Bob Knight Returns to Ohio State as 1960 Champions Are Honored

Bob Knight, Indiana's legendary basketball coach, won his first national championship as a player 60 years ago at Ohio State. His teammates were all honored Thursday night in Columbus.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State has only won one national championship in basketball, and that was 60 years ago with Hall of Fame players Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek, and a backup forward who would later become a coaching legend, Indiana's Bob Knight.

They were honored during a celebration at halftime of Thursday night's Illinois-Ohio State game, and Knight was in attendance with all of his living teammates. He received a rousing ovation from the crowd when he was introduced.

Ten members of the team, including Lucas, Knight and Mel Nowell, were in attendance along with the wives of Larry Siegfried, who died in 2010, and John Havlicek, who died last year. Each member of the team was introduced individually to the crowd, with Knight, Lucas and the widows of Havlicek and Siegfried drawing particularly large ovations.

That 1960 team was coached by Fred Taylor and featured two of the school’s most enduring stars in two-time national player of the year Jerry Lucas and legendary NBA star John Havlicek. Those two and Knight were sophomores in 1959-60 as the Buckeyes rolled to the Big Ten championship and on to the national title. 

They also reached the NCAA final the next two years, losing to Cincinnati.

The 1960 Ohio State team that included Bob Knight was honored in Columbus on Thursday night

That 1959-60 team went 25-3 overall and won the Big Ten with a record of 13-1. The lone Big Ten loss was to Indiana after the Buckeyes had already clinched the conference championship. That 1960 Indiana team was one of its best as well.

This was the second celebration for Knight in the past three weeks. He returned to Assembly Hall in Bloomington on Feb. 8 for the first time in 20 years and was reunited with more than 50 players, including most of his 1980 team that was being honored that day. Knight had not been in Assembly Hall for an IU game since he was fired in 2000.

Knight won three national championships as a coach at Indiana, claiming titles in 1976, 1981 and 1987.

Related stories on Bob Knight's return to Indiana

• HE'S HOME, FINALLY: Bob Knight's return to Indiana's Assembly Hall on Saturday was a lovefest 20 years in the making. CLICK HERE
• PATRICK KNIGHT TALKS ABOUT HIS DAD: He loved returning to Assembly Hall with his father, Bob Knight, on Saturday. CLICK HERE
• THE FORGOTTEN GREAT TEAM: Indiana's 1980 team that was honored Saturday "was better than the 1981 team that won the national championship.'' CLICK HERE
• KNIGHT'S RETURN BRINGS CLOSURE FOR PLAYERS: Many former Indiana players have stayed away from the program out of respect for their coach. They don't have to do that anymore.  CLICK HERE
• 1976 TEAM NOW 44 YEARS AS LAST UNBEATEN: There are no unbeaten teams left now in 2020, so Indiana's last unbeaten can celebrate again CLICK HERE
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