Texas Tech men's coach Pat Knight and Washington State coach Tony Bennett have something unique in common. They played for their famous coaching fathers, coached under them and took over for them when they retired.

Pat Knight is the son of former Indiana and Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight and Tony Bennett is the son of former Wisconsin-Green Bay, Wisconsin and Washington State coach Dick Bennett.

They will be coaching in the same tournament this weekend at the Legends Classic at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Pitt is playing Texas Tech in a semifinal game tomorrow night and Washington State is playing Mississippi State in the other semifinal. The winners advance to a championship game and the losers in a consolation Saturday night.

Pat Knight, 38, played four seasons at Indiana from 1991-95 and later coached under his dad for nine seasons. Bobby Knight, who won 902 games and three national championships, resigned from his post at Texas Tech in February and Pat took over. He brings a 5-0 record into the game tomorrow against Pitt in his first full season as a head coach.

"I wouldn't trade the time with him as a player or coach even though he won't say the same thing," Pat joked. "I cherished the time playing for my dad and working underneath him. I saw him every day as a player for four years and as an assistant for nine years. He's still around, but it's not like it was."

Bobby Knight is a college basketball analyst for ESPN. He picked Pitt to go to the Final Four last season only to watch the Panthers lose in the second round to Michigan State.

Coaching wasn't always a career path for Pat. He didn't find out he wanted to coach until he worked as an intern for the Phoenix Suns. He missed the thrill of competing, and Dick Van Arsdale, the Suns' senior vice president for player personnel, told him the only way to recapture that feeling was to get into coaching.

"My dad would have preferred if I had gotten into business or something smarter," Pat said.

Tony Bennett, 39, is in his third season as the head coach at Washington State. He played for his father at Wisconsin-Green Bay and, after a short career in the NBA, coached under him at Wisconsin and Washington State.

"To continue my father's legacy, it's a thrill for me," Bennett said. "I got to play for my father and then coached under him at Wisconsin, where we went to a Final Four. That was a dream come true for me.

"Then he came to Washington State. He was retired. I thought he was done. He decided to come to try and turn it around here. To be a part of what we've done here is something special. He's in his 60s. I'm in my 30s. To share the experiences, the ups and downs, it's truly been a blessing. Not many sons can say that. I'm so thankful for this time. Playing under him was great, but coaching under him was even better."

The Bennett family name was Americanized from the Italian surname of Bennedetti when his ancestors came from the old country and settled in Pittsburgh. Dick Bennett was born in Pittsburgh and lived here until he was 12 when his family moved to Wisconsin.

"My dad's from McKees Rocks," Tony said. "He used to say, 'That's where you grow up to be tough. You Midwesterners don't know anything about that.' He used to tell me how he'd sneak into Pirates games. We still have family there. His work ethic, his toughness, that's where it was forged. He's always talked about that."

Tony Bennett led the Cougars to the NCAA tournament in each of his first two seasons. They advanced to the second round in 2007 and to the Sweet 16 last season before losing to North Carolina.