Remembering The General and his many battles

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

The news of Bob Knight’s passing Wednesday at age 83 brought forth a number of thoughts.

Sadness to see him gone after battling dementia. A feeling that his was a successful but paradoxical, or as many have chronicled, a complex life.

With Robert Montgomery Knight, there was no neutral middle ground. As noted author John Feinstein wrote, “you swore by him or at him.” Feinstein was one to feel Knight’s wrath after penning his Season on the Brink best-seller, which recounted a season with the Indiana Hoosiers.

Writers and the media in general were not the only ones subject to The General’s wrath. Add his players, students, fans, inanimate objects (no one forgets the chair throwing) and the police to that list. Let’s just say no one was immune. His expertise in a huddle was unquestioned.

Knight got his first head coaching job at West Point at the age of 24. He instantly made his mark with a tough man-to-man defense and conservative offense. In six years at West Point, Knight led Army to four NIT appearances. In 1968, Knight was offered the job at Wisconsin. Following a talk with Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler, who had a less than favorable experience as a candidate for the Badgers’ vacancy, Knight chose to reject the offer and remain at West Point. In 1971, he decided to take the Indiana job.

One of the testaments to his coaching greatness occurred inBloomington. There, he turned around the program, leading the Hoosiers to three NCAA titles, including a perfect 32-0 1976 season. Knight also, through his coaching style and philosophy, altered an entire conference.

Before Knight arrived, the Big Ten was a wide open, run-and-gun circuit. Once Knight settled in, the conference followed his lead of becoming more man-to-man, defensive-minded and conservative, just like his teams. Following his run at Indiana, Knight finished his coaching career at Texas Tech. He amassed 902 victories over the course of his storied career, the most in NCAA history at the time of his 2008 retirement.

On a personal note: Roughly a decade ago, I had the opportunity to attend a West Point Hall of Fame dinner through my brother-in-law John Buckheit, a West Point graduate. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who played at Army, was being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Naturally, Knight was there to see his former player honored.

The dinner was a black-tie affair. Knight arrived in his signature slacks and sweater, almost daring anyone to deny him entrance to the Eisenhower Hall banquet room. No one said a word about Knight’s attire. Following dinner and the speaking by the honorees, there was the opportunity to speak with Knight. Having covered a number of his games, there was the desire to meet him personally. I went up and introduced myself. Knowing his devotion to the NIT, as part of the introduction, I told him about writing a book on the NIT history. Knight simply held out his left hand to show me a ring, his 1979 NIT championship ring, proof of his love for the nation’s oldest postseason tournament considering he had won three NCAA championships, yet chose to display the NIT ring. We began talking and later were in a small group when Knight told about the 1970 NIT.

He had taken Army to the NIT several times, but in 1970, the Cadets had a respectable chance to win it. Following victories over Cincinnati and Manhattan, Army was in the semifinals and led St. John’s by one with seconds left. A foul was called on Army, which Knight did not agree with, thinking there was some perceived home cooking from the officials. Regardless, Redmen guard Richie Lyons, went to the line, drained two free throws and St. John’s was in the final.

Knight recalled being beside himself and shattered. Following interviews, he sat alone in the bowels of Madison Square Garden. Someone then came behind him put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Coach, the sun will come up tomorrow.” It was Howard Cosell.

On a side note, St. John’s fell to Marquette in the championship. Army defeated LSU for third place. Prolific scorer Pete Maravich struggled in the semis against Al McGuire’s tough, defensive-minded Warriors. Sensing another rough go against Knight’s defensive minded Army, Pistol Pete sat out the consolation game, claiming an injury.

The good Knight did for people, largely unpublicized, was evidence of the paradoxical. When Landon Turner, an Indiana star from 1978 through 1981, was paralyzed by a car accident in the summer of 1981, Knight was there aiding his cause, raising money to pay his medical bills. Knight felt that Turner would have been a top five NBA pick had he not been in the accident and played his senior year. Determined, he convinced the Celtics’ Red Auerbach to draft Turner as a sympathetic gesture. In the 1982 draft, Boston selected Turner as its final pick.

When Krzyzewski’s father died while Coach K was at Army, Knight was there helping the family in every way, including funeral arrangements. Whenever Indiana played at Northwestern, Knight would visit Krzyzewski’s mother, who still lived in Chicago. At that Hall of Fame induction previously alluded to, Krzyzewski said, “I was a young punk from Chicago. I came to West Point and learned discipline and commitment. A lot of that came from Coach Knight.”

Moments after winning the 1979 NIT, Knight reached out to another coaching legend, Clair Bee, wanting to share that special moment with a longtime friend and mentor. There were many similar stories, unfortunately as noted, they were not publicized.

Social media tributes from the coaching community came in a deluge. Tobin Anderson of Iona, whose FDU team knocked off Purdue last March, credited Knight’s motion offense, man defense, work ethic and accountability for allowing his father’s high school teams to be so successful. Anderson incorporated those lessons into his own philosophy of coaching. Indiana coach Mike Woodson said, “he influenced my life in ways I could never repay.” Woodson also noted how he enjoyed Knight making occasional trips to his team’s practices.

“The impact he had on me cannot be measured,” said Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May, who got his start as a manager under Knight before leading the Owls to a Cinderella Final Four run. The Bloomington Herald Times reported that Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson plans to have both the men’s and women's basketball teams wear commemorative patches honoring Knight’s memory this season.

The late Edgar Cartotto, a longtime former official, loved working Knight’s games. Cartotto felt he could be tough, but fair. He was upset how so many critics spoke out over his coaching methods. Longtime college coach Tom McCorry added, “he changed my direction for the better when I was a young coach at his storied clinics at West Point. At Five Star, he was the general, off the court a caring, giving and loyal friend.”

Herb Welling, another longtime coach, tells the story of having to sign the coaches in at Five Star. Knight was coming off a Final Four loss to Duke and was speaking to virtually no one, not even Krzyzewski, his former player who happened to coach the Blue Devils. Knight refused to sign in. Director Howard Garfinkel said he had to sign in. When informed, Knight told Welling, one of the very few he spoke with that weekend, “tell Garf I got a broken right hand.”

Many others expressed their thoughts, not about championships and wins and losses, but rather about what Knight meant and did for that particular person and people in general.

Knight was a Five Star legend. In the 1960s, he introduced the stations. Each one taught players the fundamentals of the game. His impact on players and fellow coaches working the camp was immeasurable. Teaching basketball was what it was all about. Knight wanted players to know the inner workings of the game, how to play the game, not just rote memorization of some set plays. No wonder Knight was a close friend and confidant of legendary coach Pete Newell, who often lamented,” basketball is overcoached and undertaught.”

Knight was a basketball genius. His defense and motion offense have been studied and implemented by many coaches. As a teacher, he was second to none. Years ago, one Indiana professor commented on his teaching, remarking, “Coach Knight is head and shoulders above all of us on campus.”

Knight was profane. He clashed with many. He had frequent moments of moodiness, yet he could be a great and entertaining storyteller. He could be a loyal friend. He would do so much for others. It all added up to a person who was difficult to figure out. Just say he did things the way he wanted and leave it at that. Suffice to say he never worried about the critics.

In the end, he passed quietly and peacefully among family. One has to feel those final moments were spent in the manner he desired.