Before Isiah Thomas embarked on a Hall of Fame NBA career, he was a college basketball superstar at Indiana, who captivated the nation with his mesmerizing ball-handling ability. He had a terrific rapport with head coach Bob Knight and together they led the program to a national championship in 1981. However, their relationship almost ended before it even began after their terrible recruitment meeting.
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Thomas grew up in Chicago and the neighborhood his family lived in wasn’t the safest. He was the youngest of nine children and had his brothers by his side to protect him. However, as he geared up to move to Indiana to play for their Hoosiers, his siblings were concerned about his well-being, especially due to the presence of the Ku Klux Klan in the state.
When they enquired what Knight planned to ensure Thomas’ safety, the head coach responded with a joke, which his brothers did not find amusing. Recalling what transpired during an appearance on the All the Smoke podcast, the Hall of Famer said,
“I thought coach Knight gave a pretty slick answer… He’s like, ‘If we’re winning, [the Klan] are gonna look out and if we’re losing…’ My brother was like, ‘Man, I don’t like that. What do you mean they’re gonna take care of him? We take care of junior.’ And the conversation quickly got heated. You know, the voice raised and everything else.”
He said that during the argument, Knight stood up, rolled his sleeves, and was ready to fight before others in the room de-escalated the situation. While his brothers weren’t keen on Thomas becoming a Hoosier, his mother was on board. She ensured he ended up in Indiana because she knew it would be a better place for him than Chicago and also knew Knight’s reputation.
Bob Knight was a disciplinarian
Knight was well-known for being a hard taskmaster. Thomas’ mother believed that for her teenage son, who grew up in the violent suburbs of Chicago, the demanding environment in Indiana would be the perfect setting.
The guard did wind up in Indiana and learned that the infamous tales about the head coach’s tyranny were wildly off the mark. During an appearance on Club Shay Shay, Thomas said,
“So the stories that we all heard about him being a strong disciplinarian, I was waiting for that. But what I found was that in our style of play the way we played there was great freedom. But with that great freedom came a great responsibility… It was all about reading and reacting knowing your teammate understanding your teammate and making the right decisions every single time.”
The guard thrived under Knight and became his team’s driving force. In his final act as a Hoosier, he led them to their fourth NCAA National Championship and won the Most Outstanding Player award.
After the win, he decided to forego the last two years of college eligibility and declared for the 1981 NBA draft, where the Pistons selected him second overall. Thomas cherishes the time he spent as a Hoosier and under Knight’s tutelage. However, had calmer heads not prevailed during their recruitment meeting, their relationship would’ve never gotten underway.
