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Bobby Knight

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Bobby Knight's Message to the Fans

Biography

Robert Montgomery (Bob or Bobby) Knight (born October 25, 1940, in Massillon, Ohio),[1] also known as "The General", is an American former college basketball head coach. He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at Texas Tech before announcing his retirement on February 4, 2008.[2] He was previously the head coach at Indiana University and at the United States Military Academy.

Knight has won more NCAA Division I men's basketball games than any other head coach. On January 1, 2007, he achieved his 880th victory, which broke the record previously held by Dean Smith. His 900th victory came just over a year later, on January 16, 2008.

From 1971–2000, Knight coached at Indiana, where he led his teams to three NCAA championships, one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship, and eleven Big Ten Conference championships. For his accomplishments, he received the National Coach of the Year honor four times, and the Big Ten Coach of the Year honor six times.[3] In 1984, he coached the Michael Jordan-led U.S. Olympic basketball team to win a gold medal, becoming one of only three coaches to win the "triple crown" with an NCAA title, NIT title, and an Olympic gold medal.[4]

Due to his in-game behavior, Knight is one of NCAA Division I college basketball's most controversial coaches. He has thrown a chair across the court during a game, been arrested for physical assault, and has displayed a combative nature during encounters with members of the press. On the other hand, Knight has been praised for running clean programs (none of his teams have ever been sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations) and graduating most of his players. Knight still commands a following among fans of the Indiana Hoosiers basketball program.[5]

For 2008, Knight joined ESPN as a men's college basketball studio analyst during Championship Week and for coverage of the NCAA Tournament.[6]

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Sport Basketball

Born October 25, 1940 (1940-10-25) (age 67)

Place of birth Massillon, Ohio

Career highlights

Overall 902–371

Championships

NCAA Division I Tournament Championship (1976, 1981, 1987)

NIT Championship (1979)

Big Ten Regular Season Championship (1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993)

Awards

Henry Iba Award (1975, 1989)

Naismith College Coach of the Year (1987)

Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award (2002)

Big Ten Coach of the Year (1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1989)

Naismith Award for Men's Outstanding Contribution to Basketball (2007)

Playing career

1959–1962 Ohio State

Position Point guard

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1962–1963

1963–1965

1965–1971

1971–2000

2001–2008 Cuyahoga Falls HS *

Army *

Army

Indiana

Texas Tech

* Denotes assistant

Basketball Hall of Fame, 1991

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Playing career

Bob Knight began his career as a player at Orrville High School where he played football and basketball. He continued under Basketball Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor at Ohio State University in 1958. He was a reserve on the Buckeyes' 1960 NCAA Division I 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.

Coaching career

Army

After graduation in 1962, Knight coached junior varsity basketball at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Ohio for one year. Knight then enlisted in the U.S. Army and accepted an assistant coaching position at Army 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 Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Season records under Knight

Indiana

Knight was noticed as a rising star, and when Indiana University was seeking a new coach in 1971, they turned to Knight. Educated in military history, Knight was given the nickname "The General" by former University of Detroit and Detroit Pistons coach-turned-broadcaster Dick Vitale.

Indiana reached the Final Four in 1973, losing to UCLA. In 1975, the Hoosiers were undefeated and the number one team in the nation, when leading scorer Scott May suffered a broken arm in a win over arch-rival Purdue. Indiana subsequently lost 92–90 to Kentucky in the regional finals of the NCAA tournament, with May playing with a heavily-braced arm.

In 1976, the Hoosiers were undefeated at 32–0 and won the championship, beating conference rivals Michigan 86–68 in the title game. Immediately after the game, Knight lamented that "it should have been two." No Division I men's team has had an undefeated season including a championship since, although UNLV went undefeated in the regular season before losing in the semifinals of the 1991 NCAA tournament.

Knight's Hoosiers also won championships in 1981, with future NBA and Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas, beating North Carolina 63–50; and in 1987 with guard Steve Alford, beating Syracuse 74–73 on a last-second shot by Keith Smart.

Indiana won the 1979 NIT championship, and Knight led the U.S. national team to a gold medal in the Olympic Games as coach of the Michael Jordan-led 1984 team (coaches do not receive medals in the Olympics). He also won eleven Big Ten Conference titles. Knight is one of only four coaches to win NCAA, NIT, and Olympic championships, joining Dean Smith of North Carolina, Adolph Rupp of Kentucky, and Pete Newell of California. Knight is the only coach to win the NCAA, the NIT, the Olympic Gold and the Pan-Am Gold.

The Indiana Hoosiers were undefeated in Big Ten Conference play from 1974 to 1976, and lost only one game during the period (the aforementioned regional final against Kentucky).

In 1991, Knight was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in his second year of eligibility. After he wasn't elected in his first year of eligibility, Knight told the committee to take his name off the list, but they denied his request.

"Zero tolerance"

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.[10] Knight denied the claims in the story.

However, on April 11, 2000 CNN/SI aired a tape of an IU practice from 1997 that showed Knight with his hand around the neck of Neil Reed.[11]

In May of that year, Indiana University president Myles Brand (currently executive director of the NCAA) announced that he had adopted a "zero tolerance" policy with regard to Bob Knight's behavior.[12]

Termination from Indiana

In September 2000, an IU freshman named Kent Harvey reportedly said, "Hey, Knight, what's up?" to Knight. According to Harvey, Knight grabbed him by the arm and lectured him for not showing proper respect.[13]

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, however, he then relieved Knight of his duties immediately. That evening, a crowd of thousands of students swarmed Bloomington in protest.[13]

Harvey was supported by some and vilified by many who claim he intentionally set up Knight. Knight's supporters contend he was the victim of a media smear campaign organized by enemies in the IU administration and that the majority of Brand's reasons for firing Knight were not credible. However, Knight has said he didn't think he was set up.

The following day, September 11, Knight said goodbye to a crowd of some 6,000 supporters at Indiana University. He asked that they not hold a grudge against Harvey and that they let Harvey get on with his education and his life.[14] Knight's firing made national headlines including the cover of Sports Illustrated and around the clock coverage on ESPN. It was also mentioned on major news programs such as CBS News and CNN.

Season records under Knight

Source: [15]

Texas Tech

After taking the next season off, all the while on the lookout for vacancies, Knight accepted the head coaching job at Texas Tech. At the press conference introducing him, Knight quipped, "This is the most comfortable red sweater I've had on in six years."

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.

Knight has a high regard for education and has made generous donations to Texas Tech. On November 29, 2007, the Tech library honored this with A Legacy of Giving: The Bob Knight Exhibit. When Knight came to the school in 2001, he gave $10,000, the first gift to the Coach Knight Library Fund which has now collected over $300,000.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18]

According to Knight's biographer, Bob Hammel, Knight is expected to continue living in Lubbock.[19]

Season records under Knight