Bobby Knight

Knight's reputation was rather indifferent at the beginning of his career. While he was coaching for the Military Academy, the main pressure on him was that which he put on himself. When he made it to Indiana in 1971, however, he was for all intents and purposes where he wanted to be—in the hotbed of college basketball. It was where he planned to stay for quite some time. But with the responsibility of a Big Ten team and the expectations of Indiana's fans, combined with Knight's perfectionism and his tendency to speak and act before he thought about the ramifications of his actions, Knight's brand of fame—or infamy—soon became the stuff of legend.

Beginning in 1976, Knight captured the eyes of America when he pulled guard Jim Wisman off the court by his jersey, much as an angry father would jerk aside a misbehaving son. As the nation watched, increased attention was bestowed upon Knight (also known as "The General"). Most parents, trusting that their kids were in good hands with their various sports after school, wondered how this man got away with it. Knight, in his defense, told Sport magazine, "When I grabbed Jimmy by the shirt on national t.v., the first person who said anything about it was Jimmy Wisman's mother. She said, 'If I had been there, I would have grabbed him too.'"

Bobby Knight