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Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Legendary Hall of Fame college basketball coach Bob Knight, who led Indiana University to three NCAA titles and was as well-known for his fiery temper, died Wednesday at the age of 83. Knight died at his home in Bloomington, near the university, according to a statement from his family.
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"It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family. We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayer, 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."
Indiana University also paid tribute with a video montage of Knight's basketball wins in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, calling the coach "one of the most successful and influential figures in the history of college basketball."
Knight, who served as a head coach for 42 years, was known for his intense passion for the game, as well as his fiery temper that either propelled his teams to impressive wins or ended in controversy.
Knight gained nationwide attention for his controversial behavior in 1985 when he threw a chair from the bench across the floor during a home game against Purdue, to protest an officiating decision.
Before his coaching controversies and successes, Knight played basketball at Ohio State and, as a player, won the 1960 national championship along with future NBA hall-of-famers John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas.
Knight became head coach at West Point in 1965 where over the next six seasons, he won 102 games at Army and garnered four 18-win seasons.
Knight was lured away in 1971 to become the head coach of Division I men's basketball at Indiana, where he advanced the Hoosiers to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament in his second season before winning a national title in his fifth year.
Knight's team in 1975-1976 finished the season undefeated at 32-0 with a national title. Knight won a second national title in 1981 with future NBA hall-of-fame point guard Isiah Thomas, and again in 1987.
In 1984, Knight led Team USA to a gold medal as coach of the Olympic basketball team, which included Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and former Hoosiers star Steve Alford.
Despite his successes at Indiana, the university put Knight on "zero tolerance" policy for repeated bad behavior due to a number of incidences, including one in 1997 when Knight was caught allegedly choking one of his players during practice.
Knight was fired from Indiana in the fall of 2000 for allegedly grabbing a student on campus.
In all, Knight won 662 games during his Indiana career, which remains the most games won over any other coach in program history.
Knight moved on to become the head coach at Texas Tech, where he won 138 games. On Wednesday, the basketball program offered its condolences in a post on X.
"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."
When Knight left Texas Tech and retired in 2008, his 902 wins were an NCAA Division I men's record. That record was toppled years later by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who played for Knight at Army.
In his retirement, Knight worked briefly as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and maintained his distance from Indiana University, where he had achieved so much success.
Two decades after his firing, Knight returned unannounced to watch an Indiana baseball game in 2019, and again in 2020 to Indiana University's Assembly Hall floor -- where he won hundreds of games -- to attend a halftime ceremony in his honor. Knight was met with thunderous applause from dozens of his former players and a sold-out crowd, which he called "the best fans in the history of college basketball."
