For years he stayed away, but pieces coming together for Bob Knight's return to Assembly Hall

The pieces to the puzzle Bob Knight seemingly never wanted finished are coming together.

A move from Texas back to Bloomington this summer, into a $600,000 house three miles from Assembly Hall.

A trip with longtime friend Bob Hammel to Indiana University for a baseball game in April.

An appearance at the Bluebird, a Bloomington bar, where last month Knight took the microphone in impromptu fashion.

And the repeated phrase he can't stop saying in his recent public appearances, such as the one at Center Grove in April where he said through tears, "The best days of my life were when I was at IU, coaching for you guys."

Yet Knight has refused to return to the arena where he led IU to three national titles — and then, after 29 years was fired.

Bob Knight didn't rule out a return to Assembly Hall last month when asked by a fan about it. "Let's go tomorrow," he said.

Now that may change. After Knight snubbed multiple IU invitations over the years to return to Assembly Hall, those who know him say the chances he will attend an IU basketball game this season are greater than ever. Hammel didn't respond to a reporter's call about this story.

“Let’s go tomorrow,” Knight, 79, said in response to a fan at Bluebird in November, who asked him when he'd be returning to the arena.

IU coach Archie Miller has the team sitting at 8-0 heading into Saturday's matchup at Wisconsin. The Hoosiers' next home game is Dec. 13 vs. Nebraska.

"I would bet money on the fact that he is at a game this season," said Todd Leary, who played for Knight from 1989-94 and later was a radio color commentator for the team.

Why now? "Health," said Leary.

'Possibility is much greater'

If Knight does return it would be bittersweet, say those who have been close to or followed Knight through the years.

Early this year, IU basketball announcer Don Fischer raised concerns about Knight's health during a Michigan radio broadcast. Those concerns were driven home in April at Knight's Center Grove appearance.

Bob Knight, then 78, after an appearance at Center Grove High in April, 2019.

During his talk in front of hundreds of people, Knight was witty but had many memory lapses, including a moment where he seemed to forget his wife had already been introduced.

He also mistakenly said that former player Landon Turner, who was paralyzed in a car accident, had passed away. Knight told a story about one game twice  — once naming Damon Bailey as the subject of the anecdote, once naming Michael Jordan.

Steve Alford, who stays in contact with Knight, said Wednesday he has "no idea" whether Knight is planning a return to Assembly Hall. His dad, Sam Alford, who helped coach at Knight's summer camps for years, is leaning more toward yes.

"I think the possibility is much greater now," said the elder Alford. Knight has softened in many ways through the years, including becoming friends with longtime rival and former Purdue coach Gene Keady.

He cries almost every time he speaks publicly. With many former players in attendance at Bluebird, Knight showed gratitude for them and for how he was treated by fans and players during his nearly three decades as Hoosiers coach.

Bob Knight appears disgusted as he lectures Daryl Thomas. The senior responded to Knight's pep talk and finished with 27 points and eight rebounds against Auburn on March 14, 1987.

“I think they knew that the fans here really wanted to see good basketball," he said, choking up, "and they gave it to them."

Sam Alford said he believes IU athletic director Fred Glass should meet with Knight about naming the floor after the legendary coach, something that might bridge any lingering issues preventing Knight's return.

“I would not presume to predict what coach Knight might want to do," Glass said about a possible return by the coach. "Having said that, he knows he’s more than welcome to come back to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.”

Knight's stubborn streak

Jake Query, who grew up during the Knight era, said he was IU and Knight's biggest fan as a teen in Indianapolis.

"I grew up admiring, following and enthusiastically monitoring everything that his teams did," said the co-host of the "Query & Schultz" show on Fox Sports Radio, 1260-AM. "I grew up dreaming of playing for him."

Yet as he got older, Query started seeing what some others saw in Knight.

"He is a flawed human, as all of us are," Query said. "One of his biggest flaws, in my opinion, was the stubborn streak about him that prevented him from going back to Assembly Hall when he really still had complete faculties about him."

Knight has refused numerous invitations to return to Assembly Hall since he was fired as coach in 2000 — including passing up the opportunity to be honored with the undefeated 1976 championship team he led.

In November 2016, he passed on attending the celebration of the 1981 team, the year Isiah Thomas, Randy Wittman and Turner tore through an NCAA tournament field that never came within single digits of IU. The season ended in Knight's second national championship. 

Indiana also invited Knight back for his Hall of Fame induction.

"Everyone who was meaningful to Bob Knight has extended the overtures," Query said. "He has very adamantly denied all of those overtures. In my opinion if he were to go back now, it's taking advantage of who he truly was."

Settling back into Bloomington

Knight and his wife, Karen, signed property records in July for a 4,840-square-foot home in Bloomington, just three miles from Assembly Hall.

Since then, social media posts have revealed multiple Knight appearances in Bloomington, including an October visit to a steakhouse, where manager Bryan Hillard said Knight joked with him and made small talk.

"He was actually super polite and made a few jokes... It was really cool," Hillard said.

A similarly cheery Knight appeared at Bluebird, where chants of “Bobby” and “Thank you, coach” echoed.

"Hoosier Hysterics" — a podcast dedicated to Indiana men’s basketball — was hosting a live event when Knight arrived unexpectedly

“This was a great place to coach, and it was an opportunity to coach a lot of great kids,” Knight said. “And more important than that, we just about beat everybody’s ass.”

Knight has been back to campus over the years. While many believe Knight's return to campus is a recent phenomenon, Dan Dakich, Knight's former player and assistant, said his coach has been back many times in the past 19 years. 

Knight likes to go to his favorite restaurants in town and has taken tours of new buildings on campus, including the Cook Hall basketball practice facility at IU. He used to visit, just not publicly, Dakich said.

Leary said the intrigue surrounding Knight — and a possible return to Assembly Hall — doesn't surprise him.

"People just want to know about him. When I go play in a golf tournament, it's not, 'What was your most memorable time playing at IU?' It's, 'Hey, give me your best Bob Knight story,'" Leary said. "There is a worldwide mystery about him."

IndyStar's IU Insider Zach Osterman contributed to this story.

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via e-mail: dbenbow@indystar.com.