Bob Knight, major college basketball's all-time winningest men's coach who will be remembered as much for controversy as success, abruptly resigned yesterday.
The decision of the 67-year-old Knight to step down in the middle of the season surprised much of the college basketball world. But Pete Newell, the legendary former coach and a close friend of Knight, was not surprised Knight decided to resign after amassing 902 career victories.
"I'm glad to see he is getting out," Newell said in a telephone interview last night. "He is worn out. Basketball is a lot tougher on coaches now. There is more money. There is more pressure. The media, it is all a lot bigger. You get older, you just don't have the same capacities. "
Knight told the Lubbock (Tex.) Avalanche-Journal that he made his decision to step down after talking to Newell for more than an hour Sunday night. Newell said the two talk often and Knight has broached the subject of retiring before.
Mike Krzyzewski, who played for Knight at Army and began his career as an assistant at Indiana, said in a statement: "Outside of my immediate family, no single person has had a greater impact on my life than Coach Knight. I have the ultimate respect for him as a coach and a mentor, but even more so as a dear friend. For more than 40 years, the life lessons I have learned from Coach are immeasurable. Simply put, I love him."
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