RIP Bob Knight! Legendary college basketball coach passed away at 83
Frank BojaziNovember 2, 2023Updated:November 2, 2023
Legendary basketball coach Bob Knight has passed away at 83. He had a Hall of Fame career with Indiana, going to three national titles and one of them was during an undefeated season. I don’t care who you are, going undefeated at that level of college basketball is very difficult. Bob Knight is also known for quite a few moments where he seemingly freaked out on the court, but that’s natural for any coach who wanted to win as badly as Bob Knight.
A sports news report on ESPN relayed the information that Bob’s health had been in a steady decline for a few years. At some point Bob Knight was in the hospital suffering from an illness. That was back in April according to the report, which also quoted a statement released on behalf of Bob Knight. That statement said:
“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.” ESPN’s report also said the following about Bob Knight’s early success and career in coaching college basketball:
Knight became the youngest coach at a Division I school in 1965 when he broke in at Army at 24. But he made his mark at Indiana, including winning a school-record 661 games and reaching the NCAA tournament 24 times in 29 seasons. Knight’s first NCAA title came in 1976 when Indiana went undefeated, a feat no team has accomplished since.
“One of the things that he said to our 1976 team, which I was fortunate enough to be a part of, was that you may never see another team like this again,” Indiana University board of trustees chair Quinn Buckner said in a statement. “Well, I don’t know that we will ever see another coach like him again.”
Knight won 20 or more games in a season 29 times, compiling a career record of 902-371.
Coach Bob Knight once threw a chair back in 1985 and got himself kicked out of the game. This was during a game against Purdue. Watch and enjoy the Bobby Knight chair throwing video!
