Indiana plans to honor basketball legend Bobby Knight originally appeared on The Sporting News. Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
The Hoosiers plan to commission a bronze statue of Hall of Fame coach Bobby Knight, USA Today reports.
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Coach Knight was a staple of college basketball until the turn of the century. He coached the Indians from 1972 to 2000. Knight led the Indians for 29 seasons. His career wins are 901, still ranked in the top 5. Behind only Roy Williams, Rick Pitino, Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski.
Knight is better than every other head basketball coach in the state of Indiana. His 29 seasons, 901 wins, 24 NCAA tournament appearances, five Final Four appearances and three national championships rank first in program history.
The next four Indiana coaches in the top five have played in a combined 14 NCAA tournament games. His five Final Four appearances are also more than the other four names combined. His winning percentage (73.1%) is second only to Kelvin Sampson (74.1%) who lasted only two seasons.
The university announced the decision on Monday, February 12. Indiana’s 1976 national championship team was honored with a 92-74 win over Oregon State on Sept. 9 in Indianapolis.
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“Coach Knight’s impact on the game of basketball is immeasurable, but his impact on this university and Hoosier basketball fans goes even deeper,” said Indiana Athletic Director Scott Dolson.
“On a personal note, I began my career as a student manager under Coach Knight, and I witnessed firsthand the unparalleled standard of excellence he demanded. He taught me and countless others that success is the result of careful preparation and unwavering discipline. This statue will be a well-deserved tribute to a man who didn’t just win games; he changed the way the sport was played.”
Details about the project and its timeline, which is funded by an anonymous long-time Indiana donor, will be released “in the coming months,” the project said.
In addition to his work at Indiana, which also included 11 Big Ten championships and five Final Four appearances, he was the head coach of the 1979 Pan American Games gold medal-winning USA Basketball team and the 1984 U.S. Olympic team that included Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing.
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