Bob Knight

Bob Knight

Robert Montgomery "Bob" or "Bobby" Knight (born October 25, 1940) is a retired American basketball coach. Nicknamed "The General", Knight has won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, more than any other head coach. On January 1, 2007, he achieved his 880th victory, breaking the record held by Dean Smith. His 900th victory came on January 16, 2008.

He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at Texas Tech before announcing his retirement on February 4, 2008. He was previously the head coach at Indiana University and at the United States Military Academy.

From 1971–2000, Knight coached the Indiana Hoosiers, 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. 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.

Knight was one of college basketball's most controversial coaches. He threw a chair across the court during a game, was arrested for assault, and 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.

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

Biography

Playing career

Knight was born in Massillon, Ohio and grew up in Orrville. 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 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; however, the official list of Ohio State football letter earners does not include Knight. 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 is Hall of Fame and current Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Season records under Knight

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Army Black Knights (Independent) (1965–1971)
1965–1966	Army	18–8			NIT Semifinals
1966–1967	Army	13–8			—
1967–1968	Army	20–5			NIT First Round
1968–1969	Army	18–10			NIT Semifinals
1969–1970	Army	22–6			NIT Semifinals
1970–1971	Army	11–13			—
Army:		102–50	N/A
Total:		102–50
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

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 Michigan 86–68 in the title game. Immediately after the game, Knight lamented that "it should have been two." No other Division I men's team has had an undefeated season including a championship since, although Indiana State University, in 1979 went undefeated in the regular season before losing in the Championship Game and UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball|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.

"When my time on Earth is gone, and my activities here are past, I want they bury me upside down, and my critics can kiss my ass."

—Bob Knight, March 1994

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 three coaches to win NCAA, NIT, and Olympic championships, joining Dean Smith of North Carolina, 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. Knight denied the claims in the story.

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

In May of that year, Indiana University president Myles Brand announced that he had adopted a "zero tolerance" policy with regard to Bob Knight's behavior.

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.

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.

Harvey was supported by some and vilified by many who claim he intentionally set up Knight. Kent Harvey's stepfather, Mark Shaw, is a former Bloomington-area radio talk show host and Knight critic. 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. 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

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Indiana Hoosiers (Big Ten Conference) (1971–2000)
1971–1972	Indiana	17–8	9–5	T-3rd	NIT First Round
1972–1973	Indiana	22–6	11–3	1st	NCAA Final Four
1973–1974	Indiana	23–5	12–2	T-1st	CCAT Champions
1974–1975	Indiana	31–1	18–0	1st	NCAA Elite Eight
1975–1976	Indiana	32–0	18–0	1st	NCAA Champions
1976–1977	Indiana	16–11	11–7	5th	—
1977–1978	Indiana	21–8	12–6	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1978–1979	Indiana	22–12	10–8	5th	NIT Champions
1979–1980	Indiana	21–8	13–5	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1980–1981	Indiana	26–9	14–4	1st	NCAA Champions
1981–1982	Indiana	19–10	12–6	T-2nd	NCAA Second Round
1982–1983	Indiana	24–6	13–5	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1983–1984	Indiana	22–9	13–5	3rd	NCAA Elite Eight
1984–1985	Indiana	19–14	7–11	7th	NIT Finals
1985–1986	Indiana	21–8	13–5	2nd	NCAA First Round
1986–1987	Indiana	30–4	15–3	T-1st	NCAA Champions
1987–1988	Indiana	19–10	11–7	5th	NCAA First Round
1988–1989	Indiana	27–8	15–3	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1989–1990	Indiana	18–11	8–10	7th	NCAA First Round
1990–1991	Indiana	29–5	15–3	T-1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1991–1992	Indiana	27–7	14–4	2nd	NCAA Final Four
1992–1993	Indiana	31–4	17–1	1st	NCAA Elite Eight
1993–1994	Indiana	21–9	12–6	3rd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1994–1995	Indiana	19–12	11–7	T-3rd	NCAA First Round
1995–1996	Indiana	19–12	12–6	T-2nd	NCAA First Round
1996–1997	Indiana	22–11	9–9	T-6th	NCAA First Round
1997–1998	Indiana	20–12	9–7	T-5th	NCAA Second Round
1998–1999	Indiana	23–11	9–7	T-3rd	NCAA Second Round
1999–2000	Indiana	20–9	10–6	5th	NCAA First Round
Indiana:		661–240	353–151
Total:		661–240
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Source:

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, though his hiring was opposed by a group of faculty led by Walter Schaller. At the press conference introducing him, Knight quipped, "This is without question 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.

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. 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.

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

Season records under Knight

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Texas Tech Red Raiders (Big 12 Conference) (2001–2008)
2001–2002	Texas Tech	23–9	10–6	T–3rd	NCAA First Round
2002–2003	Texas Tech	22–13	6–10	T–7th	NIT Semifinals
2003–2004	Texas Tech	23–11	9–7	T–5th	NCAA Second Round
2004–2005	Texas Tech	22–11	10–6	4th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2005–2006	Texas Tech	15–17	6–10	T–7th	—
2006–2007	Texas Tech	21–13	9–7	5th	NCAA First Round
2007–2008	Texas Tech	12–8*	3–3*	T–6th*
Texas Tech:		138–82	53–49	(*) Indicates record/standing at time of resignation from Texas Tech.
Total:		138–82
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Source:

Basketball philosophy

Bob Knight's motion offense 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 requires players to be unselfish, disciplined, and effective in the setting and use of screens to get open. On defense, players are required both to tenaciously guard opponents man-to-man and to help teammates when needed, although Knight has also incorporated using a zone defense periodically after eschewing that defense for the first two decades of his coaching career.

Coaching victories and awards

On January 1, 2007, Knight achieved his 880th career win at Texas Tech, passing retired North Carolina coach Dean Smith for the most career NCAA Division I men's college basketball victories. The game was a 70–68 victory by the Red Raiders over the New Mexico Lobos. Knight trails both Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith in win differential, which is the difference between wins and losses and reflects Knight's lower lifetime winning percentage, as it took Knight 41 seasons and 100 extra games to achieve the record, compared with Smith's 36. However, Knight overtook Smith at a younger age (he was also one of the youngest or the youngest to reach milestones 200 (age 35), 300 (age 40), 400 (age 44), 500 (age 48) and 600 (age 52).) Knight chalked up win number 900 when the Red Raiders defeated the ninth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies, 68–53, on January 16, 2008.

Knight is also the only coach to win the NCAA, the NIT, the Olympic Gold, and the Pan American Games Gold.

The Red Raiders' participation in the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament marked another record. With their inclusion as the #10 seed in the East Regional, Knight became the coach to lead his team to more NCAA Tournaments than any other. However, the team lost to Boston College in the first round by a score of 84–75.

In 1987, Knight was the first person to be honored with the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award. Five years later, he received the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award. And, in 2007, he was the recipient of the Naismith Award for Men's Outstanding Contribution to Basketball. Knight was nominated to receive a 2007 ESPY Award in the category of Best Record Breaking Performance but was not chosen as the winner.

On May 29, 2008, Army Athletic Director Kevin Anderson announced that Knight would be one of ten persons inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame.

On September 20, 2008, Bobby Knight was inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2008 in a ceremony during Army's home football game against Akron, at Michie Stadium, West Point, New York.

Knight students

Main article: Coaching legacy of Bob Knight

A number of assistant coaches, players, and managers of Knight have gone on to be coaches. One of these is current Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Controversies

1970s

• It was reported (although years after the incident) that Knight choked and punched IU's longtime sports information director, Kit Klingelhofer, in the 1970s, over a news release that upset the coach.

• During the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Knight was accused of assaulting a police officer while coaching the US Basketball team before a practice session. He was later convicted in absentia to a six-month jail sentence, but extradition efforts by the Puerto Rican government were not successful.

1980s

• In 1985, Knight threw a chair across the court to protest a referee's call during a game against the rival Purdue Boilermakers. Knight was suspended for one game and received two years' probation from the Big Ten Conference.

• After being called for "...the cheapest technical foul I ever received" (Knight: My Story, pg. 292) during an NCAA regional tournament game against LSU in March 1987, Knight slammed his fist down on a telephone at the scorer's table while complaining to the head referee. After the tournament, Indiana University was fined $10,000, and Knight received a reprimand.

• During an exhibition game against the Soviet national team in November 1987, Knight ended the game by pulling his team off the floor half way through regulation. Knight had received two technical fouls for leaving the coach's box, while the Soviet coach had received none for committing the same offense. Enraged at the non-calls against the Soviet coach, Knight ordered his team off the floor after he was expelled, effectively ending the game, which the Hoosiers were losing at the time.

• Women's groups nationwide were outraged by Knight's comments during an April, 1988 interview with Connie Chung in which he said, "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it." Knight's comment was in reference to an Indiana basketball game in which he felt the referees were making poor calls against the Hoosiers.

1990s

• In 1992 prior to the NCAA regional finals, controversy erupted after Knight playfully mock whipped Indiana players Calbert Cheaney and Pat Graham during practice. The bullwhip had been given to Knight as a gift from his team, however, several black leaders complained at the racial connotations of the act (Cheaney is black.) (Knight: My Story, pg. 297.)

• During a game against Notre Dame in 1993, Knight allegedly kicked his son, Pat, who was then a player, after he made a bad play on the court. Later, both father and son claimed that Knight had really kicked the chair his son was sitting in.

• At Michigan State in 1994, Knight "head-butted" Indiana player Sherron Wilkerson, who had just sat down after coming out of the game. In his book, "Knight: My Story," Knight blamed the contact on severe back pain he was experiencing at the time, which flared as he bent over to speak to Wilkerson.

• Knight was shown berating an NCAA volunteer at a 1995 post-game press conference following a 65–60 loss to Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tournament held in Boise, Idaho. The volunteer, Rance Pugmire, informed the press that Knight would not be attending the press conference, when in reality, Knight was running a few minutes late and had planned on attending per NCAA rules. Knight was shown saying: "You've only got two people that are going to tell you I'm not going to be here. One is our SID [Sports Information Director], and the other is me. Who the hell told you I wasn't going to be here? I'd like to know. Do you have any idea who it was?...Who?...They were from Indiana, right?...No, they weren't from Indiana, and you didn't get it from anybody from Indiana, did you?...No, I—I'll handle this the way I want to handle it now that I'm here. You (EXPLETIVE) it up to begin with. Now just sit there or leave. I don't give (EXPLETIVE) what you do. Now back to the game."

• Former IU player Neil Reed alleged that Knight had grabbed him by the neck in a choking manner during a 1997 practice. A videotape of the incident was shown on CNN. [3]

2000s

• On February 19, 2000, Clarence Doninger, Knight's boss, alleged to have been physically threatened by the coach during a confrontation after a game. [4]

• An IU investigation inquired about an allegation in which Knight berated and physically intimidated a university secretary, once throwing a potted plant in anger, showering her with glass and debris. The University later asked the coach to issue an apology to the secretary. [5]

• It was alleged that Knight attacked assistant coach Ron Felling, throwing him out of a chair after overhearing him criticizing the basketball program in a phone conversation. [6]

• On September 8, 2000, IU freshman Kent Harvey told campus police Knight grabbed him roughly by the arm and berated him for speaking to the coach disrespectfully. Knight admitted putting his hand on the student's arm and lecturing him on civility, but denied that he was rough or raised his voice. The coach was fired from IU two days later. [7]

• Two days after Knight was fired from Indiana University, Jeremy Schaap of ESPN interviewed him and discussed his time at Indiana. Towards the end of the interview, Knight talked about his son, Patrick, who had also been dismissed by the university, wanting an opportunity to be a head coach. Schaap, thinking that Knight was finished, attempted to move on to another subject, but Knight insisted on continuing about his son. Schaap repeatedly tried to ask another question when Knight shifted the conversation to Schaap's style of interviewing, notably chastising him about interruptions. Knight then commented, "You've got a long way to go to be as good as your dad (referring to Schaap's father, Dick Schaap)!"
• In March 2006, a student's heckling at Baylor University resulted in Knight having to be restrained by a police officer. The incident was not severe enough to warrant any action from the Big 12 Conference.
• On November 13, 2006, Knight was shown allegedly hitting player Michael Prince under the chin to get him to make eye contact. Although Knight didn't comment on the incident afterwards and as of yet hasn't done so, Prince, his parents, and Texas Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers insisted that Knight did nothing wrong and that he merely lifted Prince's chin and told him "Hold your head up and don't worry about mistakes. Just play the game." Prince commented, "He was trying to teach me and I had my head down so he raised my chin up. He was telling me to go out there and don't be afraid to make mistakes. He said I was being too hard on myself."
• On October 21, 2007, James Simpson of Lubbock, Texas, accused Knight of firing a shotgun in his direction after he yelled at Knight and another man for hunting too close to his home. Knight denied the allegations. An argument between the two men was recorded via camera phone and aired later on television.
• On December 17, 2009 Knight insulted longtime rival Kentucky and its basketball coach John Calipari, saying "We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching," he said. "You see we've got a coach at Kentucky, who put two schools [UMass and Memphis] on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that."

Books about Bob Knight

Books about Knight include A Season on the Brink (ISBN 0-02-537230-0), by John Feinstein; Bob Knight: His Own Man, by Joan Mellen (ISBN 0-380-70809-4); and Playing for Knight: My Six Seasons with Bobby Knight, (ISBN 0-671-72441-X), by former player and current New Mexico head basketball coach Steve Alford.

In Bob Knight, His Own Man, Mellen characterized Feinstein's book as being banal (21).

In 2002, Knight and longtime friend and sports journalist Bob Hammel wrote his biography, Knight: My Story (ISBN 0-312-31117-6.)

In 2006, Bob Knight: An Unauthorized Biography, written by Steve Delsohn and Mark Heisler, was released. (ISBN 0-7432-4348-X)

Film and television

Blue Chips is a 1994 feature film 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 seem to be modeled after Knight's, but at no time has Knight been known to illegally recruit. Knight himself coaches against Nolte in the film's climactic game.

In 2002, veteran character actor Brian Dennehy portrayed Knight in A Season on the Brink, a TV film adapted from John Feinstein's book. It was ESPN's first feature-length film.

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."

Knight also made an appearance in a TV commercial for Guitar Hero: Metallica with fellow coaches Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, and Roy Williams, in a parody of Tom Cruise in Risky Business.

In 2009, Knight produced 3 instructional coaching DVD libraries, on motion offense, man to man defense and on coaching mental toughness, with Championship Productions.

A poster of Knight hangs above the desk of character Ron Swanson (played by Nick Offerman) in the NBC show Parks and Recreation.

In the Futurama episode "Time Keeps on Slippin'," Professor Farnsworth is coaching a team of atomic supermen against the Harlem Globetrotters when he loses his temper with his players and tosses a chair onto the court. Farnsworth is barely able to life the chair and can throw it only a few feet.

In the Freakazoid episode "Hero Boy", the behavior of Gutierrez's paranoid lackey Jocko was attributed to the fact that he "used to work for Bobby Knight".

Knight School

Main article: Knight School (TV series)

Knight was the central character in a reality show for ESPN. The show, titled Knight School, followed a handful of Texas Tech students as they competed for the right to join the Red Raiders as a non-scholarship player.

See also

• NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coaches
• NCAA Division I men's basketball coaches wins list

References

• "The Archives". 2004-05 Army Men's Basketball Media Guide. Retrieved December 23, 2005.
• "History". 2005-06 Indiana Men's Basketball Media Guide. Retrieved December 23, 2005.
• "Texas Tech Record Book". 2005-06 Red Raider Media Guide. Retrieved December 23, 2005.

External links

• Bob Knight's Profile from Texas Tech Athletics
• Bob Knight's page at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal website