Bobby Knight was a legendary coach in college basketball. He had a lot of success as a head coach, and he was known for getting on his players. Knight wanted his players to perform at their best if it was yelling or throwing chairs at his players.

While he was coaching at Indiana, Knight had a run-in with a wrestling coach at the school during practice, and things could have escalated quickly.

Bobby Knight’s coaching career at Indiana

Indiana was the second college that Knight coached at. He spent 29 years there and had a lot of success. Knight won a total of 662 games and had 24 NCAA tournament appearances. He led the Hoosiers to three NCAA titles in 1976, 1981, and 1987. Those teams that Knight coached at Indiana were well disciplined and played at a high level.

When Knight led Indiana to its first NCAA championship, the team went undefeated, posting a 32-0 record. There were some seasons where Indiana did not have that much success, but there was never a season where the team had a losing record under Knight. Knight was named National Coach of the Year four times while he was at Indiana.

Knight didn’t get on his players for no reason. He demanded the best out of his players, and he would do whatever it took to get his message across. Some people weren’t too fond of Knight’s coaching tactics, and others had a lot of respect for him. Knight’s coaching legacy will always be remembered.

Bobby Knight’s run-in with a college wrestling coach

There’s one story that people may not be familiar with. Knight was running a practice with his team at Indiana and noticed someone who was running around the court getting a workout in. That person just so happened to be Doug Blubaugh. Blubaugh was the wrestling coach at Indiana at the time and was minding his business when Knight noticed him.

An article from the orangebean stated that Knight shouted at Blubaugh, advising him to leave the gym. When Blubaugh heard Knight yelling at him, he stopped his jogged and went to confront Knight. Now Knight stood 6-feet-5, and Blubaugh was only 5-7. Blubaugh was not the tallest compared to Knight, but he was not afraid of him at all.

The two men stood face to face with Knight looking down at Blubaugh, according to the article. Blubaugh had enough of Knight yelling at him and ended up pinning Knight to a wall. At that moment, Knight had the utmost respect for the wrestling coach and knew not to talk like that to him again.

Who is Doug Blubaugh?

Blubaugh was not just a wrestling coach. Before he started coaching, he had a successful career as a wrestler. He competed at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and won a gold medal in the welterweight freestyle wrestling class. He attended Oklahoma State University, where he was an AAU and NCAA champion in 1957.

Blubaugh had a lot of success as a wrestler. He was named the World’s Outstanding Wrestler in 1960. After his time as a wrestler, he became the coach at Indiana University. He was the head coach at Indiana from 1973-84. During his time at Indiana, he helped coach a pair of Big Ten Champions and All-Americans. Blubaugh was well-respected in the wrestling world, and he ended up gaining the respect of legendary head coach Bob Knight.