For generations of Selma residents, they have one man to thank for their ability to swim. For a few generations of Selma residents, they have one man to thank for their love and respect for the game of basketball.

For Selma, a man who meant so much to so many, was lost Saturday, as Claude Kilpatrick Knight Jr., known to all as Pat, died at his home Saturday after a brief illness. He was 81.

A memorial service will be held Friday, Aug. 10 at First Presbyterian Church in Selma at 11 a.m. The family will receive friends at 10:15 a.m. in the Warren Room prior to the service.

Knight was a long time physical education director and later served as General Secretary of the Selma YMCA. He also worked at Wallace Community College-Selma, Selma University and Marion Military Institute.

A veteran of the Korean War, where he served with the U.S. Army’s medical battalion, Knight graduated from Orrville High School before attending East Mississippi Junior College on an athletic scholarship. He later received a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in education from Auburn University.

In an interview with the Times-Journal in February 1999, Knight said throughout his career — mainly working with children — he has “never met a bad kid.”

“I just don’t think there is such a thing,” Knight said. “I think that there are kids that have poor habits and I did everything to break those kids of those habits.”

Bill Porter, CEO of the Selma YMCA, is one of those children Knight helped break bad habits. Porter was one of the countless Selmians who were taught the basics of swimming — and sport — by Knight, and today leads the organization so beloved by Knight.

“Pat was a wonderful citizen to this community and a great asset. He was known not only for his long association with the YMCA but his involvement in every venue of community service,” Porter said. “The fruits of Pat’s labor have been perpetuated in the lives of countless hundreds of people who he has touched and influenced in such a positive way.

“Pat taught you to never give up, work hard, be unselfish and always practice true sportsmanship,” Porter said. “He will be greatly missed.”

In addition to teaching the game of basketball to so many, Pat was a 13-year member of the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee, the organization that established the rules for collegiate basketball.

Knight served with such basketball legends as Hall of Fame Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, North Carolina coach Dean Smith and Dr. Jack Ramsay, most known for his work as an analyst with ESPN in later years.

One of the most drastic changes made by the committee during Knight’s tenure on the committee was the banning of dunking.

In a 2006 interview with the Times-Journal, Knight said there were a number of factors that played into the decision.

“We took it out because the backboards were being shattered, players were getting injured,” Knight said. “Before the game, they had to prolong the game, stop it or not start it because they had to replace them.”

Knight also said the committee chose to remove dunking because of an “unfair advantage.”

“The main reason we took the dunk out of basketball was because the guy dunking the ball had an unfair advantage over the defensive player,” Knight said at the time.

Knight said there was a positive result to the change, at least in the mind of one historic player.

“Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) said it made him shoot the ball better,” Knight said. “Because it made him concentrate on developing a shot.”

The result? Abdul-Jabbar’s famous sky-hook.

Knight also earned respect as a basketball official, crossing paths with Selma Mayor George Evans, also a basketball official, on more than one occasion — during and after their officiating days.

“He had great joy in working with young people,” Evans said. “I really enjoyed the times we had talking about basketball, him telling me stories about him playing golf and beating his brother. He was an outstanding individual and he will truly be missed.”

Knight is preceded in death by his parents, Claude K. and Clara Ida Williams Knight and by his former wife, Carolyn Heinz Knight. He is survived by his brother, Joseph S. Knight (Anne) of Selma; two nieces, Kay Night Boley (Ray) of Daphne, and Vicki Knight Gordon (Don) of Spanish Fort; a nephew, Kirk Knight (Sarah) of Atlanta; by seven great-nieces and nephews and six great-great nieces and nephews.

In his obituary, Pat’s family expressed their thanks to the staff at Cahaba Hospice and caregivers James and Cynthia Powell. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Selma YMCA, First Presbyterian Church, the Selma-Dallas County Public Library or another charity of choice.