Knight's Inclusion Into IU Hall of Fame Long Overdue

Know matter what you or I might think about Coach Bobby Knight, and I'm not a big fan of his at all, we cannot deny that he is arguably the greatest college basketball coach of all time. He is definitely the winningest coach of all time in college basketball, as far as Mens College Basketball is concerned.

It's because of that success that Indiana University has finally inducted Coach Knight into the Indiana University Sports Hall of Fame. This has been long overdue. I know he has engaged in reprehensible behavior: throwing chairs, berating members of the media, berating his own players, etc. Most people, myself included, don't condone any of that. However, he has won three national titles at IU and he has done a lot for the university and the city of Bloomington. He's also done a lot for his former players. As mentioned above, he has more wins than any other Div. l college basketball head coach. I believe it's something like 826.

I know this could not have been done back when then Indiana University President Miles Brand was there. We all know what happened. Knight was given a "zero tolerance" reprimand after a video tape showing the coach "choking" IU player Neal Reed surfaced back in May of 2000. Four months later, an incident with an IU student gave President Miles Brand the excuse to fire bob Knight. The student in question was the son of one of Knight's most vociferous critics.

Time heals all wounds, and with a new president and new athletic director, the timing was right for Knight to be inducted into the IU Sports Hall of Fame. He deserves it in spite of all of the baggage he brought. He won games and championships, and he made academics the top priority for his players. Congratulations to Coach Knight. It was long overdue.