Bobby Knight

Everyone knows him as Bob Knight but his real name is Robert Montgomery Knight. Bobby Knight may possibly be one of the craziest coaches I have ever seen. He is known for his crazy antics and unpredictable responses to reporters. But regardless of how crazy he appears, he is without a doubt one of the most successful coaches of his time. Bob Knight won 3 NCAA championships, 1 National Invitation Tournament championship, and 11 Big Ten Conference championships. Knight also coached the USA men’s Olympic team to a gold medal in 1984. These credentials leaves him as being one of only three people to have ever won a NCAA title, NIT title, as well as an Olympic gold medal. Nicknamed “the general” it was obvious how much Bobby Knight expected out of his players. He was completely unpredictable but a riot to watch when he got upset. There are so many examples of times when he would completely lose his temper, such as throwing a chair onto the court. Throughout his remarkable 43 years of coaching (1965 - 2008) he became just as popular as the major names in the game. I would think that many fans went to games just as much to see him as to see the basketball game. It almost makes me wonder if he embraced his short temper in order to draw a crowd. It seems possible that on top of actually being upset with certain calls he could also have been putting on a show for the crowd. Regardless of what his intentions were he was a celebrity in the game. Bob Knight retired in 2008 but left behind a legacy, as well as many “enthusiastic” videos of himself.