Neil Reed, IU player Knight choked, suffers fatal heart attack

Jul 27, 2012 - 4:40 AM Santa Maria, CA (Sports Network) - Neil Reed, the Indiana basketball player caught on tape being choked by head coach Bobby Knight in 1997, died on Thursday of a massive heart attack. He was 36.

The Santa Maria Times reported Reed, who coached boys basketball and both boys and girls golf at Pioneer Valley High School, passed away. The newspaper reports Reed had trouble breathing early in the morning and was taken to an area hospital where he went into cardiac arrest, but he could not be revived.

Reed claimed in 1997 that Knight choked him during a practice. Video of the practice surfaced three years later, and the Hall of Fame coach was put on a zero-tolerance policy by university president Dr. Myles Brand.

In September of 2000, an Indiana student accused Knight of grabbing his arm, and Knight was fired shortly thereafter.

After his altercation with Knight, Reed transferred to Southern Mississippi and played there for the 1998-99 season.

"The shock of the passing of Neil Reed and the sadness we feel for his wife, two daughters and entire family is overwhelming. Tragic news," current Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean said via Twitter. "Neil was building a career in coaching and had even sent me his coaching philosophy book a few years back to proof. Pray for his family."