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The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, Knight,
83, died at his home in Bloomington, Ind., after a lengthy
illness.
"It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight
passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his
family," the Knight Family said in a statement. "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 was the sixth-winningest coach in Division I men's
college basketball history, posting 902 victories at Army
(1965-1971), Indiana (1971-2000) and Texas Tech (2001-08), but
he was also well known throughout the college basketball world
and beyond for short fuse and outbursts.
In 2000, Knight violated a "zero tolerance" behavior policy and
was forced out at Indiana. Knight, who had thrown a chair on the
court earlier in his career and also choked Indiana player Neil
Reed in 1997, grabbed the arm of a freshman student who Knight
said had greeted him by saying, "What's up Knight?"
Six months later, Knight was hired as head coach at Texas Tech.
He won 20-plus games five times in six seasons and, in 2007
passed former North Carolina coach Dean Smith for first all-time
on the wins list with victory 880.
Knight played basketball at Ohio State and first became a
college basketball coach at Army in 1965 as a 24-year-old.
He moved on to Indiana where the Hoosiers were 11-time Big Ten
champions and made the NCAA Tournament 24 times.
Knight holds the IU record for wins -- 661 -- and coached the
Hoosiers for 29 seasons. His teams won 20 or more games 29
times.
--Field Level Media
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