Legendary Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight was discharged from a Bloomington hospital on Monday after spending the weekend there with an acute illness.
Knight, who is 82 years-of-age, and has been residing back in Bloomington since 2019, was Indiana’s coach for 29 seasons and won three national titles, in 1976, 1981 and 1987. He was hospitalized on Friday.
Knight’s son Pat released a statement on their family website on Monday.
“On behalf of the Knight Family, we thank you for your thoughts and prayers. As many have heard, my dad was hospitalized over the weekend with an illness and has since been released from the hospital.
“We ask for your privacy as he is cared for and resting at home in good hands. Coach always taught us, and those that played for him, the importance of fighting through adversity and he and our family thank you for the tremendous amount of support you have shown and given during this time. We appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers.” — Pat Knight
Knight coached at Indiana from 1971 to 2000, and when he was relieved of his duties, he severed all ties to the university for more than two decades. He coached the Texas Tech Red Raiders and also did some TV work before hanging it up for good. Texas Tech hired Knight in 2001, and he stayed there until retiring in 2008 with a then-Division I-record 902 career victories.
Knight was succeeded by his son, Pat, at Texas Tech and moved back to Bloomington in 2019. He returned to Bloomington four years ago to be closer to his loved ones. He and his wife Karen have a home on the east side of Bloomington and former players, coaches and friends are constant visitors.
Then, after vowing never to return to an Indiana University event, he softened his stance on that promise by attending the Hoosiers’ game against the Purdue Boilermakers on February 8, 2020, where he was welcomed with open arms, and tear-dripped cheeks, joined by dozens of his former players who came in from out of town and former Purdue coach Gene Keady to be there for the halftime celebration.
He has not been to any more games, even with a former player, Mike Woodson, now at the helm for the past two years. Woodson got visits every week from Knight this year, who would come to watch practice. It meant a lot to Knight, and to the current Indiana players, especially those with Indiana ties who know all about the Knight legacy at Indiana.
“It means a great deal to me that he’s back here,” Woodson said last month. “Make no mistake about it, Indiana basketball is Bob Knight. The fact that he’s back here where he belongs. It’s like old times again, and I’m excited about that.”
