‘One of the Greatest Things Ever’: Pat Knight Relishes Return to Assembly Hall

Pat Knight, the son of Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight, returned to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Friday for an exhibition game against Indiana in his first year as the head coach of Marian University.

Marian head coach Pat Knight on the sideline during Friday's exhibition game at Indiana. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Pat Knight considers Assembly Hall a second home, but his experience Friday night was different than any in the past. 

Instead of the Indiana sideline – where he resided as a player from 1990-95 and as an assistant coach from 1990-91 – he was stationed on the visitors’ bench. Knight is in his first year as the head coach at Marian University, an NAIA program in Indianapolis. He coached his first game Friday, an exhibition against his alma mater, exactly one year after his father, Bob Knight, died at age 83.

As he was announced pregame, Indiana fans greeted him with a warm welcome. Knight walked to halfcourt and kissed the IU logo on Branch McCracken Court, a spur-of-the-moment decision, he said. His mother, Nancy, and his wife, Amanda, were in attendance behind the Marian bench, and he enjoyed hearing Hoosier fans call out his name as he walked out of the tunnel.

Knight wished for a better outcome than his team’s 106-64 loss to No. 17 Indiana, but altogether, he couldn’t have asked for a better night.

“This place is a special place. I mean, I grew up here,” Knight said postgame. “I had a key to Assembly Hall, so this was my playground, and the visitor locker rooms are still shitty from when I was a young kid. I used to play in that locker room, and they haven’t changed the carpet yet. But this is like home to me, so it’s just special to be back, friends, family, the university. It was a special place for my dad, and Woody’s here now so it was just great coming back. It wasn’t like emotional, it was just excitement and fun to be back.”

On the home sideline stood Mike Woodson, who played at Indiana Bob Knight from 1976-80 and is in his fourth season as the Hoosiers’ head coach. Pat has a unique relationship with Woodson and a long line of his father’s players, because he grew up around them.

Friday’s game will be memorable for Knight, who said his fondest memories of Assembly Hall are the many hours he spent at practice as a kid.

“People don’t understand, my parents didn’t teach me the bird and the bees. They didn’t teach me, I learned it all from those players,” Knight said. “So I lived a different life. I learned everything from those guys in the locker room. So honest to God, this was my playhouse. I came here and I remember running remote control cars up there, when I got them for Christmas. I’d come over because my dad would make me come to practice because they practiced every Christmas. I got remote control cars going up and down the ramps when I was like seven or eight years old.” 

“Then finally as I got old enough to shoot, I always shot at the one end basket. Then as I got older, I started practicing with the team. So just for me, this place, Assembly Hall, is like my second home.”

Pat, and Woodson, along with former Hoosiers Scott May and Quinn Buckner, recently attended an event at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. for a bench dedication in Bob Knight’s name as part of the Naismith Coaches Circle Program.

Pat knows his father would have loved to see him and Woodson coach against each other, as well as several other Hoosiers on the current coaching staff.

“Woody is one of his all-time favorites and one of the greatest players here,” Pat said. “Then you got Calbert [Cheaney] down there. We tried recruiting Jordy [Hulls], but we were too far away down at Texas Tech and I don’t blame him. So it was just special to see. You got Doctor Rink and Tim Garl, just everybody, Scott Dolson. So I think he’s looking down and enjoyed the moment. I think it was just special tonight.”

Marian coach Pat Knight talks to his team during practice. / Marian Athletics

There’s a similar dynamic with Marian’s athletic director, Steve Downing, who was the leading scorer on Indiana’s 1973 Final Four team. He was honored pregame to an applause from Indiana fans, and has played a major role in Indiana hosting Marian for exhibition games the last three seasons. 

Woodson was glad to see the Hoosier homecoming, too. Marian wore red warmup shirts that said "The General" on the front, and "The mental is to the physical as 4 is to 1.”

“Not only Steve back, we had Nancy Knight back, and I had not seen Ms. Knight in 40 years,” Woodson said postgame. “It was really nice seeing her. Steve and I have stayed in contact for many, many years and we talk off and on, so it was great having him back. And it was nice having Pat back here in Assembly Hall. You know, it's been a while. You know, Pat is special to this program because of his dad and he's gone through it, and to get his mom back here, boy, was kind of special tonight, I think.”

Indiana secured decisive victories against Marian the last two seasons in exhibition games, and Friday was no different. With a clear size advantage, Indiana outscored Marian 70-24 in the paint and held a 48-28 rebounding edge.

Freshman Bryson Tucker led the Hoosiers with 19 points, followed by Malik Reneau, Oumar Ballo, Langdon Hatton and Mackenzie Mgbako all scoring double-digit points. Indiana shot 65.7% as a team.

Knight thinks it was a good experience for his team to go up against a high level of competition.

“It’s great. To get beat, I mean, my guys were scared, you could tell,” Knight said. “This is the biggest crowd they’ll play all year. You’re playing against, I told them, I said, guys, I scouted three of these guys last year in person and this is a legit team. So it was good for us. We’ll have a lot of tape. I wish it’d be better for them [Indiana]. We’re trying to try stuff, trap, I wanted them to at least get something a little bit out of it.” 

“It’s just great to show these guys, because I told them I was worried about them not competing, like being deer in headlights, and that’s what this situation is great about. We’ll talk to them a lot about their body language, their defense, not getting back, just playing hard. So for me, it was great, just from a standpoint we got beat and they beat us handily, but it’s good for these kids to learn just what the next level’s all about.”

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Marian guard Gus Etchison scored 19 points, but the Knights finished just 36.6% from the field. Marian even ran some zone defense, which went against Bob Knight’s traditional defense. But Pat said postgame it’s something his father mentioned later in life.

“We will mix up the defense a lot,” Knight said. “It’s something, actually, that my dad and I talked about when he started doing ESPN. He actually – no one believes me – he called me, he’s like, ‘Hey, if I could do one thing different, I would have ran more zone and not a hard press, but just to take time off the shot clock.’ So I took those notes, and I always said if I got back into coaching, I’d try to add more to the defense instead of just straight man to man.”

Knight has returned to head coaching after 10 years as an NBA scout with the Pacers. In that position, he scouted Indiana newcomers like Myles Rice from Washington State, Kanaan Carlyle from Stanford and Oumar Ballo from Arizona. 

Carlyle didn’t play Friday due to bruised ribs suffered in the Tennessee game, but Ballo was a dominant force against Marian, scoring 16 points on 6 for 6 shooting. Rice had a quieter night, with six points and five assists, compared to his 20-point performance at Tennessee. 

But Knight is intrigued by all three newcomers and the Hoosiers as a whole.

“I really like this team, the personality,” Knight said. “The one thing you learn in scouting, it’s not just the talent, and these kids, I know for a fact their intel is off the charts, not just basketball but as human beings. I think that’s very important. You got talent, and you got good people off the court, their work ethic. I told Woody when I signed these two kids [Rice and Carlyle], because I saw them a bunch last year and Ballo the year before.” 

“Rice is very smart, very good mid-range game, great with the ball, sees the floor, gets it up the floor, either with the dribble or the pass, unselfish, work ethic off the charts, high IQ. I mean, what the kid battled health-wise the year before, I mean, the kid’s a warrior. Carlyle, I think for him, we always talk about in the pros, when I was with the Pacers, with free agents or trades, like, a change of environment. I think the change of environment’s gonna be great for Carlyle. You’re talking about he was a McDonald’s All-American, great athlete, can really shoot the ball, and I think he just fits in better here with Woody. His intel, honestly, was unbelievable. Great kid, good student, good work ethic.”

Indiana is ranked No. 17 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Knight thinks the Hoosiers have the pieces for a successful season, and he told his team to watch and learn from  them throughout the season.

“I think this team’s gonna be very good, not just because of their talent, but because they have the right mindset,” Knight said. “Woody coaches them hard, and these kids take hard coaching and they came from good programs here. So I think they got shooting. They got guys that can drive. They’ve got midrange, and they got size inside. They got everything they need from a standpoint of having a good team.”

Exhibition games sometimes come and go without much to take away, but Friday was special for Knight, Woodson, their players and Indiana fans. Knight is excited to be back in the coaching game, and his first game back on the sidelines was certainly a memorable one.

“Just to come back,” Knight said. “Is one of the greatest things ever.”

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• INDIANA-MARIAN GAME STORY: Indiana's front line was nearly perfect, with Malik Reneau, Oumar Ballo and Langdon Hatton shooting a combined 19-for-20 in the Hoosiers' 106-64 exhibition victory over Marian on Friday night at Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE

• PAT KNIGHT HAPPY TO BE BACK IN COACHING: Former Hoosier Pat Knight is back in coaching at Marian and he'll bring his team to Assembly Hall on Friday night. CLICK HERE

• WHAT WOODSON SAID: What Mike Woodson said after Indiana's 106-64 exhibition victory over Marian. CLICK HERE.

• LIVE BLOG: Relive all the action from Indiana's win over Marian in Jack Ankony's live blog. CLICK HERE