In case any Indiana Hoosiers fans were hopeful about Bob Knight making a surprise return to the school where he turned himself into a household name, Knight went on the Dan Patrick Show Friday morning to dump frigid water all over those hopes.
Here are Knight’s full comments via the Indy Star, in case you think he’s being taken out of context.
Late in the interview, Patrick asked Knight: Why do we want you to go back to Assembly Hall so bad?
“Well, I think I’ve always really enjoyed the fans, I always will,” Knight said. “On my dying day, I will think about how great the fans at Indiana were. And as far as the hierarchy at Indiana University at that time, I have absolutely no respect whatsoever for those people. With that in mind, I have no interest in ever going back to that university.”
Patrick followed up: “Aren’t those people all out of there coach?”
Knight: “I hope they’re all dead.”
Patrick: “Some of them are…”
Knight: “Well, I hope the rest of them go.”
Well…that sounds about typical for Knight. But hey, he doesn’t have any issue with Indiana’s fans or the current administration! That’s a positive thing, right?
I understand holding a grudge, but a return to Indiana, even for just a halftime ceremony or something along those lines, wouldn’t be for the current administration – it would be for the fans. It would be great if Knight was willing to bury the hatchet so he could stand on the court at Assembly Hall one more time, but I think that ship has sailed.
