The Knight Tapes: What Makes a Great Player Great

In 1971, Indiana University hired Robert Montgomery Knight as head coach from the United States Military Academy. Over almost three decades, Knight’s Hoosier teams won 662 games, including twenty-two seasons of 20 or more wins, while losing 239, a .735 overall winning percentage. In 24 NCAA tournament appearances at Indiana, Knight’s team won 42 of 63 games (.667), winning titles in 1976, 1981, and 1987, while losing in the semi-finals in 1973 and 1992. Knight built a widely successful program at Indiana, and his lessons of coaching are applicable in any sport.

A friend of The Daily Coach recently sent a video made in the early 1980s of Knight talking about what makes a great basketball player. Knight appears to be sitting in his Indiana team’s room, with a video machine in front of him as he holds a conversation with his audience. Bob Knight has five critical points he expects from the players he recruits and coaches. Before he starts with his five points, he stresses that talent is not his most important criteria. Coach Knight believes thinking about the game, understanding the nuances of the game will always outweigh sheer talent. Smart players on the court bring more value than talent.

Here are Knight’s Five Rules:

1. Players must play to their potential. There cannot be any inconsistent performances. Players must play well against all levels of competition and post the same statistical numbers with each outing.

2. Great players know what they do well. They also know what they don’t do as well and work hard at both. Never stop working on an area of strength, and always work extra hard to improve in areas that are not as strong. When playing the game, great players will never play outside their area of strength. They will always highlight their strong points and never let the opponent expose their weaknesses.

3. Know your teammate’s strengths and weaknesses inside and out. Communicate with each other, making sure everyone knows that the best way for each to play as individuals and then as a team. Don’t complain about what others cannot accomplish. Communicate with each other on the best way to play for the team. No one will be sensitive to understanding how the team needs to play to win, not how one person can gain statistics.

4. Understand how to avoid losing. Never do the things that prevent a team from winning. Now, these “simple areas” change depending on the sport, but each sport has specific areas that, if ignored, will cause losing. Knight wants to make sure the players understand how to avoid losing before he can teach them to win. Drill the fundamentals each day, make sure everyone understands why most teams lose.

5. Everyone must “see and look,” and everyone must “hear and listen.” Knight believes those two words must work hand in hand. Everyone looks at the game; not all see the finer details. Everyone hears his coach or teammate talking; not everyone listens. Great players, according to Knight, do both.

Coach Bob Knight also tells the audience all great teams keep things simple for the players to understand and work hard on their overall execution. The fundamentals are always the key. With much thanks, we loved reviewing Coach Bob Knight’s tape. We hope everyone can use these five core beliefs within their teams and organizations.

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