Bob Knight felt right at home in Indiana.

For more than 90 minutes Thursday night, Knight recounted tales from his coaching days, stories from the recruiting trail, lessons he passed along to players and, oh yes, even a new critique of the NCAA.

Just like old times, except this speech had some poignant moments, too.

"You know, I've always been a Kenny Rogers fan and I always liked that song where he says 'You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run,'" Knight said. "I've tried to follow that philosophy, and I should have run at Indiana when the trustees and the administration had gotten too far apart and that's probably as much my fault as it was theirs."

Knight, who wore a green sweater, instead of his trademark red one, said he had been advised by three different people early in his career that he was too strong-willed to stay at Indiana forever. Instead of heeding that advice, though, Knight said he couldn't find a better basketball environment and stayed right up until the moment Myles Brand fired him in September 2000.

It's close as Knight has gotten to admitting he may have made a mistake in Bloomington.

Those who paid $50 for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame fundraiser didn't come to hear Knight offer regrets, they came to hear the man they still revere and Knight welcomed the two standing ovations he received.

"I'll always take great pleasure in having been part of the heritage of basketball in Indiana," he said.

It was a rare trip to the state where Knight was treated like a royalty, and it was his first public appearance in Indiana since skipping his own induction into the Indiana University Hall of Fame last month.

Before the induction, new athletic director Fred Glass made a personal plea to reunite The General and the university, to no avail. Knight said then that he didn't want to distract from the induction of others into the Hall of Fame.

It may not have been the only reason he didn't go.

"I would have loved to have seen him back for the induction," said longtime broadcaster Chuck Marlowe, who writes to Knight on a regular basis. "But he explained to me that 'You do know there are still reasons why I cannot do it.'"

Marlowe was one of the friends hoping Thursday night's appearance may open the door to getting Knight and the university back together.

"I think somewhere along the line, there will be a relationship renewed that will bring him back into a relationship with IU," Marlowe said.

But Knight is in town on a business trip. He is scheduled to be an analyst on ESPN's broadcast of the Xavier-Butler game Saturday afternoon.