The return of former Indiana head coach Bob Knight headlined the team's matchup with Purdue on Saturday. There was applause from the crowd inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and Knight was moved to tears as he interacted with fans and his former players.
No matter the excitement in the arena, the Hoosiers failed to rally against its in-state rival and lost its fourth straight game, 74-62.
Rumors flooded social media leading up to Indiana’s matchup with Purdue on Saturday that after nearly 20 years, former head coach Bob Knight would make his first public appearance inside Simon Skjodt Assembly hall since his firing on Sept. 10, 2000.
Indiana honored former players from three different decades in program history, including the 1979-80 Big Ten Championship team that finished 21-8 and 13-5 in the conference before exiting the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16. It was a year prior to winning the second national championship Knight’s 29-year tenure.
As each player was announced, the tension inside the Hoosiers’ home arena grew. Fans were waiting in anticipation of Knight’s introduction. Nearly 50 names were called before a video played on the scoreboard — a primer for the fabled coach’s return.
Accompanied by his son, Pat Knight, and former Indiana guard Quinn Buckner, Knight slowly made his way into the crowd’s sight. In a flurry of emotions, he interacted with fans and shared the moment with all the players he coached in years past.
“I just told him it doesn't mean anything to us anymore if you're not a part of it,” former Indiana guard Randy Wittman said after the game. “We came here because of him. It wasn't because of the weather. And as I told Coach — as much as the academics was a big part — it wasn't because of the academics. We came here to play for Coach.”
Before tip-off, Knight met with Indiana head coach Archie Miller and his team, urging them to play hard.
“I was standing there, and he was coach Knight,” Wittman said. “It was like he hasn't left that locker room. The words that he gave to those players before they went out on the floor, it was fabulous.”
Just before the reunion was celebrated on the court, the Hoosiers found themselves at the mercy of a 37-28 deficit. After jumping out to a five-point lead in the first three minutes of the game, it was a back-and-forth affair until Purdue capitalized on a nearly four-minute scoring drought by Indiana to end the period.
The team turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, and the Boilermakers scored 16 points in the paint compared to the Hoosiers’ six. Even after Knight ignited the building, it felt as though nothing could initiate a comeback.
Indiana was outrebounded for just the fifth time this season and now in back-to-back games. The team came within six points in the second half before Purdue ran away with the game in the final nine minutes.
At the hands of an in-state rival, the 74-62 loss marks the team’s fourth straight. It was the largest margin of defeat at home this season, prompting fans to make their way to the exits before the conclusion of the game.
“I'm disappointed for our players, I'm disappointed for our fans,” Miller said after the game. “I'm disappointed for everyone that came back for the reunion. And I'll take full responsibility for the loss today.”
The success of Indiana has come from the inside out this season, through freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and the team’s forwards attacking the offensive glass. Jackson-Davis led the team with 16 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
Aggressiveness led to what was once a fundamentally sounds rebounding team and a free throw rate that sat among the best in the nation. As of late, rebounding has been a weakness for the Hoosiers, a contrast to how Miller described the Indiana teams led by Knight.
“Coach Knight's teams played with amazing execution, role definition,” he said. “And I think over the course of his time, you watch guys develop within the framework of his system and style, guys as freshman or redshirts become All-Americans as they get older.”
Jackson-Davis will have the opportunity to continue his growth as a freshman as the season’s end draws nearer. Next year, the 6-foot-9 forward will return to Bloomington, a decision that former Indiana forward Mike Woodson hopes to see for Knight.
Wittman said Knight’s decision to return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall will be up to the coach himself. But now that the he is back on campus, his players believe he is home.
“I knew he was in a good place,” Wittman said. “He was very happy being back here in Bloomington, living. And I just told him there's a reason why you're happy — because this is where you belong. It's where you belong.”
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