This guy is a great coach, his record and wins speak for themselves. Some may disagree with the way he gets it done, however, he has gotten it done.

I'd let my kid play for him

What a weird guy. His coaching record is fantastic, but he has such a volatile personality on the sidelines. On the other hand, I saw him give a talk once and he was quite charming and engaging.

For understanding the game and not personality, Bobby is the best!

Bobby Knight has held on for a little bit too long, but there is no doubt that he was a great coach for a long time. Indiana was a powerhouse for several decades, and Knight was King. However, his old school coaching ways clashed with contemporary educational philosophies and he lost his support from IU's administration. Despite all of the controversy around him, Knight is without a doubt a great coach.

Well, he should be lower than a three, but history counts for something.

Great coach though his persoality is rather strange...from the temper tantroms of the past to his sudden retirement this year.

Bobby Knight has a great record. For all the years he has been around he has proved to be only a marginal coach. His priorities seemed to be a bit skewed. It is almost as if he detests his job and all those involved with it including his players. As a person he is a slug.

A great defensive coach, but an offensively terrible person.  College basketball should not be filled to the brim with rash human emotion and projectile metal.  Has not evolved at all since his first controversial incident.  Does not belong with the likes of Smith, Wooden, or even that cindarella-story coach from Eastern Carolina.

The guy may be nuts but his version of Man to man defense and motion offense is still run at places like Duke.  He is a basketball genious.

a man who demands discipline out of his players, who cant discipline himself. a terrible role model. its unfortunate that he is a very intellegent man & can strategically win ball games. what a sad fact that he has to use fear to get the most out of his players, its pathetic actually.

What is a kid supposed to do when their head coach and famous celebrity starts choking them. Is he supposed to pull Van Dam and karate chop him? It's not easy to fight back against someone as powerful as Knight. Do you think all teenagers and other adults who are physicially abused are people who couldn't fight back? Are you that naive John? Let me educate you. In the real world, many abused people are teenagers who are physicially strong and have the ability to strike back their fathers or others who abuse but don't because of the abuser's disposition and status. Knight is a very intimidating character so it's likely many kids who were hit just ignored the thought of reporting him knowing their careers could be jeaopardized. There was are more of a meida outcry with Knight than Woody Hayes. Knight was far more recognizable than Hayes for one thing. And in case you forgot, Knight was fired from Indiana. Woody Hayes was just too old to get another job with a Texas Tech like school so he retired. There was such a media outcry that no other decent college would look at Knight as a head coaching prospect. He had to move to BFE to coach at some unknown school. We will never know what kids were truly beaten or hit especially in the 1970's when there was less media and exposure then. It's truly scary what Knight did in the 1970's when there was no one watching his back. And there is proof of that as some of his former players are writing books and publicly revealing Knights behavior. And you have no clue what Knight does behind closed doors when no one is looking. He lied about choking that player and only confessed to it when he was caught red-handed on a TV camera. So you think lying is a great character trait? If he was so honorable, why didn't Bob Knight just admit he grabbed the player by the neck. He only changed his story when the camera shot was displayed. Knight knew he was busted. There is a distinction between being tough and being a bully. Bullies are ignorant thugs who prey on the weak. Tough coaches are those who discipline but have enough honor and ethics to draw the line. I'm just sick of these rednecks who are too stupid to recognize when someone is being abusive. It really is a hick/good ole boy mentality. Dad gum wuss can't take a little beatin! It's always the rednecks that defend Knight. John, I bet you are also one of these guys that thought those prison photos of Abu Garib was funny and deserved. You probably thought it was hysterical to see a group of Iraqui prisoners naked and having to do the elephant walk. Am I right John? You are probably laughing now at the thought of that. John, I'm sure you live in Indiana, Nebraska or West Virginia and for that I will pray to God that I don't live near you or people like you. Now, go ahead and pray to your photo of Bobby Knight.

Probably the greatest X's-and-O's coach of all time. He also has more character than most coaches out there. Almost everyone who has played for him loves him. Look at what he did for former player Landon Turner when he was paralyzed from a car wreck. The media loves to point out villains so they swoop in on Knight whenever he gets pissed. Did he ever hurt anyone? The "choke" was blown WAAAY out of proportion. If the kid was in any way threatened why didn't he fight back? Because he knew he was in no real danger. It really pisses me off when Knight makes headlines for grabbing a player by the jersey (football coaches grab their players by the helmets all the time) while he runs the cleanest program in the nation. Other coaches get sanctified because they don't offend anyone while running corrupt teams. Gentleman, he never HURT anyone. How can you say he has no morals? "Beating his players"? If he genuinely did any REAL harm to them there would be way more media outcry, like with Mr. Woody Hayes. Everyone nowadays is such a protective little wuss. He gets in his players' faces, sure. He gave a small hit on the chin to establish eye contact. He didn't "choke" the player. There was physical contact, but it really was not threatening, otherwise his players would have done something, they're not brainless, mindwashed sheep like you like to think of them. He visits sick children and donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity and graduates all his players and runs clean programs, but we all need a villain so this goes unnoticed. He didn't steer away from athletic players because they're independant. He did it because lots of them have selfish, undisciplined attitudes and wouldn't fit in on his team. I'll give you the hypocracy. But don't try to pull this "he lacks a human soul" bullshit. He never did any physical harm to anyone. I defy you to find one moment where any harm was actually done. I bet you're the type of person who believes that red pen should be eliminated from school so it won't hurt the kids' feelings.

Knight has many apologists who will accept his deviant behavior because he wins basketball games. He has purported to make racist comments by more than one observer. He has a history of physically abusing young men. Bob Knight is a not a man by any means. A man is a responsible individual who takes care of those entrusted to him. Beating and threatening players just so you can pad your resume isn't what I would call caring for young men. Bob Knight has no integrity or sense of ethics. He is simply a coward and a bully and a disgrace to any father who upholds moral values and human decency. You can win but still demonstrate class and integrity like Mike K., Roy Williams, Lute Olsen and John Wooden. These individuals are true class acts and heroes. Yes, he won with lesser talent but he chose to recruit those types of players. Knight purposefully avoided recruiting star players because he knew he wouldn't be able to bully them. This is why he purposefully recruited players from rural and conservative backgrounds that would tolerate his abusive behavior. Knight is a hypocrite. He demanded discipline from his players but lacked the self discipline to control his anger and compose himself. Like Sadaam Hussein and other tyrannical despots, Knight eventually fell. Texas Tech was the only school that showed any real interest in him. Even now, with several openings at major programs, none of them will approach Bob Knight because of his past sins. He will be remembered more for his temper than his wins. Duke's Coach K. will surpass Knight's records and then the only thing left of Knight will be his reputation as a famous sports villain.

one of the greatest coaches, and puts education and rules before wins

The choke was not blown out of proportion. . .if you choke a kid you are a bully and a coward. . .Knight is a great coach- yes, I would send my kid to him to learn basketball. . .but a mixed bag despite his apologists. I respect Knight for helping out kids in many ways- but make no mistake about it. . .the man is a bully and that makes him less than Dean Smith. Still, I can't possibly knock Knight lower than 4-stars. . .does anyone get more out of less talent than Knight? Is there anyone who is a better blackboard coach? The guy is terrific- but Knight's temper and (numerous) transgressions make me wonder how great he could have been. As an opponent, I would simply do things on and off the court to piss off Knight knowing that all I would have to do is wait for him to step on the proverbial landmine. . .

CHAIRman of the courts

Perhaps the greatest basketball mind of them all, Knight continues to motivate players to grduate in the classroom and win on the court. The only thing stronger than his intensity to win is his integrity in doing it the right way. No coach cares any more for his players than Knight.

Is there any doubt that Bobby Knight is the best ever? He can take 5 guys off the street, teach them his sytem of hustling, patience and defense, nd turn them into champions. Coach and teacher. I wish he were back at IU.

Truely one of the best coaches to ever walk the sidelines. Also one of the games bigger idiots to walk the sideline. He has cemented his legacy as one of the all time greatest but it's now time to step down.

Bob Knight does more with the talent on hand than any coach in history. He is unbelieveably articulate and could have been a top TV announcer if he wanted to. OTOH, he is crude and a bit of a bully. The fact he hasn't done much the past 15 years is because today's top recruits don't want to put up with that kind of BS. Give Knight the kind of talent Roy Williams has had and he would have another 3-4 titles to his credit.

Violent, but honest. A true trendsetter.

THE BEST! THE BEST! THE BEST!!!

I'm from IU and I'm tired of watching the team steadily slide down the rankings. It all started after the loss to Maryland for the championship - a disappointment that Knight would've been able to pull the team out of. As far as the chairs and choking and all that: some of the best coaches of any sport ever were good because they led through intimidation. Just look at where Indiana has gone and where Texas Tech has gone.

This bully? On this list? Larry Bird dropped out of Indiana rather than play for this idiot.

Great coach -- horrible human being.

X's and O's sure he's one of the best.. but seriously would you want to deal with him as a coach? I wouldn;t hire him.. but he does seem mellowed out at Tech these days.

Quick...name five or six NBA legends Bob Knight has had on his team? Giving up? Exactly why he is one if not the greatest. He often won titles with less talent than Dean Smith, K, or Wooden.

Old school knee kicking chair throwing expletive spewing tough guy who scares his team into winning basketball games. How can you not like Bobby?