Reed, player Knight choked in 1997, dies at age 36

Neil Reed, the former Indiana University basketball player whose assertion that Bob Knight choked him in practice contributed to Knight being firing, died Thursday of cardiac arrest, multimple media outlets reported. He was 36.

Reed, who played high school ball in Metairie, La, suffered a massive heart attack on Wednesday and died on Thursday in Nipomo, Calif., the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.

Reed spent the last three years as the freshman basketball coach at Pioneer Valley High School in Santa Maria, Calif.

Reed played three seasons at Indiana, where he averaged 9.8 points in 94 games, including 72 starts.

His Indiana career ended after he was choked by Knight during a 1997 team practice during his junior year. Reed was dismissed from the team and transferred to Southern Mississippi.

In March 2000, Reed said Knight had choked him three years earlier. Knight denied the accusation until a video surfaced showing the incident. Indiana fired Knight in September 2000.

Reed is survived by his wife Kelly and two daughters, Marley and Pressley, ages 6 and 4.