In the summer of '89 Coach came to little Hamilton HS one evening & spoke to 800 IU fans(a packed gymnasium).
This was courtesy of our AD Brian Miller who was an IU basketball manager in the middle 70's.
Coach spoke for an hour or more.
I was on the HHS basketball coaching staff and wanted to get Coach Knight's signature and received much more. I stood a few feet away from Coach & AD Miller and listened in.
Mr. Miller handed Coach a check for his speaking engagement. Immediately Coach folded up the check and put it back in AD Miller's jacket saying
"use this for your athletic department"
That's the Coach Knight that I was privledged to see in person & who raised money each year for the library fund!
Another memory made just tonight was the fact that my first call after finding out was to my dad. We don’t agree on much. We text a lot but rarely talk on the phone. But this, this was something to bond over. And it’s these types of sentiments with fathers, and grandfathers and mothers and grandmothers that I’m seeing repeated time and time again that make him such a larger than life figure in the lives are so many.
My freshman year IU was coach Knight’s last with the team. I worked at the Marsh on Kinser Pike, and Coach was a regular there in the deli. One day I got to sit at the table next to him debriefing with his coaches after a loss. Just an amazing insight into his mind. Another time he came up to the office and asked to speak to a manager, and after a brief moment of panic, I called one, and he explained that he had left his book about Scotland on his table in the deli, and was hoping that somebody had turned it in.
He’s a rightfully controversial figure, but at least in his public interactions, he was extremely gracious and kind with his time
Nov 2, 2023·edited Nov 2, 2023Liked by Jerod Morris
I was a student athletic trainer in 1980 (Isaiah Thomas' freshman year, Woodson's senior year), 23 years old, married less than a year, new baby, no money. I was wearing blown out Converse All-Star shoes everyday while working basketball practice. The head manager came up to me on the court and said, "coach said you're supposed to come with me." I thought "oh sheet" what did I do. The manager took me into the locker room and said "what size shoe do you wear?" I said "11". He took me over to a locker and said, "that's Glen Grunwald's size, pick a pair." Glen had probably 6 or 7 brand new pair of shoes in his locker and I got a pair of them. Just one of many untold stories of how coach saw a need and took care of it. Didn't matter how small. Rest in Peace Coach!!
Loved watching the Bob Knight Show when living in Indianapolis. Specifically remember when he brought in a Donkey named "Jack". Coach Knight said you can guess what his last name is but Jack was there as a representative of the Purdue AD who turned down his invitation to the show. It was live TV and absolutely hysterical. We were all on the floor crying.
I don’t even REMEMBER this, but I’ve been told I met Coach Knight as a 4-year old in 1997. My father Andy (who wrote with Hammel & co. at the H-T) had taken me with him to cover practice at the Hall, and apparently we met Coach Knight and Luke Recker walking the ramps in the South Lobby.
Coach apparently said hello, told me to be good, and listen to my dad. I’d like to think I still do my best to follow his advice.
I played trumpet for two years in the Big Red Basketball Band during my time as an undergrad and picked two great seasons: 2011-12 and 2012-13. Even though that was the noontime of Tom Crean’s tenure, I still - STILL - felt at heart that I was playing for the program Bob Knight built. It was there before him, and has endured after him, but he left an indelible, permanent legacy forever associated with IU.
For all his complications, for all his anger issues, I think he still was, at heart, a good man who cared about the people - and the program - that he loved. And I’m happy he mended fences before it was too late. He left this world having helped heal his program, and I’m going to be forever grateful to him.
My favorite memory is when Coach was using the whip on his players in practice and was catching hell for whipping black players and in the next tournament game Calbert came up behind him as he was coaching and acted like he was whipping him
1999 senior day game. The Iowa fans at the game were incensed that Michael Lewis got away with (justifiably) throwing the basketball in the face of Jacob Jakkes. They were booing Coach Knight when he stepped up to the microphone. I remember him saying something to the effect of “Before we get started, I just want to say that Jess Settles is a hell of a player!” The Iowa fans behind their bench immediately started cheering and applauding. He had a hidden charm and sense of humor that could win over even his most fiercest adversaries.
Knight was ever the patriot and well-read student of history. He particularly loved humiliating the Soviet Union teams when IU played them in exhibition games. The ‘76 IU squad famously pummeled the Soviet national team 94-78 at Market Square Arena, the same Soviet core that beat the US in the 1972 Olympics. During one of the early exhibitions, after a controversial call against IU, Knight took off his shoe and began pounding the scorers table, a parody of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev infamous shoe-pounding at the United Nations lectern in 1960. To put it mildly, the Soviet coaches and delegation were not pleased with Knight’s sense of humor.
Nov 1, 2023·edited Nov 2, 2023Liked by Jerod Morris
At the moment, it's impossible to think of individual Bob Knight memories. There are just too many. But I'll say that as a teenager deciding where to go to college, Bob Knight and the basketball program played in inordinate role in my decision. I turned down a full-ride scholarship from Boston University's journalism department (and I wanted to be a writer) and joined the Army to pay for college, because I wanted to go to school where Bob Knight coached. And my freshman year (1987), the Hoosiers won their last banner. I was well-rewarded by watching the best-coached games I've ever seen in IU vs. UNLV in the Final Four.
When Coach Knight first came to IU in 1971, I attended his first 3 basketball camps. I was decent but certainly not IU basketball talented. Anyway, he was lecturing in the middle of a large group of kids sitting around him, when suddenly a ball he was holding flew right past the ear of a youngster who was talking to his friend and not paying attention. Shortly thereafter, I turned the corner and he was coming the other way, and he stopped and said hello Tim Seat! I know you have attended my camp the last 3 years and I really appreciate you! Like I said, I was not someone he would have been even remotely interested in recruiting, yet he knew me by name. I will take that to the grave as Coach Knight taught me the power of a name! (Apologies to Dale Carnegie)
I went to the Indiana basketball camp in the early 1990’s as a new type 1 diabetic and met Coach Knight in the training room
He was incredibly gracious and inquired about my situation
My family moved to Maryland when I was 3 and I still remember sneaking down and listening to the hi-fi WOWO out of Fort Wayne with Don Fisher on super low volume
His interactions with Landon Turner, first as a player, qwho he was always pushing to be the player he finally became his Junior year, then as an advocate and friend after his accident. Red Auerbach,head coach of the Boston Celtics, drafted Landon despite him being paralyzed. Red was a close friend of Knight, so I’m sure knight played some part in that decision.
My favorite memory is when we took our son to Knight’s summer basketball camp when he was in 8th grade. Campers lined up on the first day of camp to get Coach’s autograph. Coach was specific that only one autograph per camper. My son was the last in line. When coach asked who to make the autograph to, my son handed him a white baseball cap and asked Coach to make out to his grandfather. After signing the cap and my son thanked coach and began to walk away, Coach Knight called him back and autographed a notecard for my son. Coach shared with my son what a considerate young man he was and patted him on the back. We still have the picture we took of our son with Coach Knight’s arm around his shoulder and the signed notecard in a picture frame hanging in our bonus room.
I really had to think on this one before speaking. But I just want to share as I look at all of these headlines that are some variation of "Genius coach, but flawed....controversial...."
Firstly, everyone on this planet is flawed. God forbid my eulogy is read with a whole list of my "buts". In Knight's case, he did request some specifics around his one and only butt...
But it is reasonable to talk about Knight's flaws and I feel that is never discussed in terms of his peers at the time.
Knight emphasized winning, but only by graduated players and keeping a squeaky clean compliant program. On the flips side, he screamed a ton, swore even more and often unloaded on people who the thought weren't worth his time.
But let's take his peer Coach K. He's no saint. He may be more generous with the press, but anyone who ever spent a minute at his practices know that he and Knight shared a similar temperament behind the scenes. AND HERE'S the contrast, his program wasn't exactly clean. Zion Williamson's family received $400k worth of benefits (house and cars) at the directly of the Duke basketball program. When Coach K dies, there will be constant worship and no BUTS in his obituary. He'll be considered the greatest of all time and a moral man.
I admire the totality of Bobby Knight. I embrace and am wide-eyed about all of his "buts". And I shake my head at all the articles who have decided that only Knight is one who should wear that Scarlet Letter B over his chest when remembering him.
It's a really good point. Knight had many flaws that we all know about, and he almost flagrantly avoided putting on airs or playing "the game" with the media that other coaches do to curry favor or to be liked, which he famously had no interest in. That's not the entire reason, but it certainly is a reason why his faults get highlighted so much more, often without being balanced out by the many, many great things he did in public and behind the scenes.
Normal, IL was home to Laesch Dairy. Mark Laesch was a friend and played baseball and graduated from IU. He once brought Coach Knight a carton of Chocolate Ice Cream. Knight told Mark never to come on campus without bringing ice cream! And Mark didn't.
In the summer of '89 Coach came to little Hamilton HS one evening & spoke to 800 IU fans(a packed gymnasium).
This was courtesy of our AD Brian Miller who was an IU basketball manager in the middle 70's.
Coach spoke for an hour or more.
I was on the HHS basketball coaching staff and wanted to get Coach Knight's signature and received much more. I stood a few feet away from Coach & AD Miller and listened in.
Mr. Miller handed Coach a check for his speaking engagement. Immediately Coach folded up the check and put it back in AD Miller's jacket saying
"use this for your athletic department"
That's the Coach Knight that I was privledged to see in person & who raised money each year for the library fund!
Thank you Coach Knight!
Another memory made just tonight was the fact that my first call after finding out was to my dad. We don’t agree on much. We text a lot but rarely talk on the phone. But this, this was something to bond over. And it’s these types of sentiments with fathers, and grandfathers and mothers and grandmothers that I’m seeing repeated time and time again that make him such a larger than life figure in the lives are so many.
My freshman year IU was coach Knight’s last with the team. I worked at the Marsh on Kinser Pike, and Coach was a regular there in the deli. One day I got to sit at the table next to him debriefing with his coaches after a loss. Just an amazing insight into his mind. Another time he came up to the office and asked to speak to a manager, and after a brief moment of panic, I called one, and he explained that he had left his book about Scotland on his table in the deli, and was hoping that somebody had turned it in.
He’s a rightfully controversial figure, but at least in his public interactions, he was extremely gracious and kind with his time
I was a student athletic trainer in 1980 (Isaiah Thomas' freshman year, Woodson's senior year), 23 years old, married less than a year, new baby, no money. I was wearing blown out Converse All-Star shoes everyday while working basketball practice. The head manager came up to me on the court and said, "coach said you're supposed to come with me." I thought "oh sheet" what did I do. The manager took me into the locker room and said "what size shoe do you wear?" I said "11". He took me over to a locker and said, "that's Glen Grunwald's size, pick a pair." Glen had probably 6 or 7 brand new pair of shoes in his locker and I got a pair of them. Just one of many untold stories of how coach saw a need and took care of it. Didn't matter how small. Rest in Peace Coach!!
This is fantastic.
Love this!
Loved watching the Bob Knight Show when living in Indianapolis. Specifically remember when he brought in a Donkey named "Jack". Coach Knight said you can guess what his last name is but Jack was there as a representative of the Purdue AD who turned down his invitation to the show. It was live TV and absolutely hysterical. We were all on the floor crying.
I don’t even REMEMBER this, but I’ve been told I met Coach Knight as a 4-year old in 1997. My father Andy (who wrote with Hammel & co. at the H-T) had taken me with him to cover practice at the Hall, and apparently we met Coach Knight and Luke Recker walking the ramps in the South Lobby.
Coach apparently said hello, told me to be good, and listen to my dad. I’d like to think I still do my best to follow his advice.
I played trumpet for two years in the Big Red Basketball Band during my time as an undergrad and picked two great seasons: 2011-12 and 2012-13. Even though that was the noontime of Tom Crean’s tenure, I still - STILL - felt at heart that I was playing for the program Bob Knight built. It was there before him, and has endured after him, but he left an indelible, permanent legacy forever associated with IU.
For all his complications, for all his anger issues, I think he still was, at heart, a good man who cared about the people - and the program - that he loved. And I’m happy he mended fences before it was too late. He left this world having helped heal his program, and I’m going to be forever grateful to him.
The General is dead. Long live the General.
My favorite memory is when Coach was using the whip on his players in practice and was catching hell for whipping black players and in the next tournament game Calbert came up behind him as he was coaching and acted like he was whipping him
1999 senior day game. The Iowa fans at the game were incensed that Michael Lewis got away with (justifiably) throwing the basketball in the face of Jacob Jakkes. They were booing Coach Knight when he stepped up to the microphone. I remember him saying something to the effect of “Before we get started, I just want to say that Jess Settles is a hell of a player!” The Iowa fans behind their bench immediately started cheering and applauding. He had a hidden charm and sense of humor that could win over even his most fiercest adversaries.
Knight was ever the patriot and well-read student of history. He particularly loved humiliating the Soviet Union teams when IU played them in exhibition games. The ‘76 IU squad famously pummeled the Soviet national team 94-78 at Market Square Arena, the same Soviet core that beat the US in the 1972 Olympics. During one of the early exhibitions, after a controversial call against IU, Knight took off his shoe and began pounding the scorers table, a parody of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev infamous shoe-pounding at the United Nations lectern in 1960. To put it mildly, the Soviet coaches and delegation were not pleased with Knight’s sense of humor.
At the moment, it's impossible to think of individual Bob Knight memories. There are just too many. But I'll say that as a teenager deciding where to go to college, Bob Knight and the basketball program played in inordinate role in my decision. I turned down a full-ride scholarship from Boston University's journalism department (and I wanted to be a writer) and joined the Army to pay for college, because I wanted to go to school where Bob Knight coached. And my freshman year (1987), the Hoosiers won their last banner. I was well-rewarded by watching the best-coached games I've ever seen in IU vs. UNLV in the Final Four.
When Coach Knight first came to IU in 1971, I attended his first 3 basketball camps. I was decent but certainly not IU basketball talented. Anyway, he was lecturing in the middle of a large group of kids sitting around him, when suddenly a ball he was holding flew right past the ear of a youngster who was talking to his friend and not paying attention. Shortly thereafter, I turned the corner and he was coming the other way, and he stopped and said hello Tim Seat! I know you have attended my camp the last 3 years and I really appreciate you! Like I said, I was not someone he would have been even remotely interested in recruiting, yet he knew me by name. I will take that to the grave as Coach Knight taught me the power of a name! (Apologies to Dale Carnegie)
Wow! That's a great anecdote.
I went to the Indiana basketball camp in the early 1990’s as a new type 1 diabetic and met Coach Knight in the training room
He was incredibly gracious and inquired about my situation
My family moved to Maryland when I was 3 and I still remember sneaking down and listening to the hi-fi WOWO out of Fort Wayne with Don Fisher on super low volume
GOD SPEED COACH 💯
His interactions with Landon Turner, first as a player, qwho he was always pushing to be the player he finally became his Junior year, then as an advocate and friend after his accident. Red Auerbach,head coach of the Boston Celtics, drafted Landon despite him being paralyzed. Red was a close friend of Knight, so I’m sure knight played some part in that decision.
My favorite memory is when we took our son to Knight’s summer basketball camp when he was in 8th grade. Campers lined up on the first day of camp to get Coach’s autograph. Coach was specific that only one autograph per camper. My son was the last in line. When coach asked who to make the autograph to, my son handed him a white baseball cap and asked Coach to make out to his grandfather. After signing the cap and my son thanked coach and began to walk away, Coach Knight called him back and autographed a notecard for my son. Coach shared with my son what a considerate young man he was and patted him on the back. We still have the picture we took of our son with Coach Knight’s arm around his shoulder and the signed notecard in a picture frame hanging in our bonus room.
Your son showed respect and care for his elders, which wass certainly the way into (or out of) Coach Knight's heart.
I really had to think on this one before speaking. But I just want to share as I look at all of these headlines that are some variation of "Genius coach, but flawed....controversial...."
Firstly, everyone on this planet is flawed. God forbid my eulogy is read with a whole list of my "buts". In Knight's case, he did request some specifics around his one and only butt...
But it is reasonable to talk about Knight's flaws and I feel that is never discussed in terms of his peers at the time.
Knight emphasized winning, but only by graduated players and keeping a squeaky clean compliant program. On the flips side, he screamed a ton, swore even more and often unloaded on people who the thought weren't worth his time.
But let's take his peer Coach K. He's no saint. He may be more generous with the press, but anyone who ever spent a minute at his practices know that he and Knight shared a similar temperament behind the scenes. AND HERE'S the contrast, his program wasn't exactly clean. Zion Williamson's family received $400k worth of benefits (house and cars) at the directly of the Duke basketball program. When Coach K dies, there will be constant worship and no BUTS in his obituary. He'll be considered the greatest of all time and a moral man.
I admire the totality of Bobby Knight. I embrace and am wide-eyed about all of his "buts". And I shake my head at all the articles who have decided that only Knight is one who should wear that Scarlet Letter B over his chest when remembering him.
It's a really good point. Knight had many flaws that we all know about, and he almost flagrantly avoided putting on airs or playing "the game" with the media that other coaches do to curry favor or to be liked, which he famously had no interest in. That's not the entire reason, but it certainly is a reason why his faults get highlighted so much more, often without being balanced out by the many, many great things he did in public and behind the scenes.
Normal, IL was home to Laesch Dairy. Mark Laesch was a friend and played baseball and graduated from IU. He once brought Coach Knight a carton of Chocolate Ice Cream. Knight told Mark never to come on campus without bringing ice cream! And Mark didn't.