An encounter with Bob Knight at an NCAA Tournament showed me a side of him I hadn’t expected.
Knight’s death at 83 on Nov. 1, 2023, prompted me to reflect on my experiences with him. We didn’t know one another, but as a sports reporter in Indiana in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I got to see him up close when I covered basketball games he coached for Indiana University and attended his press conferences. He was idolized in Indiana, but I detested how he bullied and belittled others.
In March 1983, the Evansville Press sent me to Knoxville, Tenn., to cover the NCAA Mideast Regional. The Indiana Hoosiers had a third-round game there against the Kentucky Wildcats.
On the day before the game, the Hoosiers conducted a public shooting practice at Stokely Athletics Center on the University of Tennessee campus. About 300 onlookers attended.
After the light workout, about eight spectators approached Knight near the court, seeking autographs. As Knight signed, the crowd around him swelled to about 25 people. Knight kept signing and more people came out of the stands. He signed for at least 75 people and chatted with them, too.
As the group finally thinned, a man approached with his 11-year-old son and asked Knight to pose for a photo with the boy. Knight obliged.
After signing his autograph for a few more stragglers, Knight remained on the court, talking with his former assistant, Tennessee head coach Don DeVoe, and others he knew.
As Knight reached for the sports coat and tie he had draped on a chair, I approached and introduced myself. Knight was 6-foot-4 and large, and up close he seemed even bigger. I am 6-foot-3, but he seemed imposing even to me.
I asked him why he had been so accommodating to all those people.
Knight extended his right arm, wrapped it tight around my shoulder and started walking down the court, taking me along with him. I struggled to get a grip on my pen and notepad as he kept a firm lock on my shoulder.
“I remember when I was a kid trying to do that,” he said, referring to the autograph seekers. “I wanted autographs from baseball players.”
Knight was born and raised in Ohio and he was a devoted Cleveland Indians fan.
“I’d go to Cleveland and wait for the players to come out of the stadium,” he said. “One of my favorites was Cleveland second baseman Bobby Avila. One day, I saw him and asked for an autograph. He blew me off. I never forgot the feeling, and I told myself that if I ever was in a position where anyone would want my autograph someday, I wouldn’t do that to them.”
I started to ask another question, but we had reached the end of the court. Knight removed his arm from my shoulder, turned and strode toward the tunnel to the locker room.
I stood there, scribbling in my notepad, trying to make sure I had a record of what he said.
I had my exclusive and, most important of all, some insights about Bob Knight that made me understand better about everyone having different sides to them.
RetroSimba 
Great insight. Knight certainly had his character flaws, as do all of us. But he was also gracious with his time. My cousin coached high school basketball and went to a coaches clinic that Knight conducted. My cousin said he was the same way as you describe – after the clinic he chatted with all of the high school coaches and patiently signed for everyone there. My cousin still has the signed program.
Thanks for sharing your story, Michael. Attending a basketball clinic led by Bob Knight would have been quite an opportunity.
Wasn’t Knight good friends with Tony LaRussa as well, and would show up occasionally at Cardinal games? I seem to remember that they were buddies.
Yes, indeed. Bob Knight would sit next to Tony La Russa during Cardinals spring training games. In 2001, La Russa told Florida Today, “I studied different coaches and Coach Knight was one. I read his books. I was attracted to his coaching style. I was impressed he had such a good relationship with his players after they left school. That tells me something. What impressed me most is when the old greats like Hank Iba and Pete Newell talk about how Bob Knight can coach. You don’t fool those guys.”
What a wonderful experience that must have been Mark…..so eye opening, to see, as you said, a different side to him. Thanks for sharing this. I’ve seen a few reports since his passing and am amazed that he only coached one future all-star – Isiah Thomas which seems to suggest that he really cherished role players that fit into a team concept. I also heard that 98 percent of his players graduated.
I am so glad you mentioned that graduation rate, Steve. Yes, according to the Washington Post, Bob Knight “ran a clean, scandal-free program, and more than 95 percent of his players who completed 4 years of eligibility received their degrees.
I’ve got to admit that I started losing touch with college basketball when it became the norm for players to jump to the NBA in their sophomore or junior year. However, till this day I still have incredible memories from the 70’s and 80’s. It goes without saying that there will never be another like Bob Knight. You could probably make a valid case in saying that no coach got as much out of his players as did Bobby Knight considering that he never had a team of super stars. Just like many other great sports coaches, Bobby Knight has a very extensive and very interesting “coaching tree,” that even has former NFL coach Bill Parcells.
In May 2000, when he was 89, the all-time best college basketball coach, John Wooden, said to the Los Angeles Times, “I think Coach Knight is a fine teacher of the game of basketball but I would not want anyone I love to play for him.”
Great story Mark! Me and my cousin used to razz players as kids when they thought they were too cool to sign an autograph. One player (Greg Olson of the Orioles) was reverse bullied so hard by my then 12-year-old cousin, that he had everyone in the section laughing at him. He eventually acquiesced and signed our cards.
I remember watching Indiana/ Duke games when everyone had short shorts and shot those ridiculous high school 3-pointers. It’s almost comical to watch a basketball game from that era with players posting up, back to the basket, and running the “weave.” (I hated running the weave in high school) Did Larry Bird have issues with Knight because I thought he was supposed to go to Indiana…or am I wrong?
I had no idea you were 6’3!
Thanks for sharing the fun story about shaming Gregg Olson into signing autographs.
Speaking of 6-foot-3, that was how tall a gangly Larry Bird was his junior year at Springs Valley High School in French Lick, Ind. During the summer, he grew four or five inches and developed into an elite player his senior year. Springs Valley head coach Gary Holland told the Indianapolis Star, “He’s got the mark of a great athlete.”
Bird accepted a scholarship offer from Bob Knight at Indiana University. Larry’s mother, Georgia Bird, later recalled to the Boston Globe, “He was just too young to go away to school. The day Bobby Knight came to our house to get me to sign that paper, I just had to bite my tongue to keep from telling him, ‘Why don’t you just leave him alone? He just doesn’t want to go to school.’ ”
Larry Bird enrolled at Indiana University and lasted less than three weeks before he left. According to the Globe, Bird was frightened by the size of the Bloomington, Ind., campus and was worried he’d get lost. He also was concerned he’d flunk out.
Bird returned home to French Lick and “got a job with the city highway department, painting lines on streets, cutting down trees and driving a garbage truck,” the Globe reported.
According to the Globe, some residents of French Lick were disgruntled with Bird for leaving Indiana University. In February 1975, Larry’s father committed suicide.
Bird played some Amateur Athletic Union basketball and college recruiters continued their pursuit of him. He finally chose Indiana State in Terre Haute.
One more twist: When Dave Cowens resigned as head coach of the Boston Celtics in April 1979, Red Auerbach’s first choice to replace him was Bob Knight, the Globe reported, but Knight opted to stay at Indiana. Otherwise, Knight would have coached Bird with the Celtics.
In retrospect, it was Gregg Olson (with 2 g’s) whereas Greg Olson was a catcher for the Braves. I’m impressed you caught that.