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First thing's first, congrats to the IU women on the 4-seed and hosting opportunity. Tough draw, but they call it madness for a reason. Secondly, love you guys and this community, but goodness you're not shy about using the private message feature. Sorry for ghosting many of you but easier to just post publicly. And, now that I've effectively buried the lead, Woodson is back next year with a couple caveats and interesting details: - Meeting Tuesday happened as scheduled and talk was future of the basketball program and specifically how Woody fits in that plan - Though Dolson and BoT disagree about it happening now, consensus was that this isn't the bridge hire they'd hoped for and this is his last year barring some miracle B1G championship or FF run next year that would make for bad optics. - Woodson was given the opportunity to retire and go out amicably but said no and that he thinks he can use the portal to put us in a better position to transition to another coach after next year. - Dolson laid out expectations for portal results and win/loss results next season that would result in letting Woody go; just my opinion but it sounds like Buckner, boosters, etc. got him the 4th year but Scotty Dolson has his finger on the eject button and Woodson knows it. Fully expect him to announce a "planned retirement" next year so he can go out on his "own terms" - For what it's worth, Dolson did put out feelers and got positive feedback on interest from 2 of his top 3 potential replacement candidates; think we can get May with a text message, Pearl has serious interest but wouldn't make a move if his team makes a FF run or wins a natty. - I think we as a fanbase/board are higher on Dusty than the administration/BoT; sounds like they're only interested in a homerun hire, win now guy if they do move and risking a third straight miss isn't something they're willing to do and just because he has IU ties and made a good tourney run, feeling is May isn't a guarantee at this level. That's what I've got that I'm able to share comfortably right now. Not what myself or anybody on this board probably wants to hear. Moral is one more year is 95% likely (everyone root for UCONN in the S16, and a miracle!) It's kind of messy internally and they're trying to move on to get IU back to a top tier program while letting Woodson ride into the sunset having left the program in a good place and "stepping aside" for the good of the program. ??

MR, MM, KW moving on/entering the portal moves the needle probably. Combined with an early exit by Auburn it gets more interesting.

Woodson has been logged into his Myspace account all morning but no transfers have reached out yet. He's going to try AOL soon

The source wasn’t Dolson.

Scott is definitely fighting the good fight, but the headwinds have been substantial. I think he will get this right in the long run personally. He knows what needs to happen.

It's absolutely ridiculous. You don't ask someone to retire. You either make them or fire them. You either reach out to coaches or you don't. You don't ask if we think about making our crappy coach retire would you be interested in our job. The whole thing is a clown show

Just braindead. If the only thing saving him is a B10 title or a FF next year; just cut him loose now. Barring a miracle, next year is just a lost year at this point and another year of apathy and the IU program sinking deeper into the depths of mediocrity. Go get the guy you want now and get started on the rebuild. Thanks for the update.

The Godfather has arrived! Thanks for the update Jerry. Man, if Pearl really wanted to come here after a, say, S16 loss, it’d be nice if we could sit Woody down and say look, I know you want to leave the program in the best spot possible, and the best way to do that is retire and let this guy take over. Because he’s the best option we’re gonna have this year or next.

Re: Evans on JMV, I would recommend listening to the podcast. I was driving but in summary. He thought the low point of the year were a couple of our close wins over Army and Morehead, until the blowouts vs uconn and auburn. And then the lack of discipline from X and Gunn on their ejections were lower, and then the home losses to Penn State and Nebraska were lower, and then recognizing (in his words) 2 juniors essentially on sr night announcing they are coming back for another year, ( why are we giving them framed jerseys and celebrating their senior night if they have another year?) to then a 75 pt career scorer claiming they’re going to run it back and to chill, to then Woodson dividing the fan base with his comments that if you have a problem and don’t like what you’re seeing from this program, you aren’t a true fan. He thought that was the lowest point, until Friday night when Woody just decided he didn’t want to be there anymore and got the 2nd T. That was the lowest point, watching him quit on his team etc. Worries that it’ll be worse next year and that Woody will ruin his legacy of being a top player historically in the program and end up being booed off the court. Said he has had talks with Dolson, and implied Scott isn’t able to get rid of Woody, that he has friends in the right places backing him and maybe they’ll throw enough money at mercenaries to field a team. This did 2 things for me…reconfirmed some of our insiders here definitely get legit info, and/or Evans is on this board lol.

I’ve finally made it.

Man....Seriously, F Mike Woodson for putting his ego in front of the future of the entire program. The more I read about this guy, the less I like him. He's not in it for IU, he's in it for Mike Woodson.

Appreciate the intent, but that name getting out would lose me my sources pretty quickly.

Woodson called him Tim.

I guess now would be a good time to launch my paid subscription site while I’ve got the major publicity from Texas Hoosier. But that would probably require I start a tweeter account…. Hmm, never mind, I’ll keep posting here for free to the true fans. :)

If he won't retire and it's known the expectations won't be met, and the ones Jerry listed 100% won't, then there's no reason to give him another year. I doubt the pool of potential coaches would be any better if they have a year to see how much of a mess Woodson can make. They might actually be dumber than I thought. This is basically telling he's fired effective a year from now. Forget recruiting HS kids, of course he'd have to be on the road to do that.

Maybe it's time for you to relax about this thread. Nobody's forcing you to read it. The mods are more than capable of determining when to lock or shut down a thread.

Dusty May will most certainly not turn down a $4 million annual/7 year guaranteed head coaching job at UL or UM for a down-the-road promise at IU. If he did that I'd question his judgment and whether he's smart enough for any big job.

Didn’t he call it a no brainer at the time? And he was exactly right.

https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/mike-woodson-indiana-job-not-done-01hrbxhtz0r9

So they have basically fired Woodson but effective next year?!?! WTF. Nothing says incompetent more than willfully agreeing to endure another poor season while also being willing to negatively impact recruiting for the next 2 seasons. The administration has to exit the echo chamber of “we must tread lightly with Woody” and look at the big picture. At this point they are on the verge of taking the worst path possible (other than extending him).

Trey having surgery on his knee today.

Minimum of six from the portal: Ware X Walker Gunn Banks Open spot. And it's reasonable to expect that there will be an additional departure or two, for a total of seven or eight from the portal. Unlike prior years, with Woody in lame duck status there's very little chance that a high school senior will pop for IU after a coaching change. This is rough, though I suppose it's the only way to be with a likely lame duck coach and no confirmed heir apparent.

Someone needs to protect Woody from CMW. If he wants to go out on a high note it won’t come via wins and losses. It will be about leaving at the right time… ie the moment Bruce Pearl says he’s ready to come north.

I never saw Mike Woodson the player so I have only seen Mike Woodson the coach. I have to say, I don't like him at all. I don't care what he did as a player, the guy I see is selfish and arrogant. The longer he's here, the more I dislike him. Fire Mike Woodson.

Just feel free to chat here we will promise not to watch ; >

Seems like having zero commitments after year 3 would be an indictment on him and his system.

So, in the BoT’s “wisdom”, the chosen path to success is to try to get an incredible level of talented players who are willing to take money to play in a terrible system under a mediocre coach, then somehow overachieve and perform at an elite or championship level. Which would require Woodson to suddenly do everything he has failed to do in three years. Then, even if it were miraculously successful, it would be completely unsustainable. Or, if it’s not successful, they’ll fire him later for the same things they’ve already decided he deserves to be fired for now, they’re just not ready to do it yet. As opposed to making a change now and getting a coach who has the skills and experience to get started now, and do this in a proven and more successful way. Sounds like a great plan… what could go wrong? God help us…these people don’t know what the ______ they are doing, IMO.

With all due respect, Mike Woodson (the coach) has not earned the right to dictate his own terms. He's accomplished very little as the head coach of Indiana - one trip to the second round. This is not a Jim Boeheim situation, with a coach slipping off at the end of a Hall of Fame career. It feels like Woodson will be retained as the IU head coach because he was a great player here 45 years ago. The same reason he was hired in the first place.

Thanks for sharing the insights you have. It makes this board a lot of fun! To any of us who dreamed about playing basketball for the Hoosiers, this next year might be our opportunity! I still have some eligibility left. Could bring some wisdom to the team.

NO

It's just me, but I'm really gun shy about taking on any player who's missed significant playing time due to injury. I know a kid can tear up a knee stepping off a curb but some kids are just plain injury prone for whatever reason.

What’s even the point of asking Woodson to retire if you’re not going to fire him if he says no? It’s harder and harder to be an IU fan knowing how little the program cares about winning. We are not a serious basketball program. We’re a vanity project for an old player.

May, after a season of watching Woody coach...

Enough with the Yoda speak. Everything you've posted is vague at best, you're like a fortune teller warning people to be safe around the water. Yeah, you've had some points, but overall, nothing that couldn't be extrapolated (see, I can use big words too) from general knowledge. Muddy the waters seems to be your MO

Quinn is going to be done off the board next summer. This was all about making it impossible this year to move on from Woodson. He was going to make the qualifications so hard to move on that Dolson couldn't find anyone. So he barely even looked.

Banks and Gunn

To me there's 1 person that makes a ton of sense after next season because they will bring some players with him and likely have some 2025 in state kids ready to commit or flip to IU to play for him. He obviously doesn't have the resume at this point of some other coaches but he is a very well respected coach and is a great recruiter. Not saying he'd be my first pick but he would make some sense.

Fire Scott Dolson too then.

Put a team together that looks like it has a reasonable chance to compete next year. If we straight up strike out in the portal, with the resources we have, I think it will be seen as an indictment on Woody and players wanting to play for him and in his system.

Sara is a lovely gal -- but those colors just don't do her justice. This is much better!

I am skeptical. I believe it is more likely that we will have some pieces that look good on paper, but do not connect and meld into a cohesive team. I think it will be 'okay' and there will be moments, but will not be inspired or produce hope for the future.

Having a 5 star decommit can also be bad press.

Nobody truly competent is going to want to play second fiddle to Woody and be treated like dirt for a year.

My response is not about Dusty, per se, but this whole thing is a real head scratcher. Can somebody help me understand the thought process? It would appear that this is all about making Woodson feel good about himself and not hurting his feelings. If Woodson has, at most, one year, and he currently has zero recruits and he's hoping to rent a team for 2024-25 via the transfer portal, WHY? Why put the program and the fanbase through this BS? The odds are tremendously against success, and even if he were to be successful, they will burn that down to hire whatever coach they can get next year. And in the meantime, we're spending $4.5M on a lame duck coach, and untold millions of the Cooks and Simons money to rent the players. It just makes ZERO sense. I don't think that it's naiveté on the part of the administration. I don't think that anyone truly believes Woodson will be able to pull it off. And even on the outside chance that it's even remotely successful, what have we gained, aside from letting our next coach end up at another school and therefore out of reach? It's just more of the ridiculous stupidity that we've seen and had to endure as fans for the past 25 years. Just. Make. It. Stop.

Is it that much different now though? Isn’t Terrence Shannon Jr playing an entire season with a pending rape or SA charge currently? Or am I thinking of the wrong guy?

I’ll be honest, at first I groaned when I saw our draw but today I’m actually liking it. We are a team no 1-seed wants to see. The team that has three point shooters and can get hot for one game and put you on your heels out of the gate and you just never recover. And you’re going to have to beat a “South Carolina” at some point in the tourney, might as well be earlier than later. Less pressure than seeing them for a date to the final four. Nobody will expect is to win that game. Let it loose and fire away from distance at will. I think we will play better as a four seed with nobody talking about us than we did as a one seed last year. This team reminds me of the 2002 men’s team a bit (weren’t they a 5 seed?). Get hot and all the sudden you ride that momentum into the final four. We shall see. That’s why they play the games.

Not no, more like not right now.

I don't see that happening. But two players will enter the portal today

This whole “fix it in the portal” strategy seems flawed for several reasons with two of them being: - It seems to presume that talent was the problem and getting talent will fix the problem. I’m not at all convinced of that. Even if we end up with more or better talent, it may still flounder in a flawed system. -It also seems to be based on the presumption that better or more talent can actually be obtained from the portal, which I’m also not at all convinced of.

Got a Trilly Gif of Death too. It was a fun ride. Have a bad feeling about the NIT now.