Indiana hires Mike Woodson

[RURM85]

You have to think they are trying to replicate what Juwan has done at Michigan. Thad Matta as asst HC is right in line with Martelli at UM. I actually thought he was a decent HC with the Hawks and Knicks. I don't think he had that much to work with at either stop.

Guess I view Juwan Howard in comparison as a generation younger than Woodson with Fab 5 fame and can really relate with the kids of today. Woodson at 62 played on those late 70s Hoosier teams that were great, however, so many years ago and his age makes him some what of a dinosaur with the kids of today.

I'm not a fan of hiring NBA Coaches for College jobs. It's a completely different job coaching paid professionals vs. 18-21 year olds. Also, the college HCs have many additional responsibilities including recruiting and more of a focus on player development needed as the skill sets and talents vary widely compared to the NBA where coaches focus on Xs and Os, and trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

Just my opinion and of course I thought 4 years ago that Archie Miller would be a slam dunk hire for Indiana. It's a crap shoot.

As for Thad Motta is he going to be on the Indiana bench as an Associate AD, as Martelli is an Assistant HC is at Michigan?

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Time will tell if this works out. I hope he fails because that is good for Rutgers. He could be Mullin, Jordan or he could be Howard or Ewing, who looks like he is getting it done at Georgetown.

 

[BigLou]

Bob Wenzel was on the radio the other day comparing the Texas and Indiana jobs. He came out and said that Indiana was not a great job and that if he was a candidate for both he would go to Texas without a doubt.
I was wondering if they were waiting for Baylor's season to end to go after Drew but really, why would he leave Baylor for Indiana?

 

[Mr_Twister]

Can he coach and recruit like Juwan Howard? The results at Michigan have been good.

 

[Caliknight]

Who?

 

[RUDead]

Great news! I hate those clown pants.

 

[ClassOf02]

Could be a hire in the mold of Juwan Howard.

Could be a hire in the mold of Eddie Jordan.

Odds are, it’ll be somewhere in between.

 

[cm_13]

Can he coach and recruit like Juwan Howard? The results at Michigan have been good.

Remains to be seen, but no he definitely cannot.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Why don't the mods ban this troll?

You'd figure Buckeyes would be in hiding after that performance in the NCAAs. Big Ten refs did not prepare them for what it is like in a fairly officiated game.

 

[Sideline20]

Does he coach rebounding?

 

[RU-AGK]

You'd figure Buckeyes would be in hiding after that performance in the NCAAs. Big Ten refs did not prepare them for what it is like in a fairly officiated game.

The unvarnished truth of OSU's season in one sentence.

 

[fatsam98]

I went over to their site to check reaction... Overall they are trying to justify the hire to themselves. They've gotta be dissapointed though, every IU fan I met in Indy told me Brad Stevens was coming. Oh well.

 

[G- RUnit]

The unvarnished truth of OSU's season in one sentence.

Makes one wonder, doesn't it? Exposed!

 

[B0ski]

Very happy with this hire as long as Woodson does not pull a Juwan Howard (which is probably what IU was thinking).

 

[OldManRiver]

Tone Loc back on the mic in Indiana 😁

...Wild Thing

 

[dpwhite]

His press conference was nap inducing

 

[RUHouston]

Could be a hire in the mold of Juwan Howard.

Could be a hire in the mold of Eddie Jordan.

Odds are, it’ll be somewhere in between.

Could just be a Craig Littlepage hire...we all know how well that ended!

 

[RUJMM78]

Can he coach and recruit like Juwan Howard? The results at Michigan have been good.

The results have been outstanding including the best recruiting class this year.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Supposedly, WWW ( World Wide Wes) has endorsed this selection of Mike Woodson to Indiana....if the name doesn't sound familiar in the recruiting game, we'll, not sure what to tell you.

Remains to be seen if this impacts recruiting at a high level.

 

[RUPete]

They always got the recruits, they just underachieved.

 

[Joey Bacala]

I disagree. Not a home run hire but a darn good pedigree and as likely to succeed as anyone else. It’s always a crap shoot.

And by pedigree you mean......?

And as was mentioned in another post, he has EJ pedigree. I've seen that movie, it doesn't end well.

 

[ScarletDave]

I look forward to many more years to come of completely owning Indiana basketball

 

[Shelby65]

By pedigree I mean extensive experience at the highest level of coaching, in the highest pressure market, and a star IU alum.

His NBA record is meaningless because his management wasnt always trying to build competitive teams.

 

[BigEastPhil]

Woodson = no charisma.

Translation: Indiana will remain down.

Recruits = have no idea who Woodson is.

Translation: Woodson better get a dynamic assistant who can recruit.

 

[BigEastPhil]

By pedigree I mean extensive experience at the highest level of coaching, in the highest pressure market, and a star IU alum.

His NBA record is meaningless because his management wasnt always trying to build competitive teams.

Its a shame we don't know each other...:)

We'd have some very interesting discussions / debates....:)

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Indiana is going to recruit at a national level or Top 3 to 5 in the B1G, each and every year.

Indiana has supported Woodson with a proven "consultant " in Thad Matta and potentially someone like Larry Brown, who knows college basketball, even at 80 years old.

I think they fired Archie, fully believing they could make a run at the usual suspects. But in the end, they are happy that they hired someone with a Bobby Knight connection and that will give him shelf life.

Here is the overwhelming issue....they really aren't far off from a NCAA tournament, they would have made it (barely) in 2020 and missed by probably 3 games in 2021. Maybe not losing at home to Northwestern, RU and Michigan State, are 3 games that if they flip, Archie is still there.

The problem is flipping 3 B1G games is very difficult to do, unless 4 or 5 schools fall apart completely. They're now 4 straight years without making the NCAAS and to be fair, unless there's a rash of incoming transfers and upgrades, the best case scenario is Year 2 or 3. With each year that goes by that they miss the NCAAs, then the goal becomes overwhelming.....it won't be making the NCAAS, it will be Sweet 16/Elite 8 expectations by Years 4 or 5. I don't see that happening but maybe Matta and Brown mixed with Woodson, makes it happen.

I could certainly see a Indiana game at MSG with their non conference slate, since Woodson is on good terms with MSG brass. Maybe the B1G takes a RU home game away from the RAC, and pairs up and improving Indiana vs RU on a Saturday in January.....stranger things have happened and I think a MSG game with Indiana would be a fun event, if Indiana gets back on track.

 

[BigEastPhil]

I'll agree with your post above if Woodson hires dymanic assistants.......If he hires retreads and / or NBA Buddies, Indiana will be a dumpster fire.

 

[Sec127]

Good post Hawk. Woody's first problem is that a lot of his young talent is in the portal. He was known as a good teacher as a coach in the pros which should help. Have to think the lack of fans this year hurt RU and IU the most in the Big. Two of the biggest home court advantages in the Ncaa.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Problem is that Indiana fans still expect B1G and National Championships and not just tournament appearances. Those days are long gone.

 

[Night Man]

TJD staying... should prevent them from falling through the floor, if it were headed in that direction

 

[BillyC80]

Some think Thad makes a difference but I say it doesn’t Matta.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

At Indiana, “guessing right” matters less than it did at RU when Pike first came and those who failed before him. They will always get decent recruits. We flat out were bad for so long that we couldn’t. We had to find guys who were going to play above their stars to get things going.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson coached Indiana in 2006-2008 and was forced to resign over recruiting violations. He did pretty well there.. 43-15. He was the second coach after Bobby Knight.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Indiana is pitching NIL for their branded basketball program and "followers"......somehow I thought the players were wrong in asking for something the school is promoting for the players.

I hope this shows that if you want to think this is about pay for play, it really is not about that. But the likeness and branding of the student athlete is going to be at it's highest at the college level, since everyone is not going to make the NBA.