Longtime Shooting Guard Calbert Cheaney is joining the Indiana Hoosiers on a one-year deal, according…..
Legendary Indiana University men’s basketball head coach Bob Knight died Wednesday. He was 83 years old.
Knight, who won three national championships during his 29 seasons in Bloomington, coached many great basketball players.
One of whom is Calbert Cheaney. Cheaney played for Knight from 1989-1993, and remains the program’s all-time scoring leader, scoring 2,613 points during his collegiate career.
Cheaney spoke to News 8 on Wednesday evening after the news of Knight’s passing became public.
“Truly, truly a big-time loss, especially for all the IU faithful,” Cheaney said. “And those who are true basketball fans.”
When asked how to describe Knight’s legacy, Cheaney made it simple, calling him a “winner.”
“He’s done everything,” Cheaney said. “He’s won numerous Big Ten titles, three national championships, an Olympic gold medal. He’s pretty much done everything there is to do in basketball, and when you’ve done that, he’s truly a legend. He will always be a legend in Bloomington, Indiana.”
One memory that really stands out to Cheaney is when Knight returned to Assembly Hall back in Feb. 2020, the first time Knight had returned to Assembly Hall for a basketball game since he was fired 20 years earlier.
“I think it was huge,” Cheaney said. “He’s always been loved, and obviously, he’s had his controversial moments, but that’s just coach. He’s always worn his heart on his sleeve, and how he is, and how competitive he is, and how he operates. But, for him to come back to Bloomington on that particular night, and get the reception that he received, was truly, truly amazing.”
Cheaney, who currently serves as IU’s director of player development, said Knight’s passing will definitely motivate the program this year, because he, along with every other Hoosier, wants to win for Knight.
“Indiana is Bobby Knight,” Cheaney said.
You could see it coming with how Mike Woodson was talking about him before the season.
And without a doubt, IU basketball freshman guard Gabe Cupps has ascended the depth chart since arriving on campus in June.
The 6-foot-2 point guard was a bit of an afterthought coming into the season, in the shadow of high profile transfer Kel’el Ware, high profile fellow freshman Mackenzie Mgbako, and locked-in starting guards Trey Galloway and Xavier Johnson.
The Centerville, Ohio product came into IU’s first exhibition as part of a second wave of subs over eight minutes into the game. He came in a few minutes earlier the next exhibition, one of two players who were first off the bench.
Cupps certainly flashed potential in those games, but they were exhibitions, after all.
When things got real against Florida Gulf Coast, Cupps subbed in over seven minutes into the game, seemingly still a “reserve” in the traditional sense. In the Army game he came in even earlier, less than five minutes into the game, and first off the bench.
Woodson has followed a pattern since arriving at IU in 2021. It goes like this: Just because you start the game doesn’t mean you’re going to finish it.
