Bob Knight, a forward on Ohio State’s 1960 national championship team as well as a three-time national champion as head coach of Indiana’s men’s basketball team from 1971-2000, died Wednesday at 83.
Knight, a native of Orville, Ohio, stayed in state to begin his collegiate career, playing at Ohio State from 1959-62 under head coach Fred Taylor. During that span, Taylor and Knight helped the Buckeyes to still their only national championship in men’s basketball, winning it all in 1960 alongside teammates such as Dick Furry, John Havlicek, Jerry Lucas, Mel Nowell, Joe Roberts and Larry Siegfried.
After graduating from Ohio State, he began coaching at Cuyahoga Falls High School for one year, and after enlisting in the army, he became an assistant coach and later head coach of Army’s men’s basketball program.
After six seasons with the Black Knights, he was hired at Indiana, where he would remain for 29 seasons, accumulating a 662-239 record with 24 NCAA Tournament appearances and three national championships in 1975-76, 1980-81 and 1986-87. Knight was later dismissed from the Hoosiers after several controversies, and retired from coaching following seven seasons at Texas Tech.
Knight had since appeared on televisions as a studio analyst and occasional color commentator. He made his first return to Indiana on Feb. 8, 2020, where he was honored during a game, and it was the first time he had been to Assembly Hall since his dismissal from the program.
