Turns out retirement was a move Knight had been considering for quite some time.

“I didn’t know, I’ve never really known when I was going to step down from this job,” Knight told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “As I thought about it, my first thought was at the end of this season.”

But Knight kept coming back to the thought of his son and giving Pat Knight that opportunity to get his feet wet. Bob Knight spoke with one of his mentors, legendary coach Pete Newell, for an hour and a half Sunday. When the conversation was over, Knight knew he was ready to step down.

“My thinking was that for Pat and for this team — most of which is returning next year — the best thing for the long run for this team would be for Pat and his staff to coach these remaining 10 games,” Knight said. “And [to] get an understanding, get a real feel for each other, be able to think over the course of the spring and summer going into next season about how people had played, how things had been done offensively or defensively, what could be done or couldn’t be done, what to stay away from, what to work on and develop that from a game standpoint as the coach in charge of everything rather than as an assistant coach.

“It was always a problem for me as to just what would be the most effective way in this transition, to make this transition. And with all the thought that I put into it, that’s exactly how I felt that it should be.”

Knight’s coaching legacy will always be tainted by the tirades, the turmoil and the trouble he created for himself. But without all the conflict and controversy, he simply would not have been Bob Knight.

Here’s the greatest contradiction of all. The man with the most coaching victories in the history of Division I college basketball never stopped to count his wins.

Consider this passage from his book Knight: My Story. It comes from the chapter “Cornerstones and Credos.”

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“I have never allowed myself to dwell on games we won. I’ve always felt winning is what you’re supposed to do. Winning is a by-product of preparation and work at practice, all the things leading up to a game. I get away from games that we won and into the next game right away, and I’ll do it as long as I coach.”

Knight kept his word to the end. He beat Oklahoma State on Saturday and didn’t dwell on it. But this time, instead of moving on to the next game, Bob Knight decided it was time to rest.

And, to no one’s surprise, that’s exactly what he’s going to do.