On the fortieth anniversary of Bob Knight’s notorious chair toss in opposition to Purdue, Mike Woodson arrived Sunday at Meeting Corridor able to honor his late mentor.
So the outgoing Indiana coach introduced his personal purple plastic chair, positioned it on the ground between the Hoosiers‘ steel folding chairs which might be nonetheless tethered collectively, and used it in the course of the rivalry recreation in opposition to the No. 13 Boilermakers.
Then Woodson added one more twist to a query that has mystified Indiana followers for 4 many years: The place is the chair Knight tossed throughout the courtroom in anger on Feb. 23, 1985?
“You understand that’s ‘the chair,'” Woodson mentioned after Indiana’s 73-58 victory. “I’ve had it some time. Lots of people say they’ve the chair however Scott Greer, the tennis coach right here a few years in the past, he was the one one considering out of the field that night time when Coach Knight threw that chair. That morning he obtained up and got here to Meeting Corridor and obtained the chair and obtained (monitor coach) Sam Bell and Coach Knight and all to log out on it, took photos with it.”
Woodson’s story appears as believable as another, although verifying it will be tough. Bell died in June 2016, Greer died in July 2022 and Knight died in November 2023.
However the incident has hardly been forgotten. Replays nonetheless get thousands and thousands of views on-line, and tales of the time a livid Bob Knight threw a chair throughout the courtroom nonetheless make the rounds routinely in sports activities circles.
How did it occur?
5 minutes right into a recreation in opposition to the rival Boilermakers, Knight let the referees know he disagreed with a foul name and drew the primary of three technical fouls in the course of the sequence.
Knight then circled, grabbed his plastic chair and hurled it previous Purdue guard Steve Reid, who was standing on the free-throw line, and right into a row of photographers seated on the baseline. Fortuitously, no person was injured.
Whereas Indiana’s followers initially roared with approval, the cheers rapidly turned to boos once they realized Knight had been ejected, after which issues turned ugly. Followers tossed cash onto the courtroom — one among which hit Pat Keady, the spouse of Purdue coach Gene Keady, within the eye, and a few Boilermakers gamers later recounted being fearful as the sport resumed.
But the scramble over what happened to the chair has by no means actually been resolved.
Maybe it obtained discarded sooner or later. Others recount how somebody they knew tracked it down, citing testimonials from individuals they know. No person really is aware of for certain.
However even when it wasn’t the precise chair, it did give Woodson and the Hoosiers a function on Sunday.
“All of the documentation, I occurred to get my arms on it — that is why it was particular to have it right here tonight,” Woodson mentioned after his gamers gathered round him following their upset victory. “I wasn’t going to throw the chair, however I did need to sit in it.”
Woodson’s resolution to not toss the chair seems to have been the fitting name. The Hoosiers misplaced that recreation to the Boilermakers 40 years in the past, however on Sunday, they got here away with their greatest win of the season. Indiana used a 28-3 run at the beginning of the second half to beat a double-digit halftime deficit and cruise to victory.
It wasn’t simply an necessary win for rivalry functions, both. It may be the end result the Hoosiers wanted to get off the bubble. In his most recent projections, Mike DeCourcy listed IU as one of many final 4 groups out of the NCAA Event previous to Sunday.
If the Hoosiers do make the Large Dance, it will not be as a result of “the chair” helped them get there. However on Sunday, it might have helped encourage them in a must-win recreation.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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