Bob Knight had 'great way of bringing out best' in his players

Nov. 2—Bob Knight's lasting impact on his players became clear to former Hoosier Steve Hart during his freshman season at Indiana University.

It was the 1993-94 season. Hart and his IU teammates were practicing in Assembly Hall.

Hart dribbled a couple times, leapt and dunked the basketball. The 6-foot-3 guard Terre Hautean's prolific jumping ability glowed in that moment.

Coach Knight had been watching in the background.

"He stopped practice and put me outside the free throw lane," Hart recalled Thursday afternoon. "Then Coach Knight said, 'Go dunk it.'" Again, Hart dribbled and slammed through.

Knight had something else in mind. "No, don't dribble. Just go dunk it," he told Hart.

Confused, Hart wondered if he could actually take a couple steps toward the basket, leap and dunk the ball, just as his coach wanted. Something — adrenaline, Knight's legendary expectations, his teammates' eyes watching him — fueled Hart's attempt.

"Sure enough, I went up, two hands and boom," Hart remembered.

"He had a great way of bringing out the best in all of his players," Hart said.

That's part of the legacy of Knight, who coached Indiana for 29 seasons, winning 661 games, including three NCAA championships. Knight finished his coaching career with an overall record of 902-371 at Army, IU and Texas Tech. Knight died Wednesday at age 83.

"He left a great legacy," Hart said.

Hart played two seasons under Knight at IU from 1993-95, before transferring to Indiana State and playing two more seasons there. Hart was a talented junior at Terre Haute South High School when he first came onto the radar of Knight's coaching staff. He and South standout forward Brian Evans — already an IU recruit — were teammates on a national championship AAU team. Both became Indiana All-Stars.

"They were recruiting Brian. That gave them an opportunity to see me play as well," Hart said.

Evans, a year ahead of Hart at South, joined Knight's program in the fall of 1991, redshirted that first season and then starred for the Hoosiers from 1992 through 1996, becoming the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, a first-round NBA draft pick of the Orlando Magic, a veteran of three NBA seasons and six overseas and an Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer. He ranks 11th on IU's all-time scoring list.

Hart arrived at IU in 1993, after a season at a prep school in New Hampshire. Hart averaged 4.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game for the Hoosiers, and reached the Sweet 16 with Knight's squad in 1994. Hart then played at ISU — one season for Sycamore coach Sherman Dillard and his final college season for late coach Royce Waltman. After his college career, Hart played in two NBA preseason stints with the Minnesota Timberwolves, as well as the pro CBA, USBL and NBDL pro leagues.

Knight's influence actually smoothed Hart's transition from IU to ISU. In his senior year at Indiana State, Waltman — a former assistant under Knight at IU — deployed a similar motion offense and man-to-man defense strategy. His prep school used it, too. "I really never left that system," Hart said. "And to play that system, you really have to know the game."

Now 49, Hart lives and works in Minnesota, coaching and training players. He and his wife of 21 years have four kids. His career path includes interactions with several former IU players in Minnesota. The affect of those two seasons under Knight decades ago lingers for him in a positive way.

"I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world," Hart said. "At times, I wondered what it would've been like if I had stayed, but you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube."

Still, "it helped me get to where I'm at today," Hart said.

Jon Stuckey, a Brazil native, feels the same way about his seasons as Knight's student manager from 1989 to 1992.

While working with the Hoosier teams, Stuckey got to travel to New York's Times Square, Maui and the 1992 NCAA Final Four. "For a kid from Brazil, Indiana, those are experiences of a lifetime," Stuckey said Thursday.

At IU, Stuckey knew he wanted to be a coach someday, so he studied Knight intently while serving as the Hoosiers' manager. He even kept a diary, jotting daily notes after practices.

It's 3,000 pages long.

"How he saw the game and how he set us up to play game in and game out, and just the attention to detail on a daily basis and what we were doing in practices — and then to stand there on the sidelines and watch it happen was just jaw-dropping," Stuckey said.

One Knight tactic was particularly ingenious. Well known for his explosive temper, Knight occasionally kicked players and the entire team out of practices. Sometimes, Knight wasn't simply fed up with their performances; he had a different motive. Knight often sensed his Hoosiers needed rest, so he'd kick them out of a practice, Stuckey said.

"Really, all he was doing was getting them out of the gym to get some rest without them knowing it," Stuckey said. "It's genius."

Indeed, Stuckey's observations paid off. He wound up coaching on the high school, college and pro levels. He's now the assistant superintendent of Southwest Sullivan School Corp. The mention of his work with Knight at IU stood out on Stuckey's job resumes.

"There is no doubt in my mind, it at least got people to pick up the phone and listen to me," said Stuckey, now 54.

Evans made visits to Knight at his Indiana home through the past year, spending time with his former coach, Knight's wife and son Pat.

The Hoosier great, speaking Friday morning, relayed his profound fondness and respect for Knight.

"The man was just an absolute basketball genius. Just being around him, his knowledge of the game was so deep," said Evans, now 50 and a businessman living in Carmel with his wife and four children.

"He obviously meant a lot to me," Evans added, "not only in my playing career but in my life."

Mark Bennett can be reached at 812-231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.