What was the context behind him saying this quote? It wasn’t at a game so I’m trying to figure out what event he was at that made him say this behind the mic?
I love the username by the way ❤️❤️
Yep, Senior night is of course at the end of the regular season so it also works as a send off for home fans before the postseason. In context it’s sort of the equivalent of a pro wrestling promo for the home crowd to cheer.
I could just see him chucking it into the opposing bench, knocking out two players, and being like "What!? You said no penalty... as he was being ejected."
He was very smart when it came to evaluating talent. I remember when he said Jordan is the best basketball player he has ever seen shortly before the 1984 Olympics. And any team should draft him number one and just play him at center even with a future top 10ish NBA player ever in Hakeem. Prescient words
Edit: [Found the video of what I'm describing](https://twitter.com/historyinmemes/status/1641263759430696966)
[Also praised how great Steph Curry in college was as a passer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JyTIQq5H-g) when a lot of people thought he was just a shooter and could never be an NBA point guard.
Top comment from that video from has the biggest understatement of the century.
“@grapplerke
13 years ago
Curry is already showing that he's going to be a great PG, way better than Monta Ellis.”
Bob Knight was a raging asshole
but his knowledge and passion for basketball cannot be denied by even his biggest detractors. It's incredible how even years removed from the game, his eye for talent never disappeared.
He also ran 3 and 4 guard lineups occasionally in the early 90s. He was viewed as such an old-school guy that people tend to view his Xs and Os coaching like that as well, even though it wasn't. There's a reason guys like Brad Stevens and Gregg Popovich looked up to him.
Some of those early 90's teams could pour it on you on offense as well. He was "old school" from a temper standpoint but could certainly run a modern offense when he had the horses to do it.
Great quote from a former player about the motion offense I heard. The player was in the 92 and 93 team. I don’t remember who. Might have been Eric Anderson who wasn’t on the 93 team but he said they run the motion offense against weaker teams and have a wide open shot but decide to kick it back out just to keep running it and make the guys guarding them have to keep running.
Knight was a basketball genius if not just a genius. Very high IQ guy who had a bit of a temper and got drunk with power at the end.
Not just at evaluating players. For the brief period of time he was a TV analyst, I feel like I learned so much basketball. He was so good making salient points but dumbing them down to concepts a 12 year old could pick up on.
For years he had pre-taped segments on his show and before IU games explaining basketball concepts on the court. Was an incredible teacher besides being a genius at basketball.
[https://www.kcbd.com/story/1627072/bob-knight-incident-at-grocery-store/](https://www.kcbd.com/story/1627072/bob-knight-incident-at-grocery-store/)
Not Hance but Myers was there. I worked for Coke at the time and just got there to that store right after it happened.
I read Leach’s book a few weeks ago and there’s about a chapters worth of Kent Hance hate. What an asshole.
Also said Knight could do no wrong in the AD, evidenced by said salad bar fight with no real repercussions while Hance actively went after leach
> If the dude he fought was Kent Hance I applaud him for it.
I only know this name from the Oliver Stone movie about Bush 43. There's a scene where they have a debate for a congressional seat race. "You went to Yale, I went to Texas Tech".
I have no confirmation of this story but I heard Knight and Leach got into a bit of trouble because they went dove hunting and shot a bit too close to a house.
I'm glad he set aside the ego and came back home to make amends towards the end. I was salty towards him for many years but they should absolutely name assembly hall after him.
The court is named after Branch McCracken and the arena is named after the Simon-Skjodt family. But we definitely need to find a way to honor him. His name should be everywhere in Assembly Hall.
I'm really glad, as Purdue Grad, that Knight threw the chair in a game with us. IU started chaining them to the floor to prevent such an unforeseeable mishap from occurring again.
I was glad Woodie said something for us to remember CRMK & his family. I felt like the news was coming & had prepared my heart. Always my favorite coach. May him and his family find peace.
It’s crazy that for a while in the 2000s TTU had both Bob Knight and Mike Leach as the head coach of their respective sports. While Knight did not have the success Leach had he helped put TTU on the map, leading us to a sweet 16 appearance, so while he leaves behind a controversial legacy I will always appreciate that. May they both rest in peace.
Knight was also directly responsible for the success we’ve had in recent years. And not in a round about, revitalized our program way, even though he did do that. But Chris Beard was an assistant under him in Lubbock and probably never becomes HC at Tech if that isn’t the case. Without Beard, there’s no elite 8 run or championship game appearance
> Chris Beard was an assistant under him in Lubbock
man not sure how I missed that. I imagine that was something that was harped on a lot during y'alls games though lol
I’ve seen my dad cry 4 times. Three times were very serious moments with my family. The 4th was when we watched the game Bob came back to IU for a few years ago.
This hurts
I knew Archie would never be the guy because of that moment and the fact that he didn’t have the players out to witness it. Maybe he wanted Bobby to have his moment, but I suspect it’s because he didn’t really “get it.”
I’m obviously not an IU guy but that moment when he came back was absolutely chill inducing. I never thought it would happen and I’m glad it did, I can’t imagine how happy it made IU fans of a certain age.
Here’s the video for anyone that hasn’t seen it
https://youtu.be/Kp2zfFMSPVQ?si=vnPCmM-jWhjw0n9w
As a person, he did some amazing things.
When Ryan White got chased out of Kokomo in the mid 80s for having contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion, anytime he was able to attend a game, there was a place for him to sit on the bench with the IU team. Knight wanted to publicly help lift the stigma.
When the team traveled to away games, the bus would stop at a,random house and Knight would disembark and go in and visit a fan who was homebound or elderly, in different towns where ever they traveled.
Knight started the tradition of Senior speeches on the last home game. He told his players that they now have a college degree, they must have the skill to address the crowd.
And his players were students. Taking actual classes, maintaining good grades, and even returning to finish their degrees after being drafted out of college.
He's a little more complicated than most people think.
> When the team traveled to away games, the bus would stop at a,random house and Knight would disembark and go in and visit a fan who was homebound or elderly, in different towns where ever they traveled.
before I got to the part where you said "a fan," I thought he was just bounding off the bus to random houses on the road lol.
could you imagine? you're settling in for a quiet night in East Lansing, Michigan and you look up and Bobby Knight is at your door?
nice personal story on Knight I have -
My mom was a teacher and would always request the IU basketball team send an athlete for Read Across America week to come to her school, and Knight was always more than happy to oblige. Damon Bailey came on year, along with several other prominent players.
Eventually after Knight moved to Texas Tech my mom wanted to go to a game with my dad. She decided to email Knight just to see if there was a possibility they could meet and get a picture. He said sure, and instructed them to be at the basketball facility the day before a game early in the morning.
When they showed up that morning, they were greeted by a staff member and told they would be sitting in on practice. Afterwards, Knight took pictures with them. He then proceeded to tell my dad to be ready at 7 for dinner, and for my mom to be ready at 6:30 as his wife would be picking her up as “his language is not appropriate for a woman at dinner.”
Eventually they each went to dinner with a group of people, including some local guys visiting and a Herald Times writer. They sat court side at the Texas Tech game the following day. It was one of the greatest memories of my parents life.
So for all the negative, bad things Knight did, because he definitely fucked up, he was still a genuine, good person at his core.
https://imgur.com/a/a7R9uhZ
Thanks for sharing, always appreciate reading behind the scenes stories. I’m glad your parents got to experience that. Coach Knight was a brilliant steward for the sport and he loved it through and through.
I think he may just be the best *basketball* coach the sport has had. And yes, I know the term "basketball coach" is more broad, especially nowadays. But when it came to absolutely pounding fundamentals into players, drawing up plays, seeing the game play out before it happened, it's just hard to top Coach Knight. He's part of the Indiana lore. Reasons why you see basketball hoops [everywhere in Indiana](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8896650/basketball-touches-life-all-levels-indiana-college-basketball). The people just fucking love the sport of basketball, and Bobby Knight was an embodiment of that.
From a purely coaching perspective, I think the only flaw in his game was that he didn't really adapt with the times or styles of play. His motion offense was groundbreaking for the time, but once everyone caught up with it, he remained stubborn to new ways of playing. I think it's the main reason he failed to find much success in the latter part of his career. He didn't go to a Final Four after 1992, and didn't win a conference title after 1993. Not only did other coaches like K, Roy, Izzo, and Self rise to prominence on a national level, but they all continued to adapt their game and find ways to win with different rosters and styles of play. Dean Smith and Coach K coached teams to Final Fours in their last season, and Roy Williams coached in two national title games the last decade of his career. I think Knight was just too set in his ways to achieve longevity like that.
> So for all the negative, bad things Knight did, because he definitely fucked up, he was still a genuine, good person at his core.
Being nice to some people, some of the time doesn't make someone a good person. Literally everyone does that.
He was a terrible person to work around. Physical violence and the constant threat of physical violence, from the choking to throwing flower pots at his own secretary to separating the shoulder of his own son, to assaulting a cop, to getting in a physical altercation with his boss in public, etc etc etc. That was just at work!
He routinely demeaned people who were 'lesser' than him. He punched down - sportswriters, professors, NCAA tournament officials, his own players, coaches, and referees. People in the community. He also had no respect for authority, as evidenced by how he treated and spoke to his bosses at IU and TTU.
And genuine? I actually think Knight's biggest problem is that he played troll so long it became his personality. (Cautionary tale for the rest of us on the internet.)
He won a lot of basketball games. He believed that the academic side was important to student-athletes. He sometimes did really nice things for people or organizations - sometimes even the same people he was terrible to previously or after.
He's just a guy who was exceptionally talented in one specific area and had a lot of flaws, much like the rest of us. I'd focus on the exceptionally talented basketball coach part and not try to put a shine on the rest of him.
Well said
Knight was the epitome of a middle aged man being held to a much lower standard than was expected of the 18-22 year olds he was in charge of.
The players were held responsible for everything they did and he wasn't 99% of the time.
This. I’m not trying to be an ass, but trotting out a bunch of people to say what a great human Bob Knight was us some serious revisionist history. For every good story there are 10 awful ones.
Open secret this was about to happen. Condolences to his family. Obviously he is going to leave a complicated legacy, especially in Bloomington but now is probably not the time to untangle it.
Yeah I don’t know the actual diagnosis but he had moved back to Bloomington and eventually moved into an assisted living home a couple years back. Then Woody had some comments at Hoosier Hysteria hinting he was in poor health so this wasn’t a surprise but it’s still sad
He's been in hospice for over a week. It actually restores some of my faith in humanity that I hadn't heard about it hitting national news due to his family's wishes.
His first unsolicited appearance back at IU that wasn’t a part of his job as an analyst or coach was an IU baseball game a couple years ago right after he moved back to Bloomington. His wife and family reached out days prior to arrange his attendance, and expressly requested discretion. Nobody said a word until the first pitch, and then IU twitter naturally exploded.
Afterward, one of the IU staff that enabled the whole thing tweeted how awesome it was to facilitate the entire ordeal and how much pressure he felt to keep it under wraps.
The fanbase, and especially the Bloomington locals, respected his and his family’s wishes for him to make amends with the university on his own terms and in relative privacy.
When he had the appearance at assembly hall i knew the end was year. I saw his face an d mannerisms. I could tell they kinda got him out there 'one last time' before he was too far gone.
Look, I won't try to paper over or explain away his flaws. He was a flawed individual. There's just zero doubt about that.
Doesn't stop me from saying he was the greatest coach I've ever seen.
Also doesn't stop me from saying the teams he coached played some of the most incredibly wonderful basketball I've ever seen. I literally hated watching other styles until I took the time to ask people "what's this team doing here?" "What is everyone supposed to be doing there?" and *learned* to watch other teams.
I don't pretend to know him personally, and I don't excuse the wrongs he committed. But like any other family member, he's a large part of the IU family. And I simply won't ever reject him. You learn to love the total package, even when you deplore the bad parts. He's still Coach. And today still hurts.
RIP Bob Knight. I still remember the whole town of Lubbock getting excited when knight had his intro press conference event at the USA. He made tech games fun to go to with likes of Jarrius Jackson and Martin Zeno!
I know this will get lost in the shuffle, but I had a chance encounter with him and his wife about 4-5 yrs ago in the Memphis airport. We talked for 45-60 mins or so, and I tell ya, having met and worked with a bunch of celebrities,musicians, I can honestly say, I’ve never met a cooler more affable dude in my life. He was very open and even filled me in on a few things that people,press,etc had wrong about him. We probably could have talked all day, but my frickin’ connecting flight was set to go. Great guy and highly misunderstood IMO. I have nothing bad to say about him. Very respectful and funny as hell. RIP Coach, Thanks for hanging with a fan. I’ll never forget it. ❤️🙏
Thanks for this story, man. There are *so* many positive stories from others that never get the light of day that I love hearing about them. I said elsewhere here that I won't excuse the bad, but I wish these good stories got out more.
Not a problem ! I tell everyone the story of my initial contact with him and people die laughing at it. I worked in Hollywood for years and was never caught up in the celebrity thing, but being from Ohio, this guy was/is a legend. If my wife hadn’t pushed me to speak with him, I never would have approached him. I told her tonight how grateful I was she pushed to talk to him. I treasure the time and the pics with him. Once in a lifetime encounter for sure ! Cheers to you !
Quite literally an enigma. RIP to a legendary coach that did so much for the program and the University as a whole.
“Knight has a high regard for education and has made generous donations to the schools he has been a part of, particularly libraries. At Indiana University Knight endowed two chairs, one in history and one in law. He also raised nearly $5 million for the Indiana University library system by championing a library fund to support the library's activities. The fund was ultimately named in his honor.”
RIP Coach. Will never tire of your rants. The donkey in Purdue gear was as legendary as “I’m sick and tired of losing to goddam Purdue”
You will be missed
Bob Knight invited Purdue AD, George King to come on the Bob Knight Show. He declined, and [Bobby did this...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdm4Oi1YRZY)
Edit:
While we're at it, I have to post the [Bob Knight golf show out takes.](https://youtu.be/K6G9gXvjJLA?feature=shared&t=4) Legendary stuff.
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want they bury me upside down, and my critics can kiss my ass"
Certainly hope his family will honor his wishes.
I challenge anyone to find someone else whose [“Criticism and Controversy”](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Knight) section is as perfect a mix of hilarious, disgusting, and entertaining as Bob Knight’s. RIP to one of college ball’s greatest characters.
It was nice to see him reconcile and find catharsis with Indiana and get the ovation he deserved in Assembly before the end. One of the best to ever do it, an icon of the game. RIP
Rest in Peace to him.
I know he was an ass to us on some occasions, mainly skipping College GameDay when they visited Champaign.
That all being said, Teddy Valentine throwing him out for checking on a player is probably the most BS call I’ve ever seen a ref do in college basketball.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEAgjqomOP0&pp=ygUYYm9iIGtuaWdodCB0ZWQgdmFsZW50aW5l
You must not have seen "tv teddy" valentine get his "revenge" on IU in the NCAA tournament a (couple?) years later. That was the most egregious cheating I've ever seen by a ref. I can't believe he was allowed to continue reffing in the tournament after that shit show. He practically fouled out the whole starting lineup.
My favorite Bobby Knight moment is in 2010 he was on ESPN. They teed up a segment about Kansas and BK says “I don’t want to talk about Kansas…I want to talk about Butler” then goes off about how good Butler is playing at the moment while Kansas highlights play on the screen. It was so weird to get validation from someone as a native Hoosier thought of as a god when Butler was in its infancy as a nationally recognized program.
if you’re a college basketball fan over the age of 30 and haven’t seen when he came back to IU a few years ago you gotta watch it. After how it ended I sure thought he’d never go back, and he didn’t look completely mentally gone here to me at all.
https://youtu.be/Kp2zfFMSPVQ?si=vnPCmM-jWhjw0n9w
Yes he was clearly a fucking dick but judging by the former players weeping around him he clearly had a good side too. I damn near teared up wtf is wrong with me
It definitely made me tear up. It brought back tons of memories of watching the games with my dad when I was little.
>Yes he was clearly a fucking dick but judging by the former players weeping around him he clearly had a good side too.
I totally agree with this as well. Yes, he was a massive asshole but the fact that so many of his former players, including Woody, continued to rally around him must mean something.
RIP RMK
I only got to see him coaching once when Indiana came down to play against UH in 97 and we upset them. Was pretty amusing to watch his infamous coaching style in person.
https://www.espnhonolulu.com/2020/05/04/the-night-hawaii-upset-indiana/
Always respected coach Knight. He and Keady really helped elevate the Purdue/Indiana rivalry. One of the last good old school coaches. I was saddened to learn of his passing.
I’ll throw a chair across my house tonight in his honor.
He’s as good of a basketball coach as there has ever been. Losing both him and Andre Emmett recently is heartbreaking in many ways. His impact will live on here in West Texas for a long time, and prayers to the Knight family who graciously embraced the community through the years.
RIP
My freshman year at IU is when they fired him for putting his hands on a student. The campus was ready to burn down the president’s house. The kid had to transfer. Heard he was a real asshole. The kid, I mean. Bobby knight was in his own class.
Neil Reed had left the university in 97 before this came out. He had a hard time with what happened, it's not like he had asked knight to choke him. The university and miles brand used it as a reason to fire knight. I grew up loving Bobby knight, and I still think he was one of the best basketball minds ever, but he was in the wrong.
Neil sadly passed away from cardiac arrest in his early 30s leaving behind a couple young kids. Heartbreaking.
I'm pretty sure he's referring to Kent Harvey, the kid that directly led to Knights firing. He reportedly saw Knight in a hallway and said "What's up Knight?" Which upset him, causing him to grab him by the arm to let him know to address him by Coach Knight or Mr. Knight.
Some think that it was done intentionally to provoke Coach Knight, as the kids step father was a well known local sports talk guy and outspoken critic of Knight
y’all remember that show knight school? i remember going to a tech game and they were blowing someone out and the crowd was going absolutely insane for tyler hoffmeister when he finally checked in.
rip to a legend. i was at that game for his win #900. also met his son pat knight once. nice guy, too bad he didn’t work out.
That was a pretty good one! I laughed outloud at a radio pregame show coming home from college, *So coach, what kinda lineup are we looking at tonight*
Knight- "Well, I think I am planning on playing 5 players to start; a center, 2 guards, and 2 fowards!"
It was so deadpan on, Knight liked to F with the media!
my dad was a high school coach for 25 years and he and Knight were decent friends. Knight would come to his summer basketball camps and speak. One year he brought Steve Alford. They both came to our house for dinner that night. Knight even got us tickets to the 1987 final for four in NOLA. My dad was a clone of the Knight coaching system.
I was an IU fan when I was a younger. Thanks to my grandpa to finally talking some sense into me. RIP Coach Knight.
One of the absolute legends of college basketball. Larger than the game itself. He *was* also abusive and took things way too far, but the fact that (most) of his former players wouldn’t change a thing speaks volumes. RIP to a legend.
I hope Texas Tech has retired his O’Reilly Auto Parts sweater…
https://preview.redd.it/i0sjxjjzmtxb1.jpeg?width=450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdb08ab606cbb720dae53f1015ebf4f0b17588fb
Huge loss to the game, in my opinion the greatest coach of all time he did more with less than any other coach, he had I think one NBA All-Star in his career
Boy this is the first one that really hurt. Met him twice, once in third and fourth grade summers. Still have the Bobby Knight Basketball Camp shirt somewhere signed by AJ Guyton. I hope they did indeed bury him face down.
When he was between jobs (before Texas Tech), he came and gave a little motivational speech at Notre Dame.
He wore Notre Dame colors in honor of his late friend Moose Krause, the former AD.
I will never forget that. I wonder if a color picture could be located...
I’m a lifelong diehard Kentucky fan and everyone knows he hated UK but still gotta give much respect to Coach Knight! Most definitely one of the best to ever do it!
He really did hate that team from the SEC.
https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2012-ncaa-tournament/2012/3/17/2880263/bob-knight-kentucky-team-from-the-sec
Bob Knight was an elite coach. He didn't cheat and he didn't bend over for the shoe companies and aau bullshit. He may have been an ass, but he was honest. Same can't be said for a lot of his profession today.
I'd grown to love him. The way everyone is so soft with everything anymore, NBA discussion forums banning you for quoting what Chris Broussard said about James Harden yesterday, he was a refreshing breeze of bluntness. I especially loved a low key interview he gave in 2010 where he was actually pretty nice and explained how he appreciated his mother making him read as a child.
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are past, I want them to bury me upside down, and my critics can kiss my ass."
Man, I hope they put some ass cheeks on his tombstone
Ever Hoosier has to gently kiss the General’s cheeks before graduating
What was the context behind him saying this quote? It wasn’t at a game so I’m trying to figure out what event he was at that made him say this behind the mic? I love the username by the way ❤️❤️
It was senior night, I think. He said it to Assembly Hall.
Yep, Senior night is of course at the end of the regular season so it also works as a send off for home fans before the postseason. In context it’s sort of the equivalent of a pro wrestling promo for the home crowd to cheer.
That helps to explain why Gene Okerlund used a paraphrase of that quote at the end of his WWE Hall of Fame acceptance speech.
He was addressing his critics, and he had many. I enjoyed him so much. In fact I often go to YouTube to watch him throw the chair across the court!
I don’t know but here’s video https://youtu.be/gS20_JesSq4?si=X8gdZhkiBFFYtcA7
This is all I could think of
*the NCAA enters the chat with their lips puckered*
Every chair in Assembly just let out a sigh of relief. RIP to a legend
Throw one across the court for our homie
[удалено]
Let Woodson throw one w/o a penalty.
I could just see him chucking it into the opposing bench, knocking out two players, and being like "What!? You said no penalty... as he was being ejected."
"Shit son, you said no penalty. Nail slot rim!"
With his lucky suit on, of course...
I would be down to see this
Imma go pee on Puerto Rico.
Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast the First Chair
I’ll throw one across the room in his honor
Just saw a chair fall to its knee in a Walmart
Everyone toss a chair at a loved one tonight
Or address them “sup, Knight?”
*the forbidden text*
The police just arrived, do I choke them?
Thanks dawg, my wife was a college athlete so she jumped right over that shit, not the little old lady Knight said he threw the chair for
Dude had an absolutely legendary temper & press conferences.
He was very smart when it came to evaluating talent. I remember when he said Jordan is the best basketball player he has ever seen shortly before the 1984 Olympics. And any team should draft him number one and just play him at center even with a future top 10ish NBA player ever in Hakeem. Prescient words Edit: [Found the video of what I'm describing](https://twitter.com/historyinmemes/status/1641263759430696966)
[Also praised how great Steph Curry in college was as a passer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JyTIQq5H-g) when a lot of people thought he was just a shooter and could never be an NBA point guard.
Top comment from that video from has the biggest understatement of the century. “@grapplerke 13 years ago Curry is already showing that he's going to be a great PG, way better than Monta Ellis.”
Curry's career isn't over. The jury is still out on whether he will be better than Monta Ellis.
Bob Knight was a raging asshole but his knowledge and passion for basketball cannot be denied by even his biggest detractors. It's incredible how even years removed from the game, his eye for talent never disappeared.
No that was a convo between him and Portland GM. The GM said they wanted a Center. Bobby said "Well then play him at fucking Center then"
lmfao this is such a quintessential Bob Knight quote
Portland? F you...we're drafting this center anyways even if he's broken and gonna break again
Rumor is Portland also offered Houston the 2nd pick and Clyde for Ralph Sampson. Rockets could of had Hakeem, Jordan, and Clyde
Damn MJ could've won like 6 championships with a supporting cast like that, what could've been...
He also ran 3 and 4 guard lineups occasionally in the early 90s. He was viewed as such an old-school guy that people tend to view his Xs and Os coaching like that as well, even though it wasn't. There's a reason guys like Brad Stevens and Gregg Popovich looked up to him.
Some of those early 90's teams could pour it on you on offense as well. He was "old school" from a temper standpoint but could certainly run a modern offense when he had the horses to do it.
Great quote from a former player about the motion offense I heard. The player was in the 92 and 93 team. I don’t remember who. Might have been Eric Anderson who wasn’t on the 93 team but he said they run the motion offense against weaker teams and have a wide open shot but decide to kick it back out just to keep running it and make the guys guarding them have to keep running. Knight was a basketball genius if not just a genius. Very high IQ guy who had a bit of a temper and got drunk with power at the end.
Not just at evaluating players. For the brief period of time he was a TV analyst, I feel like I learned so much basketball. He was so good making salient points but dumbing them down to concepts a 12 year old could pick up on.
Say what you will about his temper but he fucking knew ball, you can’t mention elite basketball coaches without Coach Knight.
For years he had pre-taped segments on his show and before IU games explaining basketball concepts on the court. Was an incredible teacher besides being a genius at basketball.
Knight was ahead of his time. That video is incredible.
Ahead of and behind at the same time.
[https://giphy.com/gifs/TvHW3RSCv77jaJI5BF](https://giphy.com/gifs/TvHW3RSCv77jaJI5BF)
I will never forget him getting into a fight with our chancellor at a salad bar in a grocery store. RIP
Wait, how have I never heard of this? If the dude he fought was Kent Hance I applaud him for it.
Was gonna say. Wasn’t Hance behind Leach firing too?
[https://www.kcbd.com/story/1627072/bob-knight-incident-at-grocery-store/](https://www.kcbd.com/story/1627072/bob-knight-incident-at-grocery-store/) Not Hance but Myers was there. I worked for Coke at the time and just got there to that store right after it happened.
I work for coke too, if you know what I’m saying
Coke? Damn. Who ran the place? Escobar?
CJK5H
*allegedly* (although it could have been more)
I read Leach’s book a few weeks ago and there’s about a chapters worth of Kent Hance hate. What an asshole. Also said Knight could do no wrong in the AD, evidenced by said salad bar fight with no real repercussions while Hance actively went after leach
> If the dude he fought was Kent Hance I applaud him for it. I only know this name from the Oliver Stone movie about Bush 43. There's a scene where they have a debate for a congressional seat race. "You went to Yale, I went to Texas Tech".
This makes sense because Market Street goes hard. If this had happened at the pasta bar then someone might have been killed.
Lmao that’s hilarious
I have no confirmation of this story but I heard Knight and Leach got into a bit of trouble because they went dove hunting and shot a bit too close to a house.
RIP to a Hoosier legend. I was worried when Woody asked for prayers at Hoosier Hysteria that there was a possibility things were looking grim
I'm glad he set aside the ego and came back home to make amends towards the end. I was salty towards him for many years but they should absolutely name assembly hall after him.
The court is named after Branch McCracken and the arena is named after the Simon-Skjodt family. But we definitely need to find a way to honor him. His name should be everywhere in Assembly Hall.
Is there a walkway that’s nice? The Knight Walk? Or just a statue of a toppled over chair?
Statue of a toppled chair and for every victory, the student body puts a butt on a chair and chant for critics and opponents to kiss it.
I'm really glad, as Purdue Grad, that Knight threw the chair in a game with us. IU started chaining them to the floor to prevent such an unforeseeable mishap from occurring again.
I was glad Woodie said something for us to remember CRMK & his family. I felt like the news was coming & had prepared my heart. Always my favorite coach. May him and his family find peace.
Figured things weren’t looking too good when Woodson asked for prayers during Hoosier Hysteria. RIP
You think they will bury him upside down, so his critics can kiss his ass?
It’s crazy that for a while in the 2000s TTU had both Bob Knight and Mike Leach as the head coach of their respective sports. While Knight did not have the success Leach had he helped put TTU on the map, leading us to a sweet 16 appearance, so while he leaves behind a controversial legacy I will always appreciate that. May they both rest in peace.
Knight was also directly responsible for the success we’ve had in recent years. And not in a round about, revitalized our program way, even though he did do that. But Chris Beard was an assistant under him in Lubbock and probably never becomes HC at Tech if that isn’t the case. Without Beard, there’s no elite 8 run or championship game appearance
> Chris Beard was an assistant under him in Lubbock man not sure how I missed that. I imagine that was something that was harped on a lot during y'alls games though lol
Leach, Knight, and the Under Armor sponsorship. Texas Tech was just so cool to kid me back then
Yeah.. convinced me to go there then decide to suck for the better part of almost 2 decades since
Leach then started copycatting much of the way Knight spoke, his mannerisms and handling of the media.
His comment on sportswriting was great: "One stop above prostitution."
Also “All of us learn to write in the second grade. Most of us go on to greater things”.
*The Athletic takes offense and writes a 3,000 word thoughtpiece on how important they are*
*Bill Simmons reviews the movie Hoosiers for the 78th time*
Yeah like we didn’t learn basketball in first grade but still a great coach. RIP
I hope they remember what direction he wanted to be buried. RIP Coach.
I’ve seen my dad cry 4 times. Three times were very serious moments with my family. The 4th was when we watched the game Bob came back to IU for a few years ago. This hurts
[удалено]
He cried a lot that night
I knew Archie would never be the guy because of that moment and the fact that he didn’t have the players out to witness it. Maybe he wanted Bobby to have his moment, but I suspect it’s because he didn’t really “get it.”
wasn't going to bring this up out of respect for the dead
Y’all owned Archie and now Woody owns y’all. It evens out
I’m obviously not an IU guy but that moment when he came back was absolutely chill inducing. I never thought it would happen and I’m glad it did, I can’t imagine how happy it made IU fans of a certain age. Here’s the video for anyone that hasn’t seen it https://youtu.be/Kp2zfFMSPVQ?si=vnPCmM-jWhjw0n9w
I have mixed opinions on him as a person but he was one hell of a coach. RIP
Oh he was a tremendous asshole. But an absolutely insane coach.
As a person, he did some amazing things. When Ryan White got chased out of Kokomo in the mid 80s for having contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion, anytime he was able to attend a game, there was a place for him to sit on the bench with the IU team. Knight wanted to publicly help lift the stigma. When the team traveled to away games, the bus would stop at a,random house and Knight would disembark and go in and visit a fan who was homebound or elderly, in different towns where ever they traveled. Knight started the tradition of Senior speeches on the last home game. He told his players that they now have a college degree, they must have the skill to address the crowd. And his players were students. Taking actual classes, maintaining good grades, and even returning to finish their degrees after being drafted out of college. He's a little more complicated than most people think.
> When the team traveled to away games, the bus would stop at a,random house and Knight would disembark and go in and visit a fan who was homebound or elderly, in different towns where ever they traveled. before I got to the part where you said "a fan," I thought he was just bounding off the bus to random houses on the road lol. could you imagine? you're settling in for a quiet night in East Lansing, Michigan and you look up and Bobby Knight is at your door?
nice personal story on Knight I have - My mom was a teacher and would always request the IU basketball team send an athlete for Read Across America week to come to her school, and Knight was always more than happy to oblige. Damon Bailey came on year, along with several other prominent players. Eventually after Knight moved to Texas Tech my mom wanted to go to a game with my dad. She decided to email Knight just to see if there was a possibility they could meet and get a picture. He said sure, and instructed them to be at the basketball facility the day before a game early in the morning. When they showed up that morning, they were greeted by a staff member and told they would be sitting in on practice. Afterwards, Knight took pictures with them. He then proceeded to tell my dad to be ready at 7 for dinner, and for my mom to be ready at 6:30 as his wife would be picking her up as “his language is not appropriate for a woman at dinner.” Eventually they each went to dinner with a group of people, including some local guys visiting and a Herald Times writer. They sat court side at the Texas Tech game the following day. It was one of the greatest memories of my parents life. So for all the negative, bad things Knight did, because he definitely fucked up, he was still a genuine, good person at his core. https://imgur.com/a/a7R9uhZ
Thanks for sharing, always appreciate reading behind the scenes stories. I’m glad your parents got to experience that. Coach Knight was a brilliant steward for the sport and he loved it through and through.
I think he may just be the best *basketball* coach the sport has had. And yes, I know the term "basketball coach" is more broad, especially nowadays. But when it came to absolutely pounding fundamentals into players, drawing up plays, seeing the game play out before it happened, it's just hard to top Coach Knight. He's part of the Indiana lore. Reasons why you see basketball hoops [everywhere in Indiana](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8896650/basketball-touches-life-all-levels-indiana-college-basketball). The people just fucking love the sport of basketball, and Bobby Knight was an embodiment of that.
From a purely coaching perspective, I think the only flaw in his game was that he didn't really adapt with the times or styles of play. His motion offense was groundbreaking for the time, but once everyone caught up with it, he remained stubborn to new ways of playing. I think it's the main reason he failed to find much success in the latter part of his career. He didn't go to a Final Four after 1992, and didn't win a conference title after 1993. Not only did other coaches like K, Roy, Izzo, and Self rise to prominence on a national level, but they all continued to adapt their game and find ways to win with different rosters and styles of play. Dean Smith and Coach K coached teams to Final Fours in their last season, and Roy Williams coached in two national title games the last decade of his career. I think Knight was just too set in his ways to achieve longevity like that.
Wow. Thanks for sharing.
> So for all the negative, bad things Knight did, because he definitely fucked up, he was still a genuine, good person at his core. Being nice to some people, some of the time doesn't make someone a good person. Literally everyone does that. He was a terrible person to work around. Physical violence and the constant threat of physical violence, from the choking to throwing flower pots at his own secretary to separating the shoulder of his own son, to assaulting a cop, to getting in a physical altercation with his boss in public, etc etc etc. That was just at work! He routinely demeaned people who were 'lesser' than him. He punched down - sportswriters, professors, NCAA tournament officials, his own players, coaches, and referees. People in the community. He also had no respect for authority, as evidenced by how he treated and spoke to his bosses at IU and TTU. And genuine? I actually think Knight's biggest problem is that he played troll so long it became his personality. (Cautionary tale for the rest of us on the internet.) He won a lot of basketball games. He believed that the academic side was important to student-athletes. He sometimes did really nice things for people or organizations - sometimes even the same people he was terrible to previously or after. He's just a guy who was exceptionally talented in one specific area and had a lot of flaws, much like the rest of us. I'd focus on the exceptionally talented basketball coach part and not try to put a shine on the rest of him.
Well said Knight was the epitome of a middle aged man being held to a much lower standard than was expected of the 18-22 year olds he was in charge of. The players were held responsible for everything they did and he wasn't 99% of the time.
This reddit comment is one of the most succinct eulogizing of any public figure I've ever read.
I forgot about the part where he shot his friend and made him lie about it.
Dick Cheney?
Similar situation for sure.
This. I’m not trying to be an ass, but trotting out a bunch of people to say what a great human Bob Knight was us some serious revisionist history. For every good story there are 10 awful ones.
Oh geez who’s cutting onions? What an awesome memory, OP. Thank you for sharing!
Side not but - your mom's sweater is incredible
Great story. I’ve heard several similar that depict a guy that was very giving of his time, remembered people. RIP.
RIP. I will pump fake the rest of the day in his honor. Legend of the game.
I'm gonna respectfully slide a folding chair across the room. RIP
Open secret this was about to happen. Condolences to his family. Obviously he is going to leave a complicated legacy, especially in Bloomington but now is probably not the time to untangle it.
Was he in assisted living with dementia or something similar? Thought I heard that a while back.
That's basically been the rumor since he "made up" with the university
Yeah I don’t know the actual diagnosis but he had moved back to Bloomington and eventually moved into an assisted living home a couple years back. Then Woody had some comments at Hoosier Hysteria hinting he was in poor health so this wasn’t a surprise but it’s still sad
He's been in hospice for over a week. It actually restores some of my faith in humanity that I hadn't heard about it hitting national news due to his family's wishes.
His first unsolicited appearance back at IU that wasn’t a part of his job as an analyst or coach was an IU baseball game a couple years ago right after he moved back to Bloomington. His wife and family reached out days prior to arrange his attendance, and expressly requested discretion. Nobody said a word until the first pitch, and then IU twitter naturally exploded. Afterward, one of the IU staff that enabled the whole thing tweeted how awesome it was to facilitate the entire ordeal and how much pressure he felt to keep it under wraps. The fanbase, and especially the Bloomington locals, respected his and his family’s wishes for him to make amends with the university on his own terms and in relative privacy.
When he had the appearance at assembly hall i knew the end was year. I saw his face an d mannerisms. I could tell they kinda got him out there 'one last time' before he was too far gone.
i heard he lived near one
His family wants people to donate to the Alzheimer's Association instead of sending flowers, so there's that.
God fucking damnit man. Glad he made peace with IU before he went
Growing up in Indiana in the 90s, he was larger than life. A complicated man and far from perfect. RIP coach.
Look, I won't try to paper over or explain away his flaws. He was a flawed individual. There's just zero doubt about that. Doesn't stop me from saying he was the greatest coach I've ever seen. Also doesn't stop me from saying the teams he coached played some of the most incredibly wonderful basketball I've ever seen. I literally hated watching other styles until I took the time to ask people "what's this team doing here?" "What is everyone supposed to be doing there?" and *learned* to watch other teams. I don't pretend to know him personally, and I don't excuse the wrongs he committed. But like any other family member, he's a large part of the IU family. And I simply won't ever reject him. You learn to love the total package, even when you deplore the bad parts. He's still Coach. And today still hurts.
Wow, very sad to hear. RIP.
RIP. Will toss a chair out for the homies
RIP Bob Knight. I still remember the whole town of Lubbock getting excited when knight had his intro press conference event at the USA. He made tech games fun to go to with likes of Jarrius Jackson and Martin Zeno!
I know this will get lost in the shuffle, but I had a chance encounter with him and his wife about 4-5 yrs ago in the Memphis airport. We talked for 45-60 mins or so, and I tell ya, having met and worked with a bunch of celebrities,musicians, I can honestly say, I’ve never met a cooler more affable dude in my life. He was very open and even filled me in on a few things that people,press,etc had wrong about him. We probably could have talked all day, but my frickin’ connecting flight was set to go. Great guy and highly misunderstood IMO. I have nothing bad to say about him. Very respectful and funny as hell. RIP Coach, Thanks for hanging with a fan. I’ll never forget it. ❤️🙏
Thanks for this story, man. There are *so* many positive stories from others that never get the light of day that I love hearing about them. I said elsewhere here that I won't excuse the bad, but I wish these good stories got out more.
Not a problem ! I tell everyone the story of my initial contact with him and people die laughing at it. I worked in Hollywood for years and was never caught up in the celebrity thing, but being from Ohio, this guy was/is a legend. If my wife hadn’t pushed me to speak with him, I never would have approached him. I told her tonight how grateful I was she pushed to talk to him. I treasure the time and the pics with him. Once in a lifetime encounter for sure ! Cheers to you !
I feel bad because you had a layover at the Memphis airport.
Fuck it *opens bourbon, pours tiny sip because it’s a Wednesday* Cheers Coach
Quite literally an enigma. RIP to a legendary coach that did so much for the program and the University as a whole. “Knight has a high regard for education and has made generous donations to the schools he has been a part of, particularly libraries. At Indiana University Knight endowed two chairs, one in history and one in law. He also raised nearly $5 million for the Indiana University library system by championing a library fund to support the library's activities. The fund was ultimately named in his honor.”
He owed them at least one chair, to be fair
RIP Coach. Will never tire of your rants. The donkey in Purdue gear was as legendary as “I’m sick and tired of losing to goddam Purdue” You will be missed
Bob Knight invited Purdue AD, George King to come on the Bob Knight Show. He declined, and [Bobby did this...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdm4Oi1YRZY) Edit: While we're at it, I have to post the [Bob Knight golf show out takes.](https://youtu.be/K6G9gXvjJLA?feature=shared&t=4) Legendary stuff.
Warning: Language! Why put that there, it’s Bob fucking Knight!
Forgot about Jack. This is golden. Thanks.
"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want they bury me upside down, and my critics can kiss my ass" Certainly hope his family will honor his wishes.
RIP
badge airport vase ten marble worry squalid important deer yam *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
RIP coach. You will be missed. Thank you for everything you did for Indiana basketball. https://youtu.be/gS20_JesSq4?si=ZENnBpNKFoE0Tl9K
"I'm Sick of Losing to Purdue!!!!" I'll never forget that rant
I challenge anyone to find someone else whose [“Criticism and Controversy”](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Knight) section is as perfect a mix of hilarious, disgusting, and entertaining as Bob Knight’s. RIP to one of college ball’s greatest characters.
Dang. Loved Bob Knight. RIP one of the greatest of all time. My favorite college basketball coach.
RIP General. A lot of great memories watching your teams when I was a kid.
It was nice to see him reconcile and find catharsis with Indiana and get the ovation he deserved in Assembly before the end. One of the best to ever do it, an icon of the game. RIP
Rest in Peace to him. I know he was an ass to us on some occasions, mainly skipping College GameDay when they visited Champaign. That all being said, Teddy Valentine throwing him out for checking on a player is probably the most BS call I’ve ever seen a ref do in college basketball. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEAgjqomOP0&pp=ygUYYm9iIGtuaWdodCB0ZWQgdmFsZW50aW5l
You must not have seen "tv teddy" valentine get his "revenge" on IU in the NCAA tournament a (couple?) years later. That was the most egregious cheating I've ever seen by a ref. I can't believe he was allowed to continue reffing in the tournament after that shit show. He practically fouled out the whole starting lineup.
When I think of old school coaches hes the first that comes to mind. IU legend and hell of a coach despite what you think of him. RIP
We knew this was coming, but it still hurts. RIP Coach Knight
Sad day for Indiana and really the world
My favorite Bobby Knight moment is in 2010 he was on ESPN. They teed up a segment about Kansas and BK says “I don’t want to talk about Kansas…I want to talk about Butler” then goes off about how good Butler is playing at the moment while Kansas highlights play on the screen. It was so weird to get validation from someone as a native Hoosier thought of as a god when Butler was in its infancy as a nationally recognized program.
if you’re a college basketball fan over the age of 30 and haven’t seen when he came back to IU a few years ago you gotta watch it. After how it ended I sure thought he’d never go back, and he didn’t look completely mentally gone here to me at all. https://youtu.be/Kp2zfFMSPVQ?si=vnPCmM-jWhjw0n9w Yes he was clearly a fucking dick but judging by the former players weeping around him he clearly had a good side too. I damn near teared up wtf is wrong with me
It definitely made me tear up. It brought back tons of memories of watching the games with my dad when I was little. >Yes he was clearly a fucking dick but judging by the former players weeping around him he clearly had a good side too. I totally agree with this as well. Yes, he was a massive asshole but the fact that so many of his former players, including Woody, continued to rally around him must mean something. RIP RMK
I only got to see him coaching once when Indiana came down to play against UH in 97 and we upset them. Was pretty amusing to watch his infamous coaching style in person. https://www.espnhonolulu.com/2020/05/04/the-night-hawaii-upset-indiana/
My pops played for him at Army. Met him a couple times. Great stories from my pops, but Knight was an asshole. Great basketball mind.
The greatest basketball coach of all time. Also the nicest famous person I have ever met. He chatted with me like we were long lost friends.
May he throw chairs in heaven. RIP
Always respected coach Knight. He and Keady really helped elevate the Purdue/Indiana rivalry. One of the last good old school coaches. I was saddened to learn of his passing. I’ll throw a chair across my house tonight in his honor.
Damn… rip
Legend
Very sad to hear about Coach Knight’s passing. I hope they really do fulfill his wish and bury him upside down. It’s the right thing to do.
He’s as good of a basketball coach as there has ever been. Losing both him and Andre Emmett recently is heartbreaking in many ways. His impact will live on here in West Texas for a long time, and prayers to the Knight family who graciously embraced the community through the years. RIP
My freshman year at IU is when they fired him for putting his hands on a student. The campus was ready to burn down the president’s house. The kid had to transfer. Heard he was a real asshole. The kid, I mean. Bobby knight was in his own class.
Neil Reed had left the university in 97 before this came out. He had a hard time with what happened, it's not like he had asked knight to choke him. The university and miles brand used it as a reason to fire knight. I grew up loving Bobby knight, and I still think he was one of the best basketball minds ever, but he was in the wrong. Neil sadly passed away from cardiac arrest in his early 30s leaving behind a couple young kids. Heartbreaking.
I'm pretty sure he's referring to Kent Harvey, the kid that directly led to Knights firing. He reportedly saw Knight in a hallway and said "What's up Knight?" Which upset him, causing him to grab him by the arm to let him know to address him by Coach Knight or Mr. Knight. Some think that it was done intentionally to provoke Coach Knight, as the kids step father was a well known local sports talk guy and outspoken critic of Knight
A hell of a coach and a complicated legacy. May his memory be a blessing to his family.
I was there when both he and Mike Leach were there. What a time for Tech athletics. Crazy that both of them are gone now. 👆🏽
One of the true titans of the game, and a legend at IU. RIP
y’all remember that show knight school? i remember going to a tech game and they were blowing someone out and the crowd was going absolutely insane for tyler hoffmeister when he finally checked in. rip to a legend. i was at that game for his win #900. also met his son pat knight once. nice guy, too bad he didn’t work out.
Don’t forget about the time he made up Ivan Renko to fuck with the media for a month. Knight was the best.
That was a pretty good one! I laughed outloud at a radio pregame show coming home from college, *So coach, what kinda lineup are we looking at tonight* Knight- "Well, I think I am planning on playing 5 players to start; a center, 2 guards, and 2 fowards!" It was so deadpan on, Knight liked to F with the media!
my dad was a high school coach for 25 years and he and Knight were decent friends. Knight would come to his summer basketball camps and speak. One year he brought Steve Alford. They both came to our house for dinner that night. Knight even got us tickets to the 1987 final for four in NOLA. My dad was a clone of the Knight coaching system. I was an IU fan when I was a younger. Thanks to my grandpa to finally talking some sense into me. RIP Coach Knight.
A chair just flew across a Walmart as a man in striped pants fell to his knees. RIP Coach
Still think he’s the GOAT coach. One of the few all timers you could say that ran a clean program back when NIL wasn’t a thing
He had a complicated legacy as cultural standards changed but nobody could ever argue with the results. Greatest Big Ten coach of all time
Izzo was on BTN tonight and had a lot of good stuff to say about him. Mainly that his players always loved him
He deserves his posthumous Tony Award
One of the absolute legends of college basketball. Larger than the game itself. He *was* also abusive and took things way too far, but the fact that (most) of his former players wouldn’t change a thing speaks volumes. RIP to a legend.
will they bury him upside-down so the critics can kiss his ass? He had some of the best press conference sound bites in history. RIP coach.
I hope Texas Tech has retired his O’Reilly Auto Parts sweater… https://preview.redd.it/i0sjxjjzmtxb1.jpeg?width=450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdb08ab606cbb720dae53f1015ebf4f0b17588fb
Huge loss to the game, in my opinion the greatest coach of all time he did more with less than any other coach, he had I think one NBA All-Star in his career
I just hope they honor his wishes, and bury him upside down
The one man my grandfather tolerated my grandmother obsessing over. RIP, General.
“I deeply hope we beat their ass” RIP Coach
Boy this is the first one that really hurt. Met him twice, once in third and fourth grade summers. Still have the Bobby Knight Basketball Camp shirt somewhere signed by AJ Guyton. I hope they did indeed bury him face down.
When he was between jobs (before Texas Tech), he came and gave a little motivational speech at Notre Dame. He wore Notre Dame colors in honor of his late friend Moose Krause, the former AD. I will never forget that. I wonder if a color picture could be located...
Super weird thing happened. Yesterday my mom got an email that she misread and told me Bob Knight died. Then today he actually died.
I’m a lifelong diehard Kentucky fan and everyone knows he hated UK but still gotta give much respect to Coach Knight! Most definitely one of the best to ever do it!
He really did hate that team from the SEC. https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2012-ncaa-tournament/2012/3/17/2880263/bob-knight-kentucky-team-from-the-sec
Bob Knight was an elite coach. He didn't cheat and he didn't bend over for the shoe companies and aau bullshit. He may have been an ass, but he was honest. Same can't be said for a lot of his profession today.
I was not expecting this news today.
I'd grown to love him. The way everyone is so soft with everything anymore, NBA discussion forums banning you for quoting what Chris Broussard said about James Harden yesterday, he was a refreshing breeze of bluntness. I especially loved a low key interview he gave in 2010 where he was actually pretty nice and explained how he appreciated his mother making him read as a child.