Players, colleagues remember Knight as innovator, champion
Wed, Nov 1, 2023
NCAAB News (AP)
Former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight won his way, demanding perfection with a fiery approach that was as controversial as it was successful. He ushered in the era of the motion offense and used a stingy, havoc-creating defense to turn Indiana's struggling program into a perennial national championship contender. Some comments on his legacy:
"We lost one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball today. Clearly, he was one of a kind, Coach Knight recruited me, mentored me, and had a profound impact on my career and in my life. This is a tremendous loss for our sport and our family is deeply saddened by his passing." - Mike Krzyzewski, the former Duke coach who played for Knight at Army.
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"I think Coach Knight may have influenced the game more defensively than offensively, the way he stressed our pressure defense and then I guess how it would change the game. It (the motion offense) is not as predictable because you're reading opportunities." - Tom Abernethy, a starter on Knight's 1975-76 undefeated national championship team.
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"Coach Knight ... will forever be remembered as one of the top coaches in not only Texas Tech history but all of college basketball. He truly changed the game with not only his motion offense but his insistence that his teams be defined by their defense. His impact was felt off the court, too, as he was a profound supporter of student-athletes receiving a quality education, which was evident by his teams annually producing a near-perfect graduation rate. Coach Knight's impact on our basketball program will forever be cherished as one of the greatest tenures in our history. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Knight family during this difficult time." - Texas Tech in a statement.
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"We wanted everything done a certain way and I knew when we played Indiana you better be prepared to execute and rebound and get back on defense." - former Purdue coach Gene Keady about Knight, his rival and friend.
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"I can never replace Bob Knight and all the things that he's done over the years for Indiana University basketball. I've said it time and time again: Indiana University basketball is Bob Knight." - Mike Woodson, former Indiana player and current Hoosiers coach, after taking the job in 2021.
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"George (McGinnis) and I, I remember we were watching TV and West Point was playing and Coach Knight was animated and doing what he does and I told George, 'Wherever we go, we don't want to play for anybody like that.'" - Steve Downing, who played on Knight's first two teams at Indiana and became a lifelong friend. McGinnis, a teammate for a state title-winning team at Washington High in Indianapolis, never played for Knight.
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"He's the best coach there is ... If I had to lose, I would only want to lose to him." - former Indiana standout Steve Alford, who played for Knight and later coached at Iowa, after a 2003 Hawkeyes loss to Knight's Texas Tech team.
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"He was a guy I idolized when I got here (in 1983) because Bobby Knight was the man. He and (former Michigan State coach) Jud Heathcote had a great relationship. He treated me great, and he helped me. I wish people knew what a great heart that he had. He was a different dude, but if you needed some help, he would answer the bell. I feel for him and his family. The game has lost an icon." - Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.
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"We had respect for each other. He was obviously one of the greatest coaches of all time and a dominate man in our sport. He was tough on his players, some would call it tough lov.e I didn't play for Bob, I watched him coached. I was amazed by an incredible tactician. My memories of Bob was he was a great coach, really cared about people, was a guy who you may have heard other things about, but his players did love him." - former Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun.
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"I have a thousand favorite Coach Knight stories, (and) the impact that he had on me as a teacher is something as a head coach I refer back to daily. The way he cared for people, especially after they went through his program, is something that I try to do as well. When our guys are done, I feel like it's my responsibility to be there for them for the rest of their lives. Those are the things (I remember), outside of obviously the tactical side of the game, which Coach Knight was probably the best at." - Dusty May, Florida Atlantic coach and former Indiana student manager, at the 2023 Final Four.
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"He can be as charming as anybody in the world or he can be the biggest horse's ass in the world. But he makes that decision, and he does it in a split second." - Harold Andreas, a high school coach who once hired Knight as an assistant, to ESPN in 1981.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
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