As one of the state’s top high school players in the late 80’s, Calbert Cheaney just wanted a chance to play for the legend.
“Everybody wanted to play for Coach (Bob) Knight and play for their state back when I was growing up,” Cheaney said in Nov. 2023 when Knight passed. “To have an opportunity to play for the man and to be recruited by him, I think that’s unbelievable. During that time, it was all about playing for your home state and playing for your home school and having Coach Knight coach you.”
Cheaney got that chance as part of the class of 1989, one of Knight’s best recruiting classes.
Very few players meshed as well as Cheaney with Knight. For some Knight was too much to handle.
But for Cheaney, dealing with a strong disciplined leader had become second nature.
“I would always tell people that my mother was probably more of a disciplinarian than he was. It kind of made it a little bit easier,” Cheaney said.
“I was one of those guys, I was very competitive, but at the same time if he yelled at me or told me something or said something to me, you’re not doing such-and-such or such-and-such, okay, I’ll show you; I’m going to show you. Then once I’d show him, he’ll go over there, sit right down and shut up. That’s the type of relationship we had.”
Knight taught Cheaney. The first left-handed player to be given a scholarship by the legendary coach, Cheaney showed Knight.
The Cheaney-Knight partnership produced a Final Four and two Big Ten titles. Cheaney remains the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer with 2,613 points, and he was a three-time All-American.
Monday evening on the radio show that once featured Knight, Cheaney shared his final interaction with his coach.
What started as an intense, alpha relationship ended with an act of love and admiration.
“A couple weeks before he passed away I was able to go to his house, me and Pat Knight,” Cheaney told legendary radio voice Don Fischer, who called Cheaney’s games playing for Knight.
“We just sat there and hung out with him for about three, four hours. He (Bob Knight) was asleep the whole time, and then after I got up (to leave) he had just woken up. I just gave him a kiss on his forehead and said, ‘Thank you for everything,’ and that was the last time I saw him.
“One of the greatest coaches ever. Blessed to be able to have played for him.”
Cheaney told Fischer his last impressions at IU are the bonds he created with his teammates.
“I think the best memories about being here was my teammates,” Cheaney said. “We had a great group. Chris Reynolds, Pat Graham, Pat Knight, Alan Henderson, Eric Anderson, Jamal Meeks, Lyndon Jones, Brian Evans. We had a really, really good group of guys that all played hard and we respected one another. There was no ‘I’ in team. I just happened to be the guy to put the ball in the basket.”
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