Bob Knight
Bob Knight in 2008
Sport(s)	Basketball
Biographical details
Born	(1940-10-25) October 25, 1940 (age 71) Massillon, Ohio
Playing career
1959–1962	Ohio State
Position(s)	Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1962–1963 1963–1965 1965–1971 1971–2000 1984 2001–2008	Cuyahoga Falls H.S. (asst.) Army (asst.) Army Indiana U.S. Men's Olympic Team Texas Tech
Head coaching record
Overall	902–371 (.709)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships As a player: NCAA Division I Tournament Championship (1960) Regional Championships - Final Four (3) (1960, 1961, 1962) Big Ten Regular Season Championship (3) (1960, 1961, 1962) As a head coach: NCAA Division I Tournament Championship (3) (1976, 1981, 1987) Regional Championships - Final Four (5) (1973, 1976, 1981, 1987, 1992) Olympic Games (1984 Gold Medal) Big Ten Regular Season Championship (11) (1973,1974,1975,1976,1980,1981,1983,1987,1989,1991,1993) NIT Tournament Championship (1979)
Awards Henry Iba Award (2) (1975, 1989) Naismith College Coach of the Year (1987) Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award (2002) Big Ten Coach of the Year (8) 1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1992, 1993 Naismith Award for Men's Outstanding Contribution to Basketball (2007)
Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1991
Medal record Head Coach for  United States men's national basketball team Olympic Games Gold 1984 Los Angeles Men's Basketball

Robert Montgomery "Bob" Knight (born October 25, 1940) is a retired American basketball coach. Nicknamed "The General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, second all-time to his former player, Mike Krzyzewski. He is most well known as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers from 1971–2000. He also coached briefly at Texas Tech (2001–2008) and at West Point (1965–1971).^[1]

While at Indiana, Knight led his teams to three NCAA championships, one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship, and 11 Big Ten Conference championships. He received the National Coach of the Year honor four times and the Big Ten Coach of the Year honor eight times. In 1984, he coached the USA men's Olympic team to a gold medal, becoming one of only three basketball coaches to win an NCAA title, NIT title, and an Olympic gold medal.^[2]

Knight was one of college basketball's most successful and innovative coaches, having perfected and popularized the motion offense. He has also been praised for running clean programs (none of his teams was ever sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations) and graduating most of his players. However, Knight has also attracted controversy; he famously threw a chair across the court during a game, was once arrested for assault, and regularly displayed a combative nature during encounters with members of the press.^[3] Knight remains "the object of near fanatical devotion" from his former players and Indiana fans.^[4]

In 2008, Knight joined ESPN as a men's college basketball studio analyst during Championship Week and for coverage of the NCAA Tournament.^[5] For the 2008–09 season, he joined ESPN as a part-time color commentator as well as continuing his studio analyst duties.

Playing career[link]

Knight was born in Massillon, Ohio and grew up in Orrville, Ohio.^[6] Knight began his career as a player at Orrville High School. He continued under Basketball Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor at Ohio State in 1958. He was a reserve forward on the Buckeyes' 1960 national championship team, which featured future Hall of Fame players John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas. In addition to lettering in basketball at Ohio State, it has been claimed that Knight also lettered in football and baseball;^[7] however, the official list of Ohio State football letter earners does not include Knight.^[8] Knight graduated with a degree in history and government in 1962.

Army Black Knights[link]

After graduation in 1962, Knight coached junior varsity basketball at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Ohio for one year.^[9] Knight then enlisted in the U.S. Army and accepted an assistant coaching position with the Army Black Knights in 1963, where, two years later, he was named the head coach at the relatively young age of 24. In six seasons at West Point, Knight won 102 games, with his first as a head coach coming against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. One of his players was Mike Krzyzewski, who would later serve as his assistant before becoming a Hall of Fame head coach at Duke.

Indiana University Hoosiers[link]

In 1971 the Indiana University Hoosiers hired Knight as head coach. Because of his time spent coaching at Army and his disciplinarian nature, Knight earned the nickname "The General." During his 29 years as head coach at Indiana, the Hoosiers won 662 games, including 22 seasons of 20 or more wins, while losing but 239, a remarkable .735 winning percentage. In 24 NCAA appearances at Indiana, Hoosier teams under Bob Knight won 42 of 63 games (.667), winning titles in 1975-76, 1980-81, and 1986-87, while finishing third in 1973 and 1992.

1970s[link]

In 1972–73, Knight's second year as coach, Indiana won the Big Ten championship and reached the Final Four, but lost to UCLA. The following season, 1973–74, Indiana once again captured a Big Ten title. In the two following seasons, 1974-75 and 1975-76, Knight's teams were undefeated in the regular season and won 37-consecutive Big Ten games on their way to their fourth conference title in a row. The 1974-75 Hoosiers swept the entire Big Ten by an average of 22.8 points per game. However, in a 83-82 win against Purdue they lost consensus All-American forward Scott May to a broken left arm. With May playing just 7 mins,^[10] the No. 1 Hoosiers lost to Kentucky 92-90 in the Mideast Regional. The following season, 1975–76, the Hoosiers went the entire season and 1976 NCAA tournament without a single loss, beating Michigan 86–68 in the title game. Immediately after the game, Knight lamented that "it should have been two." Indiana remains the last school to go undefeated an entire season.^[11][12] Indiana won the 1979 NIT championship.

1980s[link]

The 1979-80 Hoosiers won the Big Ten championship and advanced to the 1980 Sweet Sixteen. The following season, in 1980-81, star-guard Isiah Thomas and Knight's Hoosiers once again won a conference title and won the 1981 NCAA tournament, Knight's second national title. In 1982–1983, Knight's No. 1 ranked Hoosiers were favorites to win another national championship. However with an injury to All-American Ted Kitchel mid-season, the Hoosiers prospects were grim. Knight asked for fan support to rally around the team, which ultimately won the Big Ten championship. Nevertheless in the tournament Kitchel's absence was felt and the team lost to Kentucky in the 1983 Sweet Sixteen.

Knight with young fans in Columbus, Ohio in the summer of 1988

Knight and his 1985-86 team were profiled in a best-selling book A Season on the Brink. To write it Knight granted author John Feinstein almost unprecedented access to the Indiana basketball program, as well as insights into Knight's private life. Feinstein depicts a coach who is quick with a violent temper, but also one who never cheats and strictly follows all of the NCAA's rules. The following season, in 1986-87, Knight won a share of the Big Ten title and his third national championship against Syracuse in the 1987 NCAA tournament.^[13] In the 1988–1989 season the Hoosiers again won a Big Ten championship.

1990s[link]

From 1990-91 through 1992-93, the Hoosiers posted 87 victories, the most by any Big Ten team in a three-year span, breaking the mark of 86 set by Coach Knight's Indiana teams of 1974-76. Teams from these three seasons spent all but two of the 53 poll weeks in the top 10, and 38 of them in the top 5. They captured two Big Ten crowns in 1990-91 and 1992-93, and during the 1991-92 season reached the Final Four. During the 1992-93 season, the 31-4 Hoosiers finished the season at the top of the AP Poll, but were defeated by Kansas in the Elite Eight.

Throughout the mid and late 1990's Knight continued to experience success with continual NCAA tournament appearances and a minimum of 19 wins each season. However, 1993 would be Knight's last conference championship and 1994 would be his last trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Moreover, his portrayal in the media often brought as much controversy to the school as success.

Controversial dismissal[link]

On March 14, 2000, just before Indiana was to begin play in the NCAA tournament, the CNN/SI network ran a piece on Knight in which former player Neil Reed claimed he was choked by Knight in a 1997 practice.^[14] Knight denied the claims in the story. However, less than a months later CNN Sports Illustrated aired a tape of an IU practice from 1997 that appeared to show Knight placing his hand on the neck of Neil Reed.^[15]

In response, Indiana University president Myles Brand announced that spring he had adopted a "zero tolerance" policy with regard to Bob Knight's behavior.^[17] Later in the year, in September 2000, Indiana freshman Kent Harvey reportedly said, "Hey, Knight, what's up?" to Knight. According to Harvey, Knight then grabbed him by the arm and lectured him for not showing proper respect.^[15] Brand stated that this incident was only one of numerous complaints that occurred after the zero-tolerance policy had been placed on Knight. He asked Knight to resign on September 10. When Knight refused, Brand relieved him of his coaching duties effective immediately. Later that evening, a crowd of thousands of students swarmed Bloomington in protest, burning Brand in effigy.^[15]

Harvey was supported by some and vilified by many who claim he intentionally set up Knight. Kent Harvey's stepfather, Mark Shaw, was a former Bloomington-area radio talk show host and Knight critic.^[18] On September 13, Knight said goodbye to a crowd of some 6,000 supporters in Dunn Meadow at Indiana University. He asked that they not hold a grudge against Harvey and that they continue to support the basketball team.^[19] Knight's firing made national headlines including the cover of Sports Illustrated and around the clock coverage on ESPN. It was also covered heavily on major news programs such as CBS News and CNN.

International coaching[link]

In 1979 Knight guided the United States Pan American team to a gold medal in Puerto Rico. In 1984 Knight led the U.S. national team to a gold medal in the Olympic Games as coach of the 1984 basketball team (coaches do not receive medals in the Olympics). Players on the team included Michael Jordan and Knight's Indiana player and protege Steve Alford.

Texas Tech Red Raiders[link]

Knight watches his team practice in November 2007.

After taking a season off following his dismissal from Indiana, all the while on the lookout for vacancies, Knight accepted the head coaching job at Texas Tech, though his hiring was opposed by a group of faculty led by Walter Schaller.^[20] At the press conference introducing him, Knight quipped, "This is without question the most comfortable red sweater I've had on in six years."^[21]

Knight quickly improved the program, which had not been to an NCAA tournament since 1996. He led the Red Raiders to postseason appearances in each of his first four years at the school (three NCAA Championship tournaments and one NIT). After a rough 2006 season, the team improved in 2007, finishing 21–13 and again making it to the NCAA Championship tournament, where it lost to Boston College in the first round. The best performance by the Red Raiders under Knight came in 2005 when they advanced as far as the Sweet Sixteen. In both 2006 and 2007 under Knight, Texas Tech defeated two Top 10-ranked teams in consecutive weeks. During Knight's first six years at Texas Tech, the Red Raiders won 126 games, an average of 21 wins per season.

On February 4, 2008, Bob Knight retired as head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. His son Pat Knight, the head coach designate since 2005, was immediately named as his successor. The younger Knight stated that, after many years of coaching, his father was exhausted and ready to retire.^[22] Just after achieving his 900th win, Knight handed the job over to Pat in the mid-season in part to allow him to get acquainted with coaching the team earlier, instead of having him wait until October, the start of the next season.^[23] Following retirement Knight continued living in Lubbock.^[24]

Coaching philosophy[link]

Bob Knight was an innovator of the motion offense, which he perfected and popularized.^[25] The system emphasizes post players setting screens and perimeter players passing the ball until a teammate becomes open for an uncontested jump shot or lay-up. This required players to be unselfish, disciplined, and effective in setting and using screens to get open. Knight's Army background and his focus on fundamentals, strict discipline, and precision earned him the nickname "General".

Knight's motion offense didn't take shape until his time at Indiana. Prior to that, at Army, he ran a "reverse action" that involved reversing the ball from one side of the floor to the other and screening along with it.^[25] According to Knight, it was a "West Coast offense" that Pete Newell used exclusively during his coaching career. After being exposed to the Princeton offense, Knight instilled more cutting with the offense he employed, which evolved into the motion offense that he ran for most of his career.^[25] Knight continued to develop the offense, instituting different cuts over the years and putting his players in different scenarios.

Knight was well known for the extreme preparation he put into each game and practice. He was often quoted as saying, "Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win."^[26] Often during practice, Knight would instruct his players to a certain spot on the floor and give them options of what to do based on how the defense might react.^[25] In contrast to set plays, Knight's offense was designed to react according to the defense.

The 3-point shot was adopted nationally in the NCAA in 1986, mid-way through Knight's coaching career. Although he opposed the rule change throughout his life, it did compliment his offense well by improving the spacing on the floor.^[25] Knight's offense also emphasized a two-count.^[25] Players in the post are expected to try and post in the paint for two seconds and if they don't receive the ball they go set a screen. Players with the ball are expected to hold the ball for two seconds to see where they are going to take it. Screens are supposed to be held for two seconds, as well.

On defense Knight was known for emphasizing tenacious "man-to-man" defense where defenders contest every pass and every shot, and to help teammates when needed. However, Knight has also incorporated a zone defense periodically after eschewing that defense for the first two decades of his coaching career.^[27]

Knight's coaching also included a firm emphasis on academics. All but four of his four-year players completed degrees, a ratio of nearly 98 percent. Nearly 80 percent of his players graduated compared to the national average of 42 percent for Division I schools.^[28]

Legacy[link]

Accomplishments[link]

Bob Knight's all time coaching record is 902-371. His 902 wins in NCAA Division I men's college basketball games is second all-time to his former player, Mike Krzyzewski. Knight achieved his 880th career win on January 1, 2007 and passed retired North Carolina coach Dean Smith for most career victories, a title he held until his win total was surpassed by Krzyzewski on November 15, 2011. Knight is the youngest coach to reach 200 (age 35), 300 (age 40) and 400 (age 44) wins. He was also among the youngest to reach other milestones of 500 (age 48) and 600 (age 52) wins. However, Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith are both ahead of him in win differential (difference between wins and losses).

Texas Tech's participation in the 2007 NCAA Tournament gave Knight more NCAA Tournaments appearances than any other coach.^[29] He is the only coach to win the NCAA, the NIT, an Olympic Gold medal, and a Pan American Games Gold medal.^[29] Knight is also one of only three people, along with Dean Smith and Joe B. Hall, who had both played on and coached a winning NCAA championship basketball team.

Recognition[link]

Knight received a number of personal honors during and after his coaching career. He was named the National Coach of the Year four times (1975, 1976, 1987, 1989) and Big Ten Coach of the Year eight times (1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1992, 1993). In 1975 he was a unanimous selection as National Coach of the Year, an honor he was accorded again in 1976 by Associated Press, United Press International, and Basketball Weekly. In 1987 he was the first person to be honored with the Naismith Coach of the Year Award. In 1989 he garnered National Coach of the Year honors by the AP, UPI, and the United States Basketball Writers Association. Knight was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.

Knight with Krzyzewski

On November 17, 2006, Knight was recognized for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. The following year he was the recipient of the Naismith Award for Men's Outstanding Contribution to Basketball.^[30] Knight was also inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame (Class of 2008) and the Indiana Hoosiers athletics Hall of Fame (Class of 2009). In August 2003, he was honored as the first inductee in The Vince Lombardi Titletown Legends.

Coaching tree[link]

A number of assistant coaches, players, and managers of Knight have gone on to be coaches. Among them are Hall of Fame Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, and NBA coaches Randy Wittman, Mike Woodson, Keith Smart, and Lawrence Frank.

Bob Knight in the media[link]

Books about Knight[link]

In 1986 author John Feinstein published A Season on the Brink, which detailed the 1985-86 season of the Indiana Hoosiers. Granted almost unprecedented access to the Indiana basketball program, as well as insights into Knight's private life, the book quickly became a major best-seller and spawned a new genre, as a legion of imitators wrote works covering a single year of a sports franchise. In the book Feinstein depicts a coach who is quick with a violent temper, but also one who never cheats and strictly follows all of the NCAA's rules.

Two years later author Joan Mellen penned the book Bob Knight: His Own Man (ISBN 0-380-70809-4), in part to rebut Feinstein's A Season on the Brink. Mellen deals with seemingly all the causes celebres in Knight's career and presents the view that he is more sinned against than sinning.

A number of close associates and friends of Knight have also written books about him. Former player and current New Mexico head basketball coach Steve Alford wrote Playing for Knight: My Six Seasons with Bobby Knight, published in 1990.

Knight's autobiography, written with longtime friend and sports journalist Bob Hammel, was titled Knight: My Story and published in 2003. Three years later Steve Delsohn and Mark Heisler wrote Bob Knight: An Unauthorized Biography.

Film and television[link]

Knight has appeared or been featured in numerous films and television productions. In 1994 a feature film titled Blue Chips was about Pete Bell, a volatile but honest college basketball coach under pressure to win who decides to blatantly violate NCAA rules to field a competitive team after a sub-par season. It starred Nick Nolte as Bell and NBA star Shaquille O'Neal as Neon Bodeaux, a once-in-a-lifetime player Bell woos to his school with gifts and other perks. The coach's temper and wardrobe were modeled after Knight's, though at no time has Knight been known to illegally recruit. Knight himself appears in the movie and coaches against Nolte in the film's climactic game.

ESPN's first feature-length film was A Season on the Brink, a 2002 TV adaptation from John Feinstein's book. In the movie Knight is played by veteran character actor Brian Dennehy. ESPN also featured Knight in a reality show titled Knight School, which followed a handful of Texas Tech students as they competed for the right to join the basketball team as a non-scholarship player.

Knight made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2003 film Anger Management. In 2008, Knight appeared in a commercial as part of Volkswagen's Das Auto series where Max, a 1964 black Beetle interviews famous people. When Knight talked about Volkswagen winning the best resale value award in 2008, Max replied, "At least one of us is winning a title this year." This prompted Knight to throw his chair off the stage and walk out saying, "I may not be retired."^[31]