On November 1 legendary college basketball coach Bob Knight passed away at the age of 83.
Knight arguably was best known for his passion for the game and for wearing his emotions on his sleeves. One of the most memorable moments was him tossing a chair across the basketball court while he was coaching the Indiana Hoosiers. Still wherever he was coaching he found success.
From 1965-1966 to 1970-1971 he coached Army. He went 102-50 during that time and even got the team ranked as high as 14th in his final year with the school. The Hoosiers is where he found his most success winning three national titles and making five Final Fours. Overall he went 659-242.
Unfortunately for him, he did get fired from Indiana in 2000 for violating a zero-tolerance policy in which he had grabbed a student to lecture them on manners. Knight was not finished with coaching and ended up at Texas Tech and in four of seven seasons took them to the NCAA Tournament. In his time there he won 138 games and lost 82. He retired after the 2007-2008 season. Overall his record was 899 and 374. He also coached the 1984 Olympic Gold Medal United States basketball team.
He worked as an ESPN analyst yet his contract in April 2015 was not renewed.
Legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski honored Knight by saying “clearly, he was one of a kind. Coach Knight recruited me, mentored me, and had a profound impact on my career and in my life. This is a tremendous loss for our sport.”
Keith Smart who played for Knight said “Every stage of my life from the minute I stepped foot on IU’s campus Coach had a part in my development and thinking. Teaching life skills through basketball!!”
Another former player Kirk Haston stated “coach showed me the value of competing, he showed me what hard work really was, he showed me the door if I was lacking in either, & he showed us all how to succeed on more than just a basketball floor.”
Then there are some great quotes from Knight himself which are: “The key is not the ‘will to win’…everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.”
“I think that we as a people are always prone to think about, well, tomorrow will be a better day. Well, why will it be a better day? And I think the more that we believe in doing things better, doing the right thing rather than hoping that that’s going to happen, let’s make it happen.”