Before Saturday’s Big Ten football game between Wisconsin and Indiana in Bloomington, there was a moment of silence to honor the memory of former Hoosiers basketball coach Bob Knight.
IU players wore “RMK” stickers on their helmets to honor Robert Montgomery Knight, the iconic Hall of Famer who died last week. Knight was 83 years old.
Each of the stickers on the helmet featured three stars, one for each of Knight’s national titles. The men’s and women’s basketball teams will also wear an RMK patch on their uniforms throughout the season.
On the field, the Badgers took it all a little too literally Saturday. Their silence was deafening. They managed to play with little urgency or energy in a 20-14 upset loss to the Hoosiers.
The last time Indiana beat Wisconsin on its home field, the winning coach was Gerry DiNardo, now a Big Ten Network studio analyst. It was 2002 and the Hoosiers were recovering from a 19-point deficit.
In retrospect, perhaps it was only fitting that the Badgers fell prey to Indiana. That’s all the Badgers basketball teams ever did against Knight, who won 31 straight games against Wisconsin during an ignominious streak in the series.
If you’re keeping score, it’s been 16 years and 364 days between UW victories. The irony is that the Badgers won their first game against Knight in 1972 before losing 48 of the next 53.
Greg Gard on Knight’s training clinic
Wisconsin basketball coach Greg Gard has his own frame of reference for Knight. Gard was just getting into the business in 1991. He was an assistant at Hazel Green’s Southwestern High School.
A group of his peers decided to travel to Bloomington and participate in a Knight clinic at Indiana Assembly Hall. Gard took a seat in the stands and spent three days watching Knight coach the Hoosiers.
“It was my first coaching clinic,” Gard said. “And I still have all my notes from it.”
There was no real interaction between Knight and the prep coaches. Knight was mic’d up and also spoke from a podium on the floor. But the logistics didn’t really matter. Knight was teaching.
“That was the beginning of the formation of my philosophy and my foundations,” Gard said. “It made sense with what he was talking about. From a defensive standpoint, the way they did things is a lot like the way we do things.
“The concepts are very similar. When you heard him speak and you saw his team demonstrate it, it was consistent with what I ultimately felt was important in the sense that I wanted our teams to play.
That 1991 Indiana team won 27 games and lost to Duke in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. The Hoosiers were led by Calbert Cheaney, Damon Bailey, Alan Henderson and Brian Evans.
“He was a little bit ahead of his time in terms of how he taught certain defensive concepts,” Gard said, “and how he implemented them with help and rotations and that kind of thing.
“He kept it simple. I don’t think anyone would ever say that what Indiana is doing is complicated. They were really good at what they did. He demanded excellence in that way.
Bob Knight and Bo Ryan, then the Badgers’ men’s basketball coach, face off one-on-one on an ESPN “College GameDay” broadcast in 2009.
Many connections to Madison
Last week, Paul Fanlund, editor of the Cap Times wrote an article about how Knight and former UW head coach John Powless became close friends. Powless accepted the position at UW after Knight turned it down.
Knight had many other ties to Madison, including a strong friendship with former Wisconsin hockey coach Jeff Sauer. They became friends and golf buddies over the years.
Sauer told this story. He was playing golf with Knight, and a few guys in a nearby cart raised the issue of Knight’s sometimes rocky relationship with basketball officials.
“He (Knight) told both people, ‘Officials never affect how I approach the game.’ I never let the officials get on my nerves. The only time I get angry with the officials is to protect my players.
“The other two guys in the golf cart were sitting there listening to him very intently,” Sauer said. “Then they kind of took off and went up to hit their shots.
“Bobby turned to me and said, ‘Do you think they believed me?’
Sauer had a very different view of Knight than the outsiders in his circle.
“He’s a different guy than you see,” Sauer said. “I know him personally and I think his effect on you (the media), the so-called intimidation, he is just playing a game with you.”
Knight backed me up with Sauer in a one-on-one interview after one of his many wins against the Wisconsin basketball team. He spoke at length about Sauer’s commitment to fundamentals.
“It doesn’t matter what sport you play,” Knight said. “The fundamentals don’t change.”
Another side of the bully reputation
This Feb. 23, 1985, file photo shows Indiana coach Bob Knight standing up and throwing a chair to the floor during Indiana’s 72-63 loss to Purdue in Bloomington , Indiana.
After Knight’s death, Indiana University Surplus Stores announced a “Throw a Chair” sale – a throwback to the time Knight threw a chair across the field during a 1985 game against Purdue.
Each chair will sell for $1. Most importantly, store employees will donate dollar for dollar for each chair sold and donations will be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in Knight’s name.
RELATED: How Knight’s profane rant to Madison was prescient
Knight didn’t throw a chair in his last appearance against Wisconsin. He threw down his clipboard. It was March 2000 and it was after his Hoosiers lost a 56-53 game to the Badgers at the Kohl Center.
Believe it or not, Knight was angry with the officials and how they handled the final seconds. Before leaving the field, however, he shook UW coach Dick Bennett’s hand and congratulated him.
By the way, Knight really liked the Kohl Center.
“It’s a great facility. It’s a beautiful place to play and watch a game,” he said in 1998. “I’ll tell you what it feels like from my point of view…”
Pausing for effect, he said, “It’s really nice to play here when Wisconsin makes a move or takes the lead or whatever – when the crowd goes crazy – and not worry of the roof falling on you.
“I mean, this is the first time in 27 years I’ve felt safe playing in Wisconsin.”
His benchmark was playing games in the noisy but outdated Field House. Which was almost his home, if you want to believe what you want from that 1968 interlude with Badger officials, brief as it was.
Knight was usually painted as a tyrant. But he spoke with Bob Costas in 1994 and it showed him in a different light. Costas asked if he understood why parents were hesitant to send their sons to him.
“Absolutely. I’m just saying I’m going to be the toughest coach he can play for. He’s going to have to go to class. There’s going to be more demands placed on your son at Indiana than anywhere he could go.
Knight admitted to being upset at times by his own actions. Cross the line, if you want.
“I can’t tell you… how many times I went home and said, ‘God, I wish I hadn’t picked on that kid like that,'” Knight said before becoming character.
“I have often said this to some of my sanctimonious and self-righteous critics: I hope that when the day of judgment comes, they will not have to appear at St. Peter’s table with me.
“And if there is only one space available for the two of us and it is judged which of us has done the most for our neighbor, I am sure that Saint Peter will turn to me…
“And he’ll say, ‘Robert, come out the door.'”
This door opened last week.
