Bob Knight Dies at 83; Hall of Fame CBB Coach Won 3 NCAA Titles with Indiana

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Hall of Fame college basketball coach Bob Knight died on Wednesday. He was 83.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family.  We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as Coach requested a private family gathering, which is being honored.  We will continue to celebrate his life and remember him, today and forever as a beloved Husband, Father, Coach, and Friend.”

Knight had stints at Army (1965-66 to 1970-71), Indiana (1971-72 to 1999-00) and Texas Tech (2001-02 to 2007-08) as a head coach, going 902-371 in his career. But he is most known for his time with the Hoosiers, when he prowled the sidelines in a red sweater and won three national championships, leading Indiana to the NCAA tournament in 24 of his 29 seasons.

His teams were famous for being disciplined and hard-working, featuring high graduation rates, and he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.

A number of tributes followed news of his death on Wednesday:

He was accused of punching a policeman at the 1979 Pan American Games, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was convicted of misdemeanor assault in absentia. He reportedly never returned to Puerto Rico.

In 1985, he infamously threw a chair onto the court during a game against Purdue, irate at both a foul called against Indiana and the subsequent technical foul he received for protesting. He was ejected and suspended one game by the Big Ten.

During a 1992 NCAA tournament practice, he brought a bullwhip he said was given to him by the players and mock-whipped Black player Calbert Cheaney. The Albuquerque chapter of the NAACP said the action sent a “terrible message” and Black politicians called for punishment against Knight.

He also reportedly head-butted Sherron Wilkerson in 1994 while berating him during a timeout, though Knight said that the head-butt was unintentional.

In 2000, CNN aired a report that appeared to show Knight choking player Neil Reed back in 1997. That earned him a $30,000 fine, three-game suspension and a “zero tolerance policy” for future altercations, which he allegedly broke later that year after being accused of grabbing a student’s arm during a disagreement. He was fired by the school after that alleged incident.

Knight was a complicated and controversial figure. But his impact on the game of basketball was undeniable, with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski—who played under Knight at Army—saying in 2008 that “outside of my immediate family, no single person has had a greater impact on my life than Coach Knight.”

As for his legacy… well, Knight wasn’t particularly worried about what anybody else thought.

“When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed,” he said in 1994, “I want they bury me upside down, and my critics can kiss my ass.”