Mike Krzyzewski 'deeply saddened' by death of mentor Bobby Knight despite fractured relationship

Bob Knight, a Hall of Fame basketball coach who guided Indiana to three national championships and who had a well-documented history of acting violently, erratically and inappropriately, died on Wednesday at the age of 83 at his home in Bloomington, Indiana.

Aside from his trophies and his memorable angry tantrums, Knight’s legacy will likely live on through his coaching tree, of which Mike Krzyzewski is the most prominent branch.

Before becoming the winningest coach in the history of men’s college basketball, Krzyzewski played for Knight at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, coached under him for a season at Indiana and was an assistant on Knight’s gold-medal-winning 1984 Olympic team.

In a statement that Krzyzewski released Wednesday night, he called Knight “one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball.”

We’ve obtained a statement from former #Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski on the passing of his former coach Bob Knight: pic.twitter.com/yEN6fpH7bs

— Travon Miles (@TrayABC11) November 2, 2023

It’s worth noting that Krzyzewski and his mentor didn’t seem to have a great relationship in the later years of Knight’s life. According to Ian O’Connor’s 2022 book, Coach K: The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski, the fracturing began in 1992 when Knight gave Krzyzewski a “drive-by handshake” after Duke beat Indiana in the Final Four. Knight then again snubbed Krzyzewski a handshake after the postgame press conference, and then a note written by Knight was delivered to Coach K.

From O’Connor’s book:

The note didn’t read quite like a Christmas card. Knight wrote that if Krzyzewski wanted to sever their relationship, that would be easily arranged. “He wrote that you should remember how you [expletive] got your job,” said one prominent friend of both men.

Also, according to O’Connor’s book, Knight was apparently “offended” that Krzyzewski didn’t offer him a scouting job with Team USA ahead of the 2008 Olympics. Years later, Knight – again according to the book – told a friend he would never take a call from Krzyzewski again.

In 2015, at an event at the Pinehurst Golf Resort in North Carolina where Knight was being honored for the 50th anniversary of his first victory at Army, Krzyzewski tried to extend an olive branch to Knight one more time. It did not go well.

From O’Connor’s book:

According to people in the hotel ballroom where the event took place, Knight was holding court with friends at his table when his former point guard approached. “Mike came in and said, ‘How are you doing, Coach?’ ” recalled Jim Oxley, Krzyzewski’s close friend and old backcourt partner. “And [Knight] barely even hesitated and continued with his story, that kind of thing. That was the start of it.” … “That was one of many straws that broke the camel’s back. I remember Mike walking out of there saying, ‘That’s it. I’ll never do this again.’ ”

Krzyzewski retired from coaching at the end of the 2021-22 season after leading Duke to a 13th Final Four appearance.