Bruce Pearl opens up on death of Bob Knight

On Wednesday, legendary basketball coach Bob Knight died. He was 83 years old. When asked about the former Indiana head coach’s legacy, Bruce Pearl opened up on Knight’s impact on the game.

“I knew Coach Knight pretty well,” the Auburn head coach said. “His son Tim was a manager for us at Stanford when I was 22 years old. Tim was obviously 18 at Stanford. I knew Coach Knight through his son. 

“After four years at Stanford, in ‘86, we got into the Big Ten. At the time, he was, in ‘86, they were rolling. It was Iowa, Indiana, Purdue, (Gene) Keady, Michigan, Illinois. Those were your top four, five. If you look back in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s, Big Ten was dominating.”

Knight was the figurehead of the Big Ten’s dominance. He coached the Hoosiers from 1971 until 2000, boosting them to three national titles. In his 29 years at Indiana, Knight totaled a 662-239 record — including a 353-151 mark in conference play — as he became the program’s all-time winningest coach.

Bob Knight leaves lasting impact

The Hoosiers made it to the NCAA Tournament in all but four of his years as head coach and he led the program to an undefeated season in 1975-76. Pearl believes the Big Ten still reflects Knight’s style today.

“The interesting thing about leagues is leagues take on the personality of the best coaches in the league,” Pearl said. “The Big Ten took on the personality of Gene Keady and Bobby Knight. They were two of the more dominant programs. 

“Whether it be the motion offense or the physical defense, just how they play, Bob Knight set the tone. That tone is still the way the Big Ten plays. Physical, fundamental. Truly, truly one of the all-time great, legendary coaches. A man’s man.”

Stanford wasn’t the only school Pearl made a connection with Knight. After moving on from Stanford, Pearl became an assistant coach at Iowa. In the same conference as Knight, Pearl annually game-planned for the college basketball icon.

In 1992, Pearl was named head coach at Southern Indiana, just a two-hour road trip away from Knight’s stomping grounds. On Wednesday, Knight’s family released the following statement with the announcement of his death.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family,” they wrote. “We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as Coach requested a private family gathering, which is being honored.  We will continue to celebrate his life and remember him, today and forever as a beloved Husband, Father, Coach, and Friend.”

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.