Bobby Knight
American basketball coach
Died when: 83 years 7 days (996 months)Star Sign: Scorpio
Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) was an American former basketball coach.Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-time, behind his former player and assistant coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, Roy Williams of University of North Carolina Men’s Basketball, and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, of whom Boeheim is still active.
Knight is best known as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers from 1971 to 2000.He also coached at Texas Tech (2001–2008) and at Army (1965–1971).
While at Army, he led the Black Knights to four post-season tournament appearances in six seasons, winning two-thirds of his games along the way.
His success at Army led to his being a candidate for several major university jobs, including Wisconsin and Indiana.After taking the job at Indiana, Knight led his teams to three NCAA championships, one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship, and 11 Big Ten Conference championships.
His 1975–76 team went undefeated during the regular season and won the 1976 NCAA tournament.Knight received National Coach of the Year honors four times and Big Ten Coach of the Year honors eight 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 successful and innovative coaches, having popularized the motion offense.He has also been praised for running good programs (none of his teams were ever sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations), and nearly all of his players graduated.
Knight sparked controversy with his outspoken nature and demonstrative behavior.He once famously threw a chair across the court during a game, which was rewarded with an ejection.
Knight was once arrested in Puerto Rico following a physical confrontation with a police officer.Knight regularly displayed a volatile nature and was sometimes accused of verbal conflicts with members of the press.
He was also recorded on videotape appearing to have possibly grabbed one of his players by the neck.Knight remains "the object of near fanatical devotion" from many of his former players and Indiana fans.
Nevertheless, Knight was accused of choking a player during practice.Following the incident, a "zero tolerance" policy was instituted specifically for coach Knight.
After a subsequent run-in with a student, university president Myles Brand fired Knight in the fall of 2000.He went on to coach at Texas Tech, mostly without incident, from 2001 to 2008, in the seven full seasons he coached the Red Raiders, his teams qualified for a post-season tournament 5 times.
He retired part way through the 2007-2008 season, and was replaced by his son Pat Knight at Texas Tech.In 2008, Knight joined ESPN as a men's college basketball studio analyst during Championship Week and for coverage of the NCAA Tournament.
He continued covering college basketball for ESPN through the 2014–15 season.
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