Bob Knight, whose Hall of Fame career was highlighted by three national titles at Indiana – one that capped an undefeated season with no contest – and countless on-court blowouts, has died. He was 83 years old.
Knight’s family made the announcement Wednesday night. He was hospitalized with an illness in April and had been in poor health for several years.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away surrounded by his family at his home in Bloomington,” the statement said. “We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as Coach requested a private family gathering, which is being respected.”
Knight became the youngest coach at a Division I school in 1965 when he joined Army at the age of 24. But he left his mark at Indiana, including winning a school-record 661 games and reaching the NCAA tournament 24 times in 29 seasons. Knight’s first NCAA title came in 1976 when Indiana went undefeated, a feat no team since has accomplished.
Quinn Buckner, chair of the Indiana University Board of Trustees, said in a statement, “One of the things he said to our 1976 team, which I had the privilege of being a part of, was that you will never see another team like this again. Will not be able to see.” “Well, I don’t know that we’ll ever see another coach like him again.”
Knight won 20 or more games in a season 29 times and compiled a career record of 902–371.
In 1984, he captained the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in Los Angeles, the last American amateur team to claim Olympic gold. And, no wonder it came with controversy. Knight kept Steve Alford, leader of Knight’s last national championship team in 1987, on his team, while removing future Hall of Famers Charles Barkley and John Stockton.
“I’m very fortunate that they saw something in me as a basketball player,” former Hoosiers player and current Indiana coach Mike Woodson said in a statement. “He impacted my life in ways I can never repay. As he did with all of his players, he always pushed me to be my best as a player and, more importantly, as a person. Challenged to perform. His record as a basketball coach speaks for itself. He will be remembered as one of the greatest of all time.”
Nicknamed “The General,” Knight was eventually forced to plead guilty in 2000 to violating a “zero tolerance” behavior policy by grabbing the arm of a freshman student at Indiana, whom she said greeted her by her last name. Was. This was the final offense in a long list, which included his most infamous incident – throwing a chair during a Purdue game – and allegations of multiple physical confrontations. The most notable incident involved the apparent strangulation of player Neil Reid by Knight during a practice in 1997.
Knight then left to become the basketball coach at Texas Tech in 2001, before being fired by Indiana six months later for what school officials there called an “unacceptable pattern of behavior”.
Throughout Knight’s six years at Texas Tech, he led the Red Raiders to five 20-win seasons, a first at the school. On January 1, 2007, Knight passed former North Carolina coach Dean Smith as the then-winningest Division I men’s coach, achieving career win number 880. To celebrate this milestone, Knight chose Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way”, which is a chant. How he navigated his personal and professional world.
At the time, Knight explained why “My Way” was so appropriate.
“I’ve just tried to do what I feel best about,” Knight said. “Regrets? Definitely. Just like the song. I have regrets. I wish I could have done things better sometimes. I wish I had a better answer, a better way sometimes. But like they said, I did it I have my way, and when I look back on it, I don’t think my way was so bad.”
Knight resigned as Texas Tech’s basketball coach midway through the 2008–09 season, his 42nd year as head coach, and stepped away from college basketball. He later worked as a college basketball analyst for ESPN.
“Coach Knight … will always be remembered as one of the top coaches not only in Texas Tech history but in all of college basketball,” Texas Tech Athletics said in a statement. “He truly changed the game not only with his motion offense, but also with his insistence that his teams be defined by their defense.
“His impact was also felt off the court, as he was a deep supporter of student-athletes receiving a quality education, which was evident in the fact that his teams produced a nearly perfect graduation rate annually. Coach on our basketball program Knight’s impact will forever be remembered as one of the greatest tenures in our history.”
What he did and how he did it made Knight a legend. However, the influence and discipline he brought to coaching made him special.
“We lost one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball today. Frankly, he was one of a kind,” said former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who played for Knight at Army and is the winningest Division I college basketball coach. Surpassed his guru as a coach. in 2011. “Coach Knight recruited me, mentored me and had a profound impact on my career and my life. This is a tremendous loss for our sport, and our family is deeply saddened by his passing.”
Robert Montgomery Knight was born on October 25, 1940 in Massillon, Ohio, and was a prep basketball, baseball and football star at Orrville High School. As a player at Ohio State, his teams compiled an overall record of 78–6. The Buckeyes won the national title in 1960 (Knight was 0-1 with a personal foul in a 75-55 win over California in the title game and averaged 3.7 points as a sub that season) and during all three Big Captured ten titles. Of Knight’s Season.
After his college career ended, he went into coaching; He was an assistant to Army when he was made the head coach after Tates Lock.
Knight coached at Army from 1965 to 1971, going 102–50. He then moved to Indiana, where his Hoosiers went 662–239 from 1971 to 2000; Wearing his trademark red sweater, he won national titles in 1976, 1981 and 1987.
Knight spent five decades competing against, and usually defeating, some of the sport’s most respected names in the early years – Adolph Rupp, Smith and John Wooden; Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino and Roy Williams in later years.
“When I came here (in 1983) he was a guy I looked up to because Bobby Knight was that guy,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “He treated me very well, and he helped me. I wish people knew how big a heart he had. He was a different guy, but if you needed some help, he’d ring the bell.
“The game has lost an icon.”
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr recalled his first encounter with the flammable coaching legend while speaking to reporters before his team’s game on Wednesday night.
“We ran into each other in 1986, I was playing in the World Championships. He was doing television commentary,” Kerr said. “We had lost a game, and he came to our practice and pulled me aside and basically started abusing. I had never met him before. … He said, ‘I want you Take your teammates who are constantly crying and ‘beep-beep’ and tell them to do ‘beep-beep’. And I said, ‘Yes, sir, Coach Knight.’ Then I went over to the players, and I said, ‘Hey, Coach Knight encouraged us to play well tonight!’ And that was it. It was horrible, I’m not going to lie.”
Knight was elected and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. Previously, Knight had sought not to be re-nominated for the Hall of Fame, calling his rejection by voters in 1987 a “slap in the face.”
He was a complex man and had a long record of anger over the years. He was accused and later convicted of hitting a policeman in Puerto Rico, head-butting Indiana player Sharon Wilkerson while yelling at him on the bench, and accused of wrapping his arms around a player’s neck. and he allegedly kicked his own son. (Knight claimed that he actually kicked the chair his son was sitting on.)
He faked a whipping of Calbert Chaney, a Black Indiana player, during a 1992 practice for the NCAA West Regional, angering many Black leaders. Knight denied any racial slurs and said he was given a bullwhip by players.
But Knight never broke NCAA rules. Their graduation rate has always been high. And he gave his Texas Tech salary back a few years after arriving in Lubbock because he didn’t believe he had earned it.
Knight’s firing by then-Indiana President Miles Brand remained unpopular in the state of Indiana, where Knight still had legions of supporters.
Indiana University officials tried to mend differences with Knight for years, but he adamantly rejected all attempts by the school, former players, and fans to make peace, and he would not participate in any IU activities.
He did not attend team reunions and even declined to attend the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame induction in 2009, saying he did not want the influence his presence would have on other members of the class. Have any effect.
However, all this has changed in recent years.
The turmoil began in earnest in 2019, when he made a surprise appearance at an Indiana baseball game. In July, he bought a house in Bloomington, 3 miles from the basketball arena.
And in February 2020, he finally returned to Assembly Hall for the Indiana-Purdue matchup. He faced a roar of support from the entire team, including dozens of former players.
Knight moved in with his son Pat. Knight hugs Isiah Thomas. He was assisted in the field by Buckner. And Knight enjoyed the moment, pumping his fists, pretending to direct Scott May in a practice drill and even leading fans in a chorus of “D-Fence, D-Fence.”
“I was standing there, and it was Coach Knight,” recalled former player Randy Wittman, who was instrumental in the reunion. “It was like he never left that locker room. The words he gave those players before they went out on the field were fantastic.”
Knight is survived by his wife Karen and sons Tim and Pat.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
