How he built a dynasty in Indiana and inspired players

Who is Bob Knight?

American former basketball coach Robert Montgomery ‘Bob’ Knight was born in Orrville, Ohio, USA, on October 25, 1940, meaning Scorpio is his zodiac sign. Known as “The General,” Bob set the record when he retired with 902 wins in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball games, while today he ranks fifth; he is perhaps best known for coaching the Indiana Hoosiers of the NCAA Division I from 1971 to 2000, as well as coaching Texas Tech from 2001 to 2008.

Education and early life

Bob was raised in Orrville by his mother and father, about whom he has not shared many details because Bob respects their privacy; it is believed that his father was a basketball coach at a local high school and his mother a housewife. Since Bob has not yet spoken about siblings, it is widely believed that he is an only child.

He became interested in playing basketball while attending Orrville High School, and was one of the top players there; Bob engaged in various other activities as a teenager, including playing soccer and acting with the school’s drama club.

He enrolled in 1958 and then enrolled at Ohio State University, where he played under coach Fred Taylor, who was later inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame; he played for the Ohio Buckeyes as a reserve forward and won the 1960 NCAA Championship, as they both lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats in the next two NCAA Championships.

He graduated in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in government and history.

Bob’s career

After graduation, Bob began working at Cuyahoga Falls High School as a junior varsity basketball coach, but the following year he joined the United States Army, serving two years on active duty from June 1963, and then four years in the Army Reserve. .

Not long after joining the Army, in the second half of 1963, Bob became the head coach of the Army Black Knights; he won 102 games with them and became known for his “explosive temper.”

He joined Indiana University as the head coach of their basketball team the Hoosiers in 1971, and won 662 games during the 22 seasons he spent with them. In the 1972–73 season, Bob led the Hoosiers to win the Big Ten Championship, and they lost to the University of California, Los Angeles’ Bruins in the Final Four; they won the Big Ten Championship again in the following season, while in the 1974–75 and 1975–76 seasons they won all of their games, making them two more Big Ten champions. What marked the end of the ’70s for the Hoosiers was winning the 1979 National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

Time for me to choose my next sports biography. Which would you choose? pic.twitter.com/1TmKBdad2c

— Maliika Walker (@maliikawalker) March 28, 2023

Bob and the Hoosiers won the 1981 NCAA Tournament, and John Feinstein’s 1986 book “A Season on the Brink” covered Bob and his basketball team. They again won the NCAA Tournament in 1987 and a Big Ten Championship in the 1988-89 season.

The Hoosiers continued to play well into the early 1990s, winning the Big Ten Championship in both the 1990–91 and 1992–93 seasons, and entering the NCAA Championship nearly every year for the rest of the decade.

The sports show “CNN Sports Illustrated” aired an episode on March 14, 2000, in which they reported on American film director and producer Robert Abbott’s investigation into Bob strangling his former player Burgess Neil Reed in 1997; although Bob denied this, a tape of the practice game was shown, and it was indeed possible that Bob Burgess choked on it. Because of this and similar other incidents related to Bob’s behavior, he was fired from his coaching position on September 10, 2000; the students protested and thousands marched through the streets. Several magazines reported on Bob’s firing, including “Sports Illustrated”.

He took the year 2001 off and became the head coach at Texas Tech in 2002, leading their Red Raiders to three NCAA Championship appearances and one NIT in his first four years there, even though the Red Raiders had not reached an NCAA Championship since then . 1996. Bob’s best performance with the Red Raiders was reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 2005.

He revealed that he retired on February 4, 2008, and his son Pat Knight became the new head coach of the Red Raiders.

Life after basketball

Bob became a studio analyst for ESPN in 2008 and remained with them until April 2, 2015, when his contract expired and was not renewed.

On February 27, 2019, it was revealed that Bob had health issues, and during a speech on April 4, 2019, Bob showed significant problems with his memory; since then he lives a peaceful life with his wife in their home in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Love life and relationships

Bob and his first wife, non-celebrity American Nancy Falk, exchanged vows on April 17, 1963, and she gave birth to their two sons Tim and Pat in subsequent years; Patrick Clair ‘Pat’ Knight is today a successful basketball coach and scout.

Bob and his second wife Karen Vieth Edgar were married in 1988; she is a former high school basketball coach, and the two are together to this day.

Bob did not mention any other women who he may have been with, he has been married to his second wife Karen Vieth Edgar since April 2023 and has two sons with his first wife Nancy Falk.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Bob endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, calling him a “great defender of the US.”

In addition to “A Season on the Brink,” several books about Bob have been published, including Juan Mellen’s “Bob Knight: His Own Man,” Robert P. Sulek’s “Hoosier Honor: Bob Knight and Academic Success at Indiana University,” and Steve Alford’s “Playing for Knight: My Six Seasons with Bobby Knight”.

Bob’s guest starred in many movies and TV series, including the 1994 sports film “Blue Chips”, the 2002 sports film “A Season on the Brink” and the 2003 romantic comedy film “Anger Management”.

He is a philanthropist and has donated quite a bit of money to Indiana University, while also raising nearly $5 million for their library system.

Height, eyes and wealth

Bob is 82 years old. He has brown eyes and gray hair, is 1.96 m tall and weighs about 92 kg.

Bob’s ability Estimated at over $15 million, as of April 2023.