Fansided

Bob Knight makes long-awaited return to Indiana

By Brad Berreman

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 08: Former Indiana Hoosiers Head coach Bob Knight on the court during halftime of the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Assembly Hall on February 08, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 08: Former Indiana Hoosiers Head coach Bob Knight on the court during halftime of the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Assembly Hall on February 08, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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After turning down opportunities for years, Bob Knight made his overdue return to Indiana on Saturday.

Some of his methods may not fly today, but there’s no denying Bob Knight’s success as the men’s basketball coach at Indiana. A school record 662 wins, three national titles, 11 Big Ten titles and five Final Four appearances say it all.

But Knight was fired amid controversy on Sept. 10, 2000, which created a cavernous rift between he and the university. He turned down multiple opportunities to come back to Assembly Hall when his most successful teams were honored, and took every opportunity to criticize school administration. He even didn’t show up when he was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009, citing how he didn’t want to detract from the other class members.

Knight showed up to an Indiana baseball game last spring, and he also moved back to Bloomington last year. Was a reunion in the works?

The Hoosiers played host to in-state rival Purdue on Saturday, with former Boilermakers’ coach (and long-time friend and rival of Knight’s) Gene Keady in the building. The Hoosiers’ 1980 Big Ten championship team was honored, and Knight made his long-awaited return with several of his former players alongside him.

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There has been speculation Knight, now 79 years old, has been battling some health issues in recent years. That’s still unclear and unconfirmed, and won’t by anyone but Knight himself, but it’s safe to assume any health concerns may have changed Knight’s tune on making a return to Assembly Hall. It also helps the athletic director at Indiana, Fred Glass, is obviously not the one who fired him 20 years ago and Glass made an effort to stay in touch with Knight.

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Through all his controversies Knight has remained beloved at Indiana, and his program graduated kids while staying on the right side of the NCAA’s rules. It shouldn’t have taken two decades, but least for one day Knight and Hoosiers’ basketball got back together and all was right.