Robert Montgomery Knight knows how to win. Adorned with three NCAA Championship rings on his fingers and countless other success stories not branded in jewelry, he is a man of many words, many fans, and just as many enemies. To understand the significance of Bob Knight is to understand Indiana basketball. In a state where HS hoops outdraws prep football, the dream for every kid living amid the amber waves of Indiana grain is to make the winning basket in the biggest game of their lives. For many of these kids, Bloomington, IN, is the place where hard work and fruition come together. Playing in front of 17,000 Hoosier fans at Alumni Hall is hard to say no to, especially those with all the physical tools to one day be the next Isiah Thomas or Calbert Chainey. For a growing number however, the chance at Hoosier immortality is offset by the thought of spending four years under the watchful eye of The General.

Knight never pretends to be all things to all people, but is he wearing out the welcome mat at the expense of his ego? Parents and student-athletes that once flocked to IU without hesitation are now weighing their options and assessing things with greater scrutiny. Could Knight’s way of doing business be on its way out of Bloomington? Some say yes.

While the end is not certain, Knight’s beginnings are well documented. Born in 1941 in Orrville, Ohio, Knight later attended Ohio State to play basketball, winning Big-10 titles in 1960, 1961, and 1962 — including the 1960 national title with future superstar Jerry Lucas. The Buckeyes’ three-year record of 78-6 was among the best in conference history. With a degree in history and government in hand, he started coaching HS ball at Cuyahoga Falls before moving on to West Point as an assistant coach to Tates Locke at Army. When Locke took the position at Miami University, Knight was chosen as the successor. He was just 24.

From 1965-71, Knight orchestrated the Cadets to a 102-50 (.671%) record and four NIT appearances. Equally impressive is that Army led the nation in scoring defense in two of the six seasons. Indiana University took notice and offered Knight the position at the school at the end of the 1970-71 season despite an 11-13 Cadet record – still Knight’s only losing season in his coaching career. Within two years Knight had one Big-10 title and a third place finish in the NCAA tournament. No longer a coaching upstart, he was now a proven winner at one of the most profile schools in the country.

It was during this time that Bobby Knight’s reputation of wielding a heavy hand came to the forefront of the basketball scene. At a time when many kids were protesting the war, smoking pot, and experimenting in free love, Knight’s stickler-for-the rules mentality was a breath of fresh air. He was a miracle worker at turning talented slackers into budding overachievers. Most Indiana recruits were decent kids, but those who lacked resolve ended up straight as a banjo string by the second semester. Not only was Indiana a powerhouse hoops program, the players were making grades and staying out of trouble. To date, 14 Hoosiers have earned All Big-10 Academic and All-America Academic under Knight.

In 1975 and 1976, Indiana won 63 of 64 games, including the 1976 national title with a perfect 32-0 mark – still the last Div-IA mens team to go undefeated throughout an entire season. Led by Scott May, two-time Big-10 Player of the Year and 1976 National Player of the Year, Indiana could do no wrong. The General maintained a strict diet of ass-kicking and no-nonsense teachings, but winning overshadowed all but the final boxscore. Isiah Thomas and Steve Alford arrived in Bloomington in the 1980s, helping earn Knight his second and third national crowns. Once a coach wins a national title, their existence is justified. When a coach wins two titles, his likeness is bronzed. After a coach wins three championships, he can do whatever the hell he wants. Only Adolph Rupp, John Wooden, and Pat Summit have won more.

Winning games is the truest hypocrisy however. Those who don’t win enough get fired and those that win too many create an animal far too big for one person to control. This is the state of Indiana Hoosier basketball. Bob Knight’s value to the university is being questioned, on and off the court – and has been for some time. In 1985, the Indiana Hoosiers took to the court of Alumni Hall against in-state rival Purdue. Always a battle between two of the Big-10 powers, the series historically brings out the best in both institutions. On this day however, it brought out a side of Bobby Knight many fans have come to loathe.

In one of his many duels with the officiating crew, Knight crossed the line of nearly every fan’s measure when he picked up a chair on the Indiana bench, tossed it across the Indiana hardwood, and abused the men in stripes like an intoxicated father oversteps the line with his frightened son. Eight years later Knight once again made headlines when television cameras caught him kicking the leg of one of his players on the Indiana sidelines. The player happened to be his son Pat. While it was inconclusive as to how hard the kick was, Pat made light of the situation in spite of harsh criticism. On another occasion Knight was caught head-butting a player on the bench. Maybe it was unintentional. Maybe it wasn’t and everyone would like it to be. In the middle of the Bob Knight controversy is the administration at Indiana University. While outsiders admit they don’t have all the answers, what is clear is that those in charge at IU walk a fine line with their basketball coach. On some occasions they act with a heavy hand. At other times, they turn their heads.

In recent years, Knight has been suspended for games, fined, and even investigated for behavior many feel has no place in college athletics. Ironically, postgame news conferences are where Knight can be most explosive. After an NCAA tournament game in 1995, Knight lashed out with a forked tongue and was fined $30,000 – a figure many believe the university paid in-full on Knight’s behalf. Some feel the university acts as an “enabler” by standing behind such behavior.

After a 1997 loss at the hands of Big-10 rival Illinois, Knight ran his mouth to the tune of three technical fouls and orchestrated a post-game tantrum rarely duplicated by the most childish of adolescents. Where most coaches would end their argument, the Hoosier headman punctuated his frustration by saying Ted Valentine [referee] was “the greatest travesty I’ve seen in 33 years in basketball as a head coach.” An old proverb states, “a bad carpenter always blames his tools.” Sometimes Bob Knight owns the woodshop.

Jason Collier, a former McDonald’s All-American at Springfield Catholic HS, departed Bloomington after admitting Knight’s antics no longer made basketball fun. He transferred to Georgia Tech and finished 2nd in the ACC in scoring this year. Knight downplayed the defection and had little to say.

The list of transgressions is long and distinguished, far too complete to recite here. Despite the shortcomings however, The General has lost little respect from the coaching fraternity. After all it was he who was asked and then guided the 1984 Olympic team to a gold medal in Los Angeles. Longtime friend and Flyer Head Coach Don Donoher joined him on the sidelines as one of America’s greatest amateur teams took the court with a laundry list of future superstars like Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and others. Also on Knight’s resume is a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. In 1991, Knight was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame, becoming only the second inductee ever to play for and coach a national championship team (Dean Smith, Kansas). After more than 700 victories, 11 Big 10 titles, and nearly every coaching record in the conference, Knight has every reason to call it quits. But he doesn’t. Despite a career winning percentage of .727 and 23 NCAA appearances, The General continues to pace the sidelines in search of something more than another victory. Knight’s best asset is his ability to teach. By and large, graduates of The General go on to lead productive lives and seldom find trouble. Over 98% of Indiana’s four-year players have degrees under their arm. Many of them speak candidly about Knight’s positive impact on their lives. In addition, 27 former and active basketball coaches once learned under the guidance of Knight. Duke Head Coach Mike Kryczcewski is the most notable.

As much as can be said for Bobby Knight’s coaching credentials however, recent years indicate that he is losing his touch. Prior to this year’s NCAA second-round exit to St. John’s, Knight’s teams have won, 20, 22, 19, and 21 games respectively – good by most accounts but not at Indiana. The Hoosiers last won a Big-10 title in 1992-93, easily the longest drought in the program since Knight took over. This year’s graduating class was the first to leave school without a conference title. Between 1993-94 and 1997-98, IU’s Big-10 mark was a mediocre 53-35 (.602%), down nearly 10% from his career mark.

At some point, the tantrums and unmet expectations on the court will be enough for Knight to give up coaching altogether – either on his own or by Indiana university or even the NCAA. Schools regularly replace coaches, but it is a sign of Bobby Knight’s power and powerlessness to think it not extraordinary that he one day spoon a hole so deep that the ruling body of college athletics have no other option but to remove him from the game he loves. Objectively, Knight’s prior transgressions would have ended careers, ruined reputations, and destroyed credibility within the basketball community were it done by another coach. Other coaches have won national titles, conference championships, and graduated outstanding young men without a sideshow of foul-mouthed banter and constant ambivalence. Dean Smith, Don Haskins, Lou Carnasecca, John Wooden, Lute Olsen, and many others have assembled equally impressive resumes with a lot less baggage and explanation. Robert Montgomery Knight is a very likeable man. He volunteers for many charities throughout the state of Indiana, lent his time as a trustee for the NABC, and is a devoted father of two sons. When he’s not scribbling Xs and Os, he enjoys hunting and fishing. What everyone in Indiana enjoys is Hoosier hysteria.

Unfortunately, the gleam of the shine is losing luster and many are getting tired of the same song and dance. Knight’s most ardent supporters lie closest to the program while The General’s critics tend to float along the perimeter – but even these distances are shrinking. When Knight’s own university starts punishing for unacceptable behavior, things can’t be as picture perfect as many like to admit.

Knight struggles to keep himself and basketball fans happy, but one has to bend sooner or later. As young kids walk along the fence-high corn and dribble their basketballs down the country roads, all they imagine are candy-cane warm-ups and screaming fans cheering their name. The same locale that has a rim in every driveway may one day dunk the coach who gave each of them an opportunity to succeed in basketball and in life. Too often however, it’s not what you do but how you do it. As Bobby Knight grows older, the basketball demons continue to multiply.