Why Bob Knight’s practice visits were bittersweet for Indiana coach Mike Woodson
BLOOMINGTON — Former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight had an open invitation to visit practice from his former pupil Mike Woodson.
Woodson was named IU’s coach in 2021 and has guided the program to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.
Knight would sit courtside from time to time at Assembly Hall and spoke to players on occasion, but his ill-health in recent years made those drop-ins bittersweet for Woodson.
"I just wish he was healthier when he was going through being back here cause what better person to sit next to chop it up and talk basketball than Bob Knight,” Woodson said. “I’m new to this college game, boy, if he was right, it would have been unbelievable to sit next to him and help me navigate the waters of college basketball.”
More: Bloomington-area coaches reflect on time with Bob Knight: 'He wanted to make us better'
Indiana director of player development Calbert Cheaney, who joined the program in a non-coaching role this year, still has the notebook on the shelf in his office that he filled up as a player for Knight.
“You got to know how the game works,” Cheaney said.
That was the message Knight made sure all the players that went through his program understood.
“He was always two steps ahead of his opponents,” Woodson said.
Knight’s résumé certainly reflected that, he won three national titles in 1976, '81 and '87 and retired with a then-record 902 wins. While Woodson wasn’t part of those NCAA Championship teams, he won a Big Ten title, NIT title and gold medal in the 1979 Pan American Games.
Woodson, who fought back tears multiple times, told reporters on Thursday night he thinks about what those conversations about basketball would be like with Knight “all the time.”
More: How Bob Knight influences Indiana athletic department's championship vision
"I can still sit and talk to Larry Brown and some of the guys I worked with, but I couldn’t do that with coach Knight cause his health wasn’t there,” Woodson said.
Knight's presence still carried weight when he walked into the "house he built" as Woodson likes to say that was felt by both coaches and players alike.
“Whenever he came to practice, we knew it was business,” Indiana guard Trey Galloway said. “It was special to see him sitting right there and see coach Woodson’s face light up.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on Twitter @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson misses Bob Knight's mentorship
