by Mo Siddiq

Created on: June 16, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

With over 17,000 fans watching, Bob Knight stood in front of the microphone in the middle of Assembly Hall, the home of college basketball's historied Hoosiers. The general, as he had come to be known because of his military education and expectations of absolute discipline, had the eyes and ears of the capacity crowd, and of every Indiana boy who dreamed of playing for Bobby Knight one day, locked on him. The words he chose to culminate his speech that night conveyed his philosophy and legacy better than any writer or biographer ever has.

"When my time on Earth is gone, and my activities here are past," Knight said, "I want them to bury me upside down, so my critics can kiss my ass." The crowd rose to its feet. This was their man, their captain, that they had put at the helm of their most gloried tradition of basketball. He was far from perfect, and, quite often, he was ridiculed by the nation for his excessive passion and intensity. It didn't matter to the Hoosiers. In a conservative state with a large rural population, few felt that anyone was better at teaching valued virtues of perseverance and discipline than the man in the red sweater.

Robert Knight, now the winningest coach in College Men's Basketball history, was born in Ohio. After performing well as an athlete at Orrville High School, Knight joined the Ohio State Buckeyes in 1958, where he played basketball under future Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor. After graduating with a degree in history and government, Knight coached a junior varsity basketball team at Cuyahoga Falls High Schools. The next year, he signed on as an assistant coach at Army, and two years later, was promoted to Head Coach at the young age of 24. There, Knight experienced some success as a coach, winning 102 games in six seasons. The next chapter of Knight's career began in 1971, at Indiana University. The next 29 years of Knight's career as the Head Coach of the Hoosiers is what makes him a legend.

During his coaching career, Knight won a lot of games. However, to say that Knight was first and foremost a winner, in the strict definition of the world, would do injustice to everything he stood for. Under Knight, Indiana won three NCAA championships, one NIT championship, several hundred games, and recorded the last undefeated season in College Men's Basketball. Along the way, he also coached the U.S. Men's Basketball team to Gold in 1984, working with Michael Jordan.

What made Knight stand out most was his animated, uncompromised character.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>