Todd Jadlow, a forward on the 1987 championship team, wrote in his 2016 memoir that, among other things, Knight smashed a clipboard over his head, squeezed his testicles and made players run laps while barking like dogs. But Jadlow remained with the Indiana program and after writing the book, he told ESPN, “I still have a lot of respect for him and consider him a father figure.”
Still, Knight’s demands and personality have driven more than a few Indiana players over the years. Sports Illustrated reported in 1976 that a former recruit, Mike Miday, left the team and told his student newspaper, “I deserve better than to be treated like an object and humiliated in public,” adding, “I have terrible feelings.” “Afraid of the guy.” In 1997, Jason Collier left Indiana, telling the Springfield News-Sun in Ohio that he couldn’t adapt to Knight’s style. He explained: “I’ve tried different tactics – suppressing the shouting, as people have told me to – but when people are shouting at you, you notice it.”
But combativeness and volatility were not Knight’s only defining characteristics. He was a principled recruiter and among his many demands of players was that they attend classes. Players, friends, and writers noted that he could be kind, charming, charitable, and playful. He also expressed himself eloquently, often in his own defense:
“I don’t think there’s an official in the country who knows as much about basketball as I do,” he said in a 1984 Playboy interview about his rough treatment of the referees. “Not nearly. Or as much as every other coach knows. And if I have a complaint, I want it to be heard. I saw an official who didn’t pay attention to travel. I saw him afterward the flight of the Balls and not the shooter’s hand – regardless of whether he was hit or not. I think it’s difficult to officiate basketball, but I don’t think there are very many officials who know how to do one in particular Position on the field logically between one and two, three and four and five. And if I see someone violating the logical sequence of what they should be looking for, I will let them know.”
Many of Knight’s coaching colleagues considered him not only a brilliant coach, but also an exemplary person. His former players include All-Americans and successful professionals such as Kent Benson, Quinn Buckner, Mike Woodson (former Knicks head coach) and Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas, many of whom have spoken of a love-hate relationship with their coaches, while they played for him, but a lingering admiration afterwards.