Legendary Indiana Basketball Coach Bob Knight Hospitalized

Bob Knight, a legendary college basketball coach who is known for his time with the Indiana University men’s team, was hospitalized on Friday evening, according to the Indianapolis Star. Program alumni received a message that said stated the coach was admitted to the hospital with acute illness. The hope is Knight will be released from the hospital soon. 

Knight, 82, began his college basketball head coaching career in 1975 at Army. In his six seasons with the program, Knight posted a 102-50 record and took the team to the NIT Tournament four times. In 1971, Knight joined Indiana and quickly had success. During the 1975-76 season, Knight led the Hoosiers to a 32-0 record and won the national championship. He won the national title again in 1981 and 1987 while reaching the Final Four five times during his 29 seasons with the program. 

In 2001, Knight became the head coach of the Texas Tech men’s basketball team. He was with the school for seven seasons and tallied a 138-82 record and reached the NCAA Tournament four times. In 2008, Knight announced his retirement from coach, and his son, Pat Knight, was named head coach at Texas Tech. At the time, Knight told Minneapolis Star reporter Sid Hartman on WCCO-AM that he was tired of battling officials, which is something he would do on a regular basis. 

“Well, I won’t have to see any more bad calls, that’ll be one thing,” he said, per ESPN. “I mean, we had some horrendous officiating in games this year. And I think that really, to me, has never been a part of the game, but this year it just seemed to bother me more than at any other time.”  

Knight is known for being outspoken and for his wild antics such as throwing a chair across the court during the game. However, he was very successful as he was named AP Coach of the Year three times along with his three national titles and five Final Four appearances. Knight was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. 

“I guess you can never be surprised at some of the things Bob does,” former UCLA coach John Wooden told the Associated Press in 2008. “I don’t think there’s ever been a better teacher of the game of basketball than Bob. I don’t always approve of his methods, but his players for the most part are very loyal to him. I would say that no player that ever played for him would not say he did not come out a stronger person.”