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Mike Woodson coaches from chair that Bob Knight was ejected for throwing 40 years ago today

by:Alex Byington•02/23/25•

_AlexByington

Syndication: The Herald-Times
Indiana Head Coach Mike Woodson's chair before the start of the Indiana versus Purdue mens basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025.

On the 40-year anniversary of volatile Indiana coach Bob Knight‘s infamous chair toss across the Assembly Hall floor, the once-thought-lost chair is back on the Hoosiers sideline.

And just in time for Sunday’s home game against in-state rival and No. 13 Purdue, the same program on the court for Knight’s notorious outburst.

Outgoing Indiana head coach Mike Woodson sat in what is believed to be the same exact chair Knight slung across the floor after he received a technical from officials in a now-famous 1985 game against the Boilermakers, prompting a swift ejection for the late Hoosiers head coach.

“Mike Woodson told us before the game that he believes that this is THE chair,” CBS broadcaster Andrew Catalon said during the Sunday broadcast. “And on the 40th anniversary, Mike Woodson said that to honor his former coach, he’s going to sit in that chair and not throw it today. And there he is, Mike Woodson sitting in the famous Bobby Knight chair.”

Bob Knight’s chair proved to be a bit of a good-luck charm as unranked Indiana demolished rival Purdue 73-58 on Sunday in Bloomington.

Rick Pitino believes Chris Beard is ‘perfect’ for Indiana job

Given his nearly five decades as a head basketball coach, including 36 years at the collegiate ranks, Rick Pitino has quite the expansive and impressive coaching tree. But when it comes to the soon-to-be-open Indiana head coaching position, the 72-year-old St. Johns head coach can only see one man leading the iconic Hoosiers, and he’s never worked for Pitino.

“Can I give you my pick? Ok. So, I’m going to have some people upset with me. If I was the AD at Indiana — Am I friendly with this person? Yes I am. Do I have a lot of respect for this person? Yes I do. — I would immediately, not even interview anybody else, and hire one of the premier coaches in all of college basketball, and that’s Chris Beard from Ole Miss,” Pitino said on Friday’s Pardon My Take podcast. “I wouldn’t even think about another person. He’s perfect for that job. … So I am a gigantic fan of Chris Beard and I think he would kill it at Indiana.

“He’d have them in the Top 5-7 every single year. Remember he brought Texas Tech to the championship game and could’ve won it if that young man from Virginia didn’t hit that corner shot, the great shot that he did hit. So he’s a superstar, Top 3 coach in my estimation.”

Beard is in his second season at Ole Miss, where he has the Rebels (19-7, 8-5 SEC) ranked at No. 24 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll after losing last Saturday’s home game against rival Mississippi State, 81-71. Through two seasons under Beard, Ole Miss is 39-19 overall and 15-16 in SEC play.

Still, Beard doesn’t come without some potential baggage after his unceremonious firing at Texas early in the 2023-24 season. That came after Beard was arrested for domestic assault with strangulation, though the Travis County DA ultimately dropped all charges.

Woodson will step down at the end of the 2024-25 season after five years leading the Hoosiers.