Bob Knight was all set to become Wisconsin basketball coach in 1968 before information leak
The death of legendary NCAA basketball coach Bob Knight on Wednesday also provided cause to discuss the dark side of his tenure, including a hunting accident that happened on Wisconsin soil in 1999.
But long before that, Knight turned down a chance to become the face of Wisconsin basketball in a "what if" moment that altered the landscape of college basketball. Because in 1968, Knight was offered the job of University of Wisconsin men's basketball coach and accepted it, but two days later, he changed his mind.
In April 1968, the 27-year-old Knight had been picked to succeed John Erickson and was offered a three-year contract, with approvals granted by the University Athletic Board, the Board of Regents and Chancellor William Sewell.
There was one problem. Knight didn't want word of his hire to get out until he could alert his bosses at West Point that the Army coach would be headed to Madison. But it did.
Even in writing about Knight's hire, Glenn Miller noted in the Wisconsin State Journal that Wisconsin officials agreed to hold back the announcement to give him time, but a leak in the university administration put the news into the ether.
Two days later, Knight turned down the post, citing in anger over the premature release of information. Instead, he re-upped with West Point and coached there another three years. The UW board unanimously approved John Powless, 35, an Erickson assistant who was among the seven candidates for the job, in Knight's stead.
"It was a doggone unfortunate thing," Knight told the Wisconsin State Journal.
Professor Frank Remington, chairman of the athletic board told the Milwaukee Sentinel, "It was unfortunate that the news leaked out prematurely and we were unhappy about it. Yet we all know that such things do happen. That is why we told Mr. Knight, when he asked that the announcement be withheld until his return to West Point, that we would try our best but could not guarantee that his wish would be granted.
"We had a commitment from him. It would have been better if he had said simply that he changed his mind without offering any explanations."
Knight insisted the change of heart had nothing to do with money.
Hiring a 27-year-old might be eye-popping today, and it was a topic of conversation then, as well, but it wasn't unprecedented at Wisconsin. W.E. "Doc" Meanwell was 27 when he became UW coach in 1911, and Bud Foster was 29 in 1934 when he became Meanwell's successor. The two were coaches for a combined 39 years at Wisconsin, including Foster for the 1941 national championship. Erickson took over from Foster at 32 years old.
Erickson left to become general manager of the expansion Milwaukee Bucks. Powless, who was left in limbo with word of Knight's hire leaking out, went on to coach eight years with the Badgers, leading Wisconsin to two winning seasons. He was replaced by Bill Cofield in 1976.
Knight was subsequently hired at Indiana for the 1971-72 season.
A hunting accident in northwestern Wisconsin puts Knight in hot water
Just before his final season at Indiana began in 1999, Knight accidentally shot a friend while grouse hunting without a license in Spooner, then failed to report it.
It was determined Knight did not have the $43 nonresident small-game license and had hunted without one the year before, as well. Knight told authorities he didn't know he needed a license on private property.
Spooner is located in northwestern Wisconsin. Knight wound up paying $582.50 in fines for three violations, but he was later sued by his injured hunting companion, Thomas Mikunda, who claimed Knight coerced him into backing his version of the accident, which involved Knight's finger slipping on the trigger while aiming for a grouse. The case was settled later that year.
Mikunda was standing 20 yards away and hit with 16 shotgun pellets, sustaining non-life threatening injuries.
It was a prequel to another hunting incident in 2007, when Knight fired shotgun pellets in Texas that struck two residents in their backyards on back-to-back days.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bob Knight was approved as UW basketball coach in 1968 but walked away
