Basketball Hall of Famer Bobby Knight, whose unapologetic style earned legions of fans and critics alike, died Wednesday at his home in Bloomington, Ind., according to a statement released by his family. He was 83.

Knight was a legendary figure in college basketball. His record earned many admirers and nicknames. To his fans, he was called “the General.” Knight was one of the United States’ winningest college coaches, with more than 900 wins by the end of his career.

He also had a reputation for being blunt and profane, with an explosive temper that often led to volatile behavior that marred his achievements.

He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991, the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

Mike Krzyzewski, the legendary former Duke coach whom Knight coached at Army in the late 1960s, paid tribute to Knight on Wednesday, saying “we lost one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball today.”

“Clearly, he was one of a kind. Coach Knight recruited me, mentored me, and had a profound impact on my career and in my life. This is a tremendous loss for our sport and our family is deeply saddened by his passing,” said Krzyzewski, now the NCAA Division I leader with 1,202 wins after his retirement in 2022.

Quinn Buckner, a star on Indiana’s 1976 national title team and chairman of IU’s board of trustees, said this was “a terribly sad day for the IU basketball family, Indiana University, the state of Indiana, and the world of sports as we say goodbye to Coach Knight.”

“One of the things that he said to our 1976 team … was that you may never see another team like this again,” Buckner said Wednesday. “Well, I don’t know that we will ever see another coach like him again. I think it’s important for people to realize that. It was a special opportunity to have been coached by him, and an equally special opportunity to have him as a friend. Because as great a coach as he was, he was an infinitely better friend. He’s a big part of who we are, and we were very fortunate to have had him in our lives.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN’s Steve Almasy contributed to this report.

Knight expected players to exceed expectations on the court and in the classroom. He abided by NCAA rules even when he disagreed with them, never backed down from a dust-up and promised to take his old-school principles to the grave.

While he was beloved by many of his players, his disposition and theatrics sometimes overshadowed his formidable record, tactical genius, innovation and dedication to and the game, leaving behind a singular resume..

“He changed basketball in this state, the way you compete, the way you win,” Steve Alford, the leader of Knight’s last national championship team in 1987, once said. “It started in Indiana, but he really changed college basketball. You look at the motion offense and people everywhere used it.”

Long esteemed for his strategy and often questioned for his methods, Knight reveled in constructing his best teams with overachievers. As a hard-to-please motivator, he clung to iron principles, and at 6-foot-5 was an intimidating presence for anyone who dared cross him.

Knight’s family requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or Marian University in Indianapolis, but donations to any charity in his name are also appreciated, the family said.

Indiana basketball called Knight one of the most successful and influential figures in the history of college basketball on social media.

“With unmatched accomplishment, Coach Knight’s brilliance ensures he will forever rest among the giants of college basketball,” Indiana University President Pamela Whitten said in a statement.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb called Knight “a towering basketball figure and fighter, second to none.”

Knight said the awards and recognition that come with coaching are about more than one person.

“I’ve never felt comfortable with the award coach of the year or coach of anything,” Knight said in his Hall of Fame speech. “I think there’s a much more appropriate nomenclature that could be used, and that would be: team of the year.

“Because for a team to develop to a point where a coach is recognized for what that team has done is an indication that the players, the assistant coaches, everyone involved has really put forth an outstanding effort,” he said. “And that is truly a team honor.”

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