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On Wednesday night, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit had a heartfelt reaction to the death of legendary basketball coach Bobby Knight.
Knight passed away at the age of 83. His family confirmed that he passed away with an official statement.
While many offered their thoughts and prayers to the Knight family, Herbstreit decided to share some details from the last time he sat down with the three-time national champion.
“Last time I saw Bobby Knight he was in Nashville calling a @VandyMBB game and he wanted to meet for lunch,” Herbstreit wrote. “So @ReceDavis (doing play by play that night) and my good friend and producer Bill Bonnell and Coach Knight met me at Tazikis in Green Hills. After an hour or so Bill and Rece headed back to the hotel to get ready for the game and coach wanted to stay with me and just chat. I knew him but not that well. My Dad and he were classmates and at Ohio State and he felt a connection because of that. We sat and talked for another 2 hours-mostly me listening.
“I’ve always been grateful for that time alone with him and listening to his stories and him asking me about my family. I know he became a controversial figure as the years went by but I always enjoyed my time with Coach Knight and have always been impressed to hear the majority of his players talk about the impact he had on their lives. God bless him and his family.”
Last time I saw Bobby Knight he was in Nashville calling a @VandyMBB game and he wanted to meet for lunch. So @ReceDavis (doing play by play that night) and my good friend and producer Bill Bonnell and Coach Knight met me at Tazikis in Green Hills. After an hour or so Bill and…
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) November 2, 2023
Herbstreit’s social media followers thanked him for sharing this story with the rest of the sports world.
There’s no question that Knight will be remembered by basketball fans for years to come.