Bob Knight walked away. If you want to read about it from someone closer to the situation you can go over to Double T Nation or The Hoosier Report. The way he walked away comes as no surprise. Coach Knight does things his own way, always has.
He won a national championship as a player at Ohio State in 1960. In 1976, he coached Indiana to an undefeated season and a national title. The Hoosiers won another national title under Knight in 1981. In 1984, he coached the US national team to an Olympic Gold Medal. He won a third national title at Indiana in 1987. In 42 years as a head coach, he won 902 games, the most in D-I history, and his teams finished with a losing record just twice. You can find all of that for yourself on the internet, but you'll have to look hard because the media prefers to write about his short fuse, which is a shame. Yes, he has a bad temper. He's mean, harsh, and uncompromising. He's also the greatest coach in the history of the game of basketball.
As an Iowa fan, I hated Indiana more than any other team during his tenure there. They were relentless and always ready for a fight, exactly like their coach. No matter how much I hated the Hoosiers, I always revered Coach Knight. I have more respect for the way he coached the game of basketball than I do for any coach, in any sport. He got more out of his players than anyone I've ever seen. He dedicated his entire life to getting the most out of those closest to him. This unbridled passion for perfection makes him unpalatable to most. Like Mr. Knight, I don't give a shit what you think about him personally. You don't know the man so spare me of the sanctimonious posturing about his behavior.
If you must make judgements about him personally, listen to the people who know him best, his family and his players. Time and time again, you'll hear them say he's had more of an impact on their lives than anyone else. His coaching records are staggering but more impressive is his player graduation rate. Only 4 of his 4-year players failed to complete their degree. That's a rate of nearly 98%. In over 40 years of coaching. That's very good.
I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that the mainstream media is the worst place to get information about Coach Knight. These are the people that have spent decades baiting him into confrontations for good copy while ignoring the impeccable record of citizenship his boys had. They'll spend the next few days speculating on why he walked away when he did and take shots at him for quitting during the season. I won't let them determine how I'm going to remember Coach Knight. I'm going to remember him as the only guy I've ever seen who wanted his team to win more than I wanted mine to.
Why did he walk away? Because his work was done.
Thanks for doing it, Coach.