September 10, 2000 is a day Indiana fans will remember for the rest of their lives. Not because it was a National Championship or a big win. But, because it was the day most people around the IU program never thought would happen; the firing of Bob Knight.
Leading up to Bob Knight's departure from Bloomington, multiple allegations had surfaced regarding Knight's treatment of players. The one that everyone remembers is the choking incident at practice with the late Neil Reed. While that happened three years prior to his firing, it was the incident that everyone points to as the ultimate 'last straw', however that may have not even been the case.
"Hey, Knight, what's up?" Those are words that will also live forever in Bloomington, as just two days before Knight's firing, Indiana freshman student Kent Harvey saw Knight on campus and uttered those words. Harvey said that Knight raised his voice and grabbed his arm, the latter which Knight did acknowledge later.
In the press conference from then IU President Myles Brand, a reluctance to adhere to a 'zero tolerance' policy was too much to overcome.
"Unfortunately, there have been many instances in the last 17 weeks in which Coach Knight has behaved and acted in a way that is both defiant and hostile," Brand said. "These actions illustrate the very troubling pattern of inappropriate behavior that make clear that Coach Knight has no desire, contrary to what he personally promised me, to live within the zero-tolerance guidelines we set out on May 15.
"We have given Indiana University basketball coach Bob Knight one last chance. And he’s failed to take full advantage of that opportunity."
Bob Knight won 662 games during his 29 years in Bloomington but it was the final few seasons that saw the Indiana program fall off of its podium. In the last six seasons of Knight's tenure, the Hoosiers won just two NCAA Tournament games. The six they lost? Outscored by 96 points.
There is no IU without Bob Knight and that was shown no more than this past season when Knight returned to Assembly Hall for the first time since his firing. Surrounded by most of his past players, it was a time that everyone around the program had waited for since September 10, 2000.
While it was a more subdued Knight than what previously ran the sidelines, he made sure to show the emotion he once wore on his sleeve starting a, "DEFENSE! DEFENSE!" chant before leaving the floor.
So now looking back 20 years later, was it easier to let him go because of the lack of success the program had been having in the years leading up? One would be hard pressed to guess that a Bob Knight firing would have happened if there had been another National Championship in that timeframe.
Despite the ugly divorce being 20 years ago, with his reunion this past year, Bob Knight will always be the first and last thing IU fans and college basketball fans think about when talking Indiana basketball.
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