Bobby Knight dies, one of basketball’s greatest — and most volatile — coaches

Bobby Knight, the combustible college basketball coach who bellowed and cursed at referees, fans and even his own players but came to be regarded as a mastermind of the game as he guided the Indiana Hoosiers to three national titles, has died at his home in Bloomington, Ind., surrounded by his family.

Both loved and loathed, Knight died Wednesday, the Knight family announced via his website. He was 83.

Long recognized as one of basketball’s greatest coaches, Knight was forever remembered for cursing, gesturing wildly, berating officials and finally throwing his chair onto the court as the opposing team was about to shoot free throws. To much of the world, sporting or otherwise, he became “the crazy coach who threw the chair.”

And yet, that was only one of a multitude of incidents in the contradictory life of a man who demanded impeccable behavior and judgment in others but whose own startling lack of self-control often overshadowed his coaching genius.

Among the more notable:

In a game against Kentucky, after a tirade against the officiating crew, Knight bopped Kentucky Coach Joe B. Hall on the back of his neck with an open palm. And Hall was a fishing buddy of Knight’s.

During the 1979 Pan-Am Games in Puerto Rico, he was accused of assaulting a policeman, calling him the N-word, calling the Brazilian women’s team “dirty whores,” and saying Puerto Rico was good only for “growing bananas.”