How He Built Dynasty at Indiana and Inspired Players

 

Who is Bob Knight?

American former basketball coach Robert Montgomery ‘Bob’ Knight was born in Orrville, Ohio USA, on 25 October 1940, meaning that Scorpio’s his zodiac sign. Known as ‘The General’, Bob set the record when he retired with 902 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball game wins, while he today holds fifth place; he’s perhaps best known for coaching the Indiana Hoosiers of the NCAA Division I from 1971 through 2000, and also for coaching at Texas Tech from 2001 through 2008.

Education and early life

Bob was raised in Orrville by his mother and father, about whom he’s shared not so many details because Bob respects their privacy; it’s believed that his father was a basketball coach at a local high school, and his mother a housewife. Because Bob’s yet to speak of having siblings, he’s widely believed to be an only child.

He became interested in playing basketball while attending Orrville High School, and was amongst the best players there; Bob was into several other activities as a teenager, including playing football, and acting with the school’s drama club.

He matriculated in 1958, and then enrolled at Ohio State University, where he played under coach Fred Taylor, who was later inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame; he played for the Ohio Buckeyes as a reserve forward, winning the 1960 NCAA Championship, while they lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats both times in the following two NCAA Championships.

He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in government and history in 1962.

Bob’s career

Upon graduation, Bob began working at Cuyahoga Falls High School as a junior varsity basketball coach, but in the following year joined the US Army, and was on active duty for two years starting in June 1963, and then in the Army Reserve for four years.

Not long after joining the army, in the second half of 1963, Bob became the head coach of the Army Black Knights; he won 102 games with them, and became known for his ‘explosive temper’.

He joined Indiana University as head coach of their basketball team the Hoosiers in 1971, and won 662 games during the 22 seasons that he spent with them. In the 1972-1973 season, Bob led the Hoosiers to win the Big Ten Championship, and they lost to the University of California, Los Angeles’ Bruins in the Final Four; they won the Big Ten Championship again in the following season, while the seasons 1974-1975 and 1975-1976 saw them win all of their games, making them Big Ten champions two more times. What marked the end of the ‘70s for the Hoosiers was winning the 1979 National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

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— Maliika Walker (@maliikawalker) March 28, 2023

Bob and the Hoosiers won the 1981 NCAA tournament, and the 1986 book “A Season on the Brink” by John Feinstein covered Bob and his basketball team. They went on to win the NCAA tournament again in 1987, and a Big Ten Championship in the 1988-1989 season.

The Hoosiers continued to play well in the beginning of the ‘90s, winning the Big Ten Championship in both the 1990-1991 and 1992-1993 seasons, and they competed in the NCAA championship nearly every year for the remainder of the decade.

The sports show “CNN Sports Illustrated” aired an episode on 14 March 2000, in which they covered American film director and producer Robert Abbott’s investigation of Bob choking his former player Burgess Neil Reed in 1997; although Bob denied this, a tape of the practice game was shown, and Bob could indeed have been seen choking Burgess in it. Because of this and similar other incidents related to Bob’s behavior, he was fired from his coaching position on 10 September 2000; the students protested, and thousands of them marched in the streets. Various magazines covered Bob’s firing, including “Sports Illustrated”.

He took the year 2001 off, and in 2002 became the head coach at Texas Tech, leading their Red Raiders to three NCAA Championship appearances and one NIT in his first four years there, even though the Red Raiders hadn’t reached an NCAA Championship since 1996. Bob’s best performance with the Red Raiders was reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 2005.

He revealed that he was retiring on 4 February 2008, and his son Pat Knight became the new head coach of the Red Raiders.

Life after basketball

Bob became a studio analyst for ESPN in 2008, and stayed with them until 2 April 2015, when his contract expired and wasn’t renewed.

It was revealed on 27 February 2019 that Bob had health issues, and while giving a speech on 4 April 2019, Bob showed significant problems with his memory; he’s since been leading a peaceful life with his wife at their home in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Love life and relationships

Bob and his first wife, non-celebrity American Nancy Falk exchanged vows on 17 April 1963, and she gave birth to their two sons Tim and Pat in the following a couple of years; Patrick Clair ‘Pat’ Knight’s today a successful basketball coach and scout.

Bob and his second wife Karen Vieth Edgar married in 1988; she’s a former high school basketball coach, and the two have been together to this day.

Bob hasn’t mentioned other women whom he’s maybe been with, he’s married to his second wife Karen Vieth Edgar as of April 2023, and has two sons with his first wife Nancy Falk.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Bob supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, and referred to him as a ‘great defender of the USA’.

Various books besides “A Season on the Brink” have been published about Bob, including Juan Mellen’s “Bob Knight: His Own Man”, Robert P. Sulek’s “Hoosier Honor: Bob Knight and Academic Success at Indiana University” and Steve Alford’s “Playing for Knight: My Six Seasons with Bobby Knight”.

Bob’s made a guest appearance in many movies and TV series, including the 1994 sports movie “Blue Chips”, the 2002 sports film “A Season on the Brink” and the 2003 romantic comedy movie “Anger Management”.

He’s a philanthropist and has donated quite a lot of money to Indiana University, while he’s also raised close to $5 million for their library system.

Height, eyes and wealth

Bob’s age is 82. He has brown eyes and grey hair, is 6ft 4ins (1.96m) tall and weighs around 200lbs (92kgs).

Bob’s net worth’s been estimated at over $15 million, as of April 2023.