A basketball legend with Ohio State ties passed away on Wednesday.
Bob Knight, a former Ohio State player who later went on to become the winningest head coach in college basketball history, died at the age of 83, according to his family.
"It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family," the Knight family said in a statement. "We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as Coach requested a private family gathering, which is being honored. We will continue to celebrate his life and remember him, today and forever as a beloved Husband, Father, Coach, and Friend."
Knight got his first head coaching job at Army in 1965 before landing the head position at the program he is synonymous with, Indiana, prior to the 1971-72 season. He earned a reputation for a demanding, hard-nosed style that produced great results.
Knight won three national championships as head coach of the Hoosiers in 1976 (an undefeated season), 1981 and 1987. He was the three-time AP Coach of the Year in 1975, 1976 and 1989. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
He was dismissed as head coach of Indiana in 2000 after multiple physical altercations with players. Knight resumed his career with Texas Tech the following season, where he coached another seven years.
Across 42 seasons as a head coach, Knight amassed a career record of 902-371, the most wins ever by a collegiate head coach at the time of his retirement. That record was broken by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski in 2011, who served as an assistant coach under Knight at Indiana during the 1974-75 season.
Prior to his time in coaching, Knight played basketball at Ohio State from 1959 through 1962. He was a reserve forward for the 1960 national championship team, still the only NCAA title-winning team in Ohio State men’s basketball history.
Knight is survived by his wife Karen and sons Tim and Pat.
