Bob Knight & Assembly Hall

Assembly Hall
Assembly Hall

I don’t know if he’s still doing it, but for a very long time, Dick Vitale was relentlessly calling for IU to rename Assembly Hall to Robert Montgomery Knight Assembly Hall. Nevermind the fact that the school usually doesn’t name facilities after someone until after that person has died. And although Knight has retired from coaching, he’s far from dead.

Knight brought three of these five banners to Bloomington
Knight brought three of these five banners to Bloomington

I think there was also a time that Vitale lobbied for the court to be named after Knight, similar to Coach K Court at Cameron Indoor. But the court has already been named after Branch McCracken.

Strike two.

The thing is, Knight already has a lasting legacy at Assembly Hall. And I’m not talking about the three NCAA Championship banners that hang from the rafters there.

Here’s a hint:

If I remember correctly, Tom Crean even tried to pick up a chair this season during one of the games where the officiating was especially terrible.

He couldn’t.

Why? Because of Knight’s lasting legacy at Assembly Hall.

If you look closely at the chairs, you’ll notice that they are essentially tied together and bolted to the floor.

Why don’t they just name it the Robert Montgomery Knight Team Bench? Maybe Mr. Vitale could start lobbying for this name-change. It would be a fitting tribute, don’t you think?

And I’m only half-joking.

I tried to get a close-up of the chain running through the chairs on the floor.
I tried to get a close-up of the ‘chain’ running through the chairs on the floor.

On a somewhat related note, does anyone remember a song that was played on the radio during IU’s 1987 tournament run that had the line, “Come on, Bobby Knight, throw some chairs tonight. And Stevie, shoot a three-pointer!”? I’ve looked all over for a recording of that.

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Howdy. I'm Matt. My wife, Christy, and I have four kids and two dogs, I'm passionate about orphan care. I'm a die-hard fan of the Evansville Aces, the Indiana Hoosiers, and Star Wars. I'm trying to live life by the Todd family motto: "It behooves us to live!"
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