Former IU basketball player Quinn Buckner said Friday it’s appropriate the stretch of road in Bloomington named after Bob Knight isn’t a “street” or “avenue.”

“With ‘Coach Bob Knight Way,’ I think it’s perfect, because it was either Bob Knight’s way, or no way,” Buckner said at a ceremony to unveil a sign with the road’s name. “I’m telling you. Bob Knight’s way, or no way. That’s the deal.”

A section of State Road 45/46 between Fee Lane and College Ave. is now “Bob Knight Memorial Way” in honor of IU’s three-time national champion coach who died in 2023.

About 100 people were present at the ceremony, including politicians, former players and managers under Knight, current head coach Darian DeVries, Knight’s wife Karen and son Pat.

Buckner was a member of the undefeated 1976 National Championship team. He is the only person to win a state basketball championship in high school, a college national championship, an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal as a player.

He attributed much of his success to Bob Knight.

“I would say my parents are number one, and he's number two in terms of influencing me and keeping me down the straight and narrow,” Buckner said.

Read more: IU announces Bob Knight statue while honoring 1976 national champions

“He did a terrific job in terms of getting us to class. He would get a card on every one of us every week, and if you didn't do what you're supposed to do in class, including attend, there was a price to pay.”

IU Athletic Director Scott Dolson talked about his relationship with Bob Knight as a student manager. It was his job to polish the backboards.

Without Knight, Dolson said, “I would not be here today if it weren't for that opportunity.”

Pat Knight also poked fun at how his father would react to seeing Dolson’s success as the Athletic Director.

“I can hear Coach right now,” he said. “‘Scott, my boy. God d—! You were listening and taking notes in practice.’”

Dolson said IU’s athletic department tries to follow Knight’s example.

“It's no coincidence it's named Bob Knight Way, because we literally want IU Athletics to emulate the Bob Knight Way every day in everything we do,” Dolson said. “The Bob Knight Way is to play by the rules, to graduate all of our student athletes, and to win, and really that's what he did.”

None of the speakers alluded to Knight having been fired by the university in 2000 after violating a zero-tolerance conduct policy. That started many years of Knight refusing to have anything to do with IU, a freeze that thawed only toward the end of his life.

But Friday’s ceremony focused on the good times, with some humor.

Pat Knight, who played for IU, joked about his relationship with his father, as well as his father’s relationship with a different speaker.

“I had a very special moment when I graduated senior night, and Coach told me I was his all-time favorite player,” Knight said. “Coach is full of s---. His all-time favorite player was Quinn Buckner.”

Pat Knight spoke of his father’s connection to IU, despite the years of acrimony.

“He loved this university,” Knight said. “He loved Bloomington, and it was just the perfect fit for him, and that's why I think it's so special.”

The site of Bob Knight Way is appropriate, he said.

“Anybody that's lived in Bloomington, or if you're an athlete or coach, when you got to 45/46, you knew you were home,” he said. “This is a special road for everybody that lives in this community, and to have it named after my dad is very big-time.”