Arguably the NCAA Basketball’s greatest-ever coach, Robert Montgomery ‘Bobby’ Knight, passed away at the age of 83. Fans and fellow coaches dubbed the Basketball Hall of Famer “The General” for his ruthless and unapologetic playing style. Some of the players he touched became gold, and the ones that were gold turned into diamonds after meeting him. The basketball community can’t hold back emotions and memories as Knight leaves his dynasty behind.

One of the jewels that came into his proximity is NBA legend and Washington Commanders co-owner Magic Johnson, who was still in high school when Knight was running riots with the Indiana Hoosiers. The 5 times NBA champion took to social media to revisit his encounter with Knight 47 years ago.

Back When Bobby Knight himself came to recruit Magic Johnson

The Hoosiers went 32-0 in the 1975-76 NCAA season under Bobby Knight’s command. To recruit new talents, Knight traveled to his neighboring state Michigan, where a 17-year-old Johnson was making a name for himself in college basketball. In memory of Knight, Johnson shared the story of that day in his X (formerly, Twitter).

“Rest in peace to Hall of Fame basketball coach Bobby Knight! I remember when he came to recruit me at Everett High School right after they went 32-0 and won the National Championship in 1976. All 1200 students skipped class that day because they wanted to catch a glimpse of the legendary Coach Knight. A true champion!” He wrote, sharing how the star struck school students skipped their classes to see Bobby Knight in person.

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Johnson ended the post by praying for the deceased legend’s family alongside his wife, Cookie Johnson. “Cookie and I are praying for the entire Knight family and all of his loved ones” followed by a praying emoji.

However, nothing came out of the meeting, as Johnson chose not to play for the Hoosiers despite Bobby Knight’s wish. Even after his refusal to join Knight, Johnson went on to have a successful career in sports.

Johnson followed a different route but reached the ultimate success

A few more teams other than the Hoosiers approached Johnson, notably the UCLA Bruins. But he decided to play for his homeland Michigan and joined the Michigan State Spartans. Young, 6’8 Johnson took the NCAA by storm. He led the team to the championship in 1979, defeating then-undefeated Indiana State Sycamores in the final. He left the college the same year to enter the 1979 NBA draft and was the first overall pick by the LA Lakers. The rest is history.

Johnson went on to win 5 championships with the team and later established himself as a successful investor. He co-owns multiple teams across basketball, baseball, and football, and has more trophies as an owner (8) than as a player. His latest investment happened in July for the NFL team Washington Commanders. Johnson also recently earned the status of a billionaire, further improving his all-around legacy in American Sports history.

Magic Johnson Stands a Head Taller Over 2,000 People at Debut as a Billionaire Athlete

Looking back at his career, Johnson could be satisfied, knowing he achieved pretty much all he could. But we can’t help but imagine how his career would have looked like had he chosen to go with Bobby Knight that day in the summer of 1976. Certainly, the thoughts seem to have crossed Johnson’s mind as well as he traveled down memory lane to remember the iconic coach as the basketball world bid a final goodbye to him.

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