Texas Tech coach Bob Knight wrote a letter last year unlike any other he had penned in four decades of recruiting.

He addressed it to a judge, not a basketball prospect.

Head coach designate Pat Knight said his father vouched for the character of Benny Valentine. The 5-7 point guard had a court hearing in his hometown of Omaha, Neb., to be sentenced on two felony charges less than three weeks after he signed with the Red Raiders in April.

Valentine, a sophomore transfer from Howard College, was sentenced to three years of probation and 60 days in the Douglas County jail for possession of a stolen gun and his role in a carjacking. He left for Lubbock immediately upon his release after 43 days.

"It never really bothered us," Pat Knight said of Valentine's legal troubles. "We checked into it and talked to the kid. He was up front with us. He's a good kid who made a dumb mistake."

Pat Knight said Valentine is the only player with a criminal record his father has recruited. Valentine has made a minimal contribution on the court for Tech. But his parents said he is flourishing under the direction of Bob Knight, a taskmaster whose players' graduation rates are as impressive as his teams' winning percentages.

"He needs that firmness," said Kim Lessley, Valentine's mother.

Tech denied an open records request for a copy of Knight's letter to the judge, citing student privacy laws. The original letter is sealed by the court as part of Valentine's presentencing investigation.

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

Texas Tech coach Bob Knight said of Benny Valentine (5), 'He's a good kid.'

Bob Knight declined a request via team spokesman Randy Farley to be interviewed for this story and did not respond to e-mailed questions. University president Jon Whitmore, who approved Valentine's admission to Tech, did not respond to several phone messages requesting an interview or e-mailed questions.

Valentine "has no interest discussing something from nearly two years ago," Farley wrote in an e-mail. Valentine's parents said he understands that failure to follow Knight's rules would result in his dismissal from the program, and that another arrest would probably send him to prison.

"He knows he can't get in any more trouble," Lessley said. "If he gets in any more trouble, it's a done deal."

Bob Knight's commitment to discipline has been well chronicled. This is not a case of the NCAA's all-time wins leader sacrificing his principles to recruit a star.

No Division I program showed serious interest in Valentine while he played for Omaha Central High before his arrests, although he was a full academic qualifier. He is averaging 3.6 points in 12.8 minutes per game for Tech and hasn't played in six of 10 Big 12 games.

Pat Knight said Valentine's toughness and intensity during practice have been his biggest contributions, but Valentine was one of four players left in Lubbock for Saturday's game at Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders fell in double overtime, their fifth straight defeat.

"Benny's had a tough adjustment to make to this level of play," Bob Knight said on last week's Big 12 conference call. "He's a good kid and he works hard at what he's doing, but this is the first time he's been exposed to this type of competition."

Valentine pleaded no contest and was found guilty of charges of possession of a stolen firearm and accessory to a felony. The Class IV felonies, which each carried a potential sentence of five years in prison, stemmed from incidents that occurred a week apart during the spring of Valentine's senior year of high school.

The first arrest happened just before midnight on May 13, 2005, the day after Valentine's 18th birthday, according to a police report and a court transcript.

Officers found Valentine "either asleep or unconscious" in the passenger seat of a car, which was parked behind a vehicle that matched the description of one seen leaving the area of a reported triple shooting blocks away. An officer ordered Valentine to get out of the car after noticing that he was sitting on an object with a brown wooden handle.

A .25-caliber pistol fell from Valentine's lap to the ground when he got up from his seat, according to the police report. The police report stated that the gun, which had been reported stolen in July 2002, was loaded with a round in the chamber but did not smell as if it had recently been fired.

Valentine, according to the police report, told an officer that a man known as "Keezy" had given him the gun while they were shooting dice at a friend's house that night. Valentine "claimed he did not know the gun was stolen," the report stated.

Valentine was arrested again May 26 in connection with a carjacking that had occurred six days earlier at the Westroads Mall. According to a court transcript, two men given a ride to the mall by Valentine approached the victim's 1994 Isuzu Rodeo. One of the men put a gun in the victim's face and took his platinum chain, hat and the vehicle.

Valentine's parents and defense attorney, Michael Poepsel, said Valentine was not aware that the men riding with him intended to commit the crime. Valentine was originally charged with robbery, but that was amended to the lesser charge of accessory to a felony.

"He drove away after the crime was committed and followed them to another location," prosecutor Stephanie Shearer said in a recent interview. "Based on that, we felt like he was at least an accessory to the felony."

Howard College coach Mark Adams said he stopped recruiting Valentine after the arrests. But Adams' assistants kept in contact with Valentine and persuaded Adams to talk to him when a scholarship opened up in August 2005.

Adams agreed to give Valentine a scholarship after an emotional phone call. Adams recalled Valentine pleading for a second chance and promising that the coach wouldn't regret it.

"You could tell he was speaking from the heart," Adams said.

Adams said he was reluctant to suggest that Tech recruit Valentine because of Bob Knight's no-nonsense reputation and Valentine's criminal record.

Tech coaches asked about Valentine after they went to watch prized recruit Charlie Burgess, Valentine's backcourt partner at Howard who had already signed with Tech. They were impressed by Valentine's competitiveness and toughness, traits the coaches thought last season's Red Raiders lacked. Adams said the Knights "interrogated" him while determining whether Valentine would be a good fit for their program. They asked questions ranging from how Valentine handles criticism to what his professors say about him.

Judge Gerald E. Moran of the Douglas County District Court allowed Valentine to leave the state to attend Howard, a junior college in Big Spring, Texas.

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

Benny Valentine (5) is averaging 3.6 points in 12.8 minutes per game for Tech

Valentine's court appearances were scheduled around his academic and basketball schedule. He entered his pleas Dec. 20, during the break between semesters. His sentencing hearing was originally scheduled for March 13. It was rescheduled for May 15, allowing Valentine to finish the basketball season. He served his jail time during the summer.

"The judge did give him quite a break and an opportunity to redeem himself," Poepsel said. "He gave him a chance."

Poepsel said the judge was accommodating because Valentine had no juvenile criminal record and was an honor roll student.

"That's why it was so disappointing when he got into trouble," Omaha Central coach Eric Behrens said. "He was such a smart kid and a hard-working kid. I loved him. He would will you to win."

The manner in which Valentine took advantage of his opportunity at Howard helped him get a lenient sentence, Poepsel said.

Valentine averaged 17.6 points and 3.2 assists to help Howard go 35-2 and make the NJCAA Division I Tournament for the first time in 39 years. His behavior and accomplishments off the court had a much bigger impact in the courtroom. Adams said Valentine, a business management major, had a team-high grade-point average of about 3.5 and was a "model citizen" on campus.

"He seems to be somewhat of a chameleon when it comes to environments, good and bad," Benny Valentine Sr. said. "He tends to blend in."

That, his parents said, was Valentine's problem in Omaha. The couple, who divorced when Valentine was a toddler, describe their son as a good kid who grew up in a rough neighborhood and got into trouble by hanging around with the wrong crowd.

Those close to Valentine believe he couldn't have found a better fit than Tech, which is a 13-hour drive from Omaha. They say Valentine needs a tough, take-no-bull authority figure like Bob Knight in his life.

"He definitely needed to get out of town," Poepsel said. "To me, he's in a perfect spot, especially with a guy like Bobby Knight there.

"No probation officer can be as tough as he can be."

May 13, 2005 –Arrested in Omaha, Neb., after a stolen .25-caliber gun fell from his lap when a police officer ordered him to get out of a parked car.

May 20, 2005 –Two men committed a carjacking after getting out of Valentine's vehicle at the Westroads Mall in Omaha.

May 26, 2005 –Arrested in connection with the carjacking.

Dec. 20, 2005 –Entered pleas of no contest of charges of possession of a stolen firearm and accessory to a felony. Court date had been scheduled for the semester break at Howard College, a West Texas junior college where Valentine was playing basketball.

April 26, 2006 –Signed with Texas Tech.

May 15, 2006 –Sentenced to 60 days in the Douglas County jail and three years of probation. Served 43 days before leaving for Lubbock.

Nov. 11, 2006 –Scored five points in 15 minutes during his Tech basketball debut, a 79-64 win over Sam Houston State.

Feb. 10, 2007 –One of four healthy Red Raiders not allowed to travel to Tech's game at Oklahoma State. The 93-91 double-overtime loss marked the sixth time in 10 Big 12 games that Valentine did not play.

Tim MacMahon