unbelievable."

Hosts Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg sounded a little taken aback, but they managed to get Knight back on track and talking about basketball -- at least for a little while, and then Knight insisted they talk a little more about Russian ice skaters.

"Don't forget the Russian ice skaters," Knight said. "I'm telling you, these guys, it must be 40 people, men and women, and they are the most athletic people. ... There's a girl that gets 11 hoops going at one time from head to toe while she's skating. ... I've never seen a group of athletes like this."

So there you have it. Between dropping S-bombs on the air and talking about Russian ice skaters, Bob Knight has been a fascinating part of ESPN's coverage of March Madness.