HoosierMatty

No doubt college basketball has changed. And with it so are its challenges that maybe older fans don't understand. But the reality is no matter how unrealistic you think their expectations might be, I think it's fair to say we as a program are far removed from reaching what the current and realistic expectations should be. Regardless of the time and era since Knight was fired there has never been a serious or thoughtful approach to selecting a coach or moving our program forward. No serious program would have given Mike Davis the head coaching job after one season or at least never kept him as long as they did.That includes even after he took us to the title game. No school has their president tell their AD who they are going to hire even though the AD already has someone in mind. Whether you were a Sampson fan or not you would have to agree that was stupid and absurd And whether you supported his firing or not I'm sure you also agree the way we self punished ourselves was stupid. No other program would do that. You have schools like Kansas essentially give the NCAA the finger. So after that it was hard to find a good coach and again the AD was basically told to hire Crean who was once a hot name once but hadn't done anything since his final four run But he was squeaky clean and that was all that mattered. People say it's because are fans are ridiculous we can't attract a good coach. Maybe for some coaches that is a reason but that's no different than schools like Kentucky. The real reason we can't get a good coach is because they know how stupid and inepth our administration is. Coaching is tight fraternity and they talk to each other. They know we are stupid and self righteous with nothing to show for it. And the worst part is at different times we could have gotten great coaches like Matta or Stevens. Each time we missed our chance because we wouldn't make a move when we needed to. Also both would have run a clean program which they care so much about. We Have fallen so far not because of our fans. But because we don't have serious people making smart decisions.

This is a core problem of why we can't get the right hire. Administrators or donors having too much say on who we hire or don't hire. Most schools don't operate like this. They hire an AD that knows what they are doing and let them make the hiring decisions.

I'm so sick of this. Why do we even have an Athletic Director? It's just seems like over past 20 plus years we have other people meddling and micromanaging when it's not their job. Or we hire incompetent ADs who are just yes men to an administration that knows nothing about college sports. Other schools don't do this. Why do we?

Wasn't the Cook family big Woody supporters? If they are still in his corner that's a big hurdle.

I hope Dusty doesn't go to OSU. But I have to say it brings a smile to my face that Holtmann got canned. I didn't like the way how it was leaked that he supposedly turned us down. He undoubtedly used that to get an extension with OSU. Also the fact he told Goodman that OSU is a better job than IU. That and Woodson a guy we want to get rid of has winning record against him. I love the karma.

If I was AD I wouldn't give him another year unless he had an actionable plan with changes that are needed. That should include hiring an assistant to teach an offense if he can't make the needed changes. Good coaches hire assistants to handle weak points in their game. Look at Beilen when he hired an assistant to run his defense. Crean could have benefited from that as well. But I get it many coaches can't do it because their ego is too big. If he can't show or agree to changes you cut the cord.

Let's say that Dolson has some awareness that we lose out on many major in state recruits because of Woody's play style. And schools like Ohio State start going after Dusty. I would think he would have to have a talk with Woody about retirement or has a serious talk about actionable changes. Look firing a coach after 3 years generally isn't a good thing. But context matters. This is a guy who came as a short term hire. He was supposed to turn things around quickly and stabilize things. He hasn't, and if you have a guy who can fix things you move now. You got to stop the bleeding before it gets worse.

If Dusty is the guy I don't want to wait. I worried about missing our window of opportunity. Not to mention we could lose out on some top in state recruits. I know Dolson won't fire Woody this year but I hope he works overtime to convince him to walk away and retire. That's the only way this happens this year.

I would support May's hiring. But l want a thoughtful and through hiring process where all candidates are considered. If Dusty gets the job it better be because he's the best candidate with the best vision. Not because he's the only one who won't say no. For too long IU just doesn't seem to get this right. Bad timing, or parts of administration getting involved when it's the AD's job to hire someone.

The question is does Dolson already believe Mike isn't the guy? If he keeps him it's only to save money. To be honest with Mike gone I'm concerned who they pick next. The only coach I see them going after is Dusty May. That's just because he's the low hanging fruit. If he doesn't work out then things get even worse. This administration never ceases to amaze with their incompetence. For the past 30 years with all the built in advantages we've had they have found ways to screw things up. You have to try to fail this bad.

I always knew Mike Woodson wasn't any kind of long term solution. But I didn't think I would hit this point into year 3. But in the words of the Big Lebowski " The god **** plane has crashed into the mountain". My wife bought me tickets to the IU vs Penn State game for my 40 birthday. After that game I was completely done. I'm just so sick of the past 20 plus years of an administration that can't get this right. No other program that is considered blue blood would ever allow this. But that's point we no longer are. I barely remember when were. I have no Ill will toward Mike. But we need him to move on. And have an administration that actually cares and knows what they are doing.

Let's all give coach Woody a chance. The fact that so many people hate this hire and are making for fun of us makes me think maybe this if finally the right choice. I think he can clearly coach and he's loves indiana and want to give it his all. And if he can recruit he can get us back. Woody has to know all this trash and negativity he's getting. I hope he uses that as his fire to prove them all wrong.

Uk would have burned Lexington to the ground if they were in our spot. The problem has been the administration never getting it right or taking this hire seriously enough. Let's be honest even before Knight was fired we were going down hill. For any intense fan base this is like Chinese water torture to a normal person. Yes our fans can be bad and yes it may scare away some coaches, but the only thing that makes us any different than others is we have been allowed to be this restless for so long. Because the people in charge don't care and can't get it right.

Could it be after 20 plus years of ineptitude in our administration we finally have an AD playing three dimensional chess ?

Probably after. But for all we know something was already negotiated with Boston or he might be coming later. Maybe next weekend :)

If it's Stevens and it's happening tomorrow you would think we might hear something by tonight from the Boston side of things. There is no way he leaves without telling them and working out how to end his contract.

Hey Chris is tomorrow's announcement something you have heard from your sources or an educated guess ? Do you think Brad is maybe still waiting to figure out when he wants to leave ?

Doesn't matter the coaches resume. If he's a former IU player some of our fans will do the mental gymnastics necessary to justify it. Does it bring added value to be a former player ? Sure it definitely is a plus but you got to have the coaching chops and record to back it up. If I could get anyone else who has a much better resume why would I settle for the guy with a dumpster fire record just because he played here.

I feel like last coaching hire we had Bennett chatter then we swung back to Donovan again then we had our wtf moment when Archie was announced. Honestly it's hard to take any rumors seriously at this point. For the record I would definitely take Bennett. I would be shocked if it happened.

Yeah and Cal's is like a lifetime contract. He needs to lower that to a 20 million I would say. Especially for just a 7 year.

At this point I don't want to feel too strongly one way or the other. If they can negotiate something great. If not I would be fine with Beard and I believe he would take it. Hell I would take Beilein with Fife on his staff. I just want a good coach and someone who truly wants to be here.

I would have preferred he told us to F off when we first put out feelers. Assuming all this was true. I much prefer that to being jerked around. If you set demands and we meet them and had donors put up big time money and you say no and get a raise from the Celtics there is a word for Brad. Its not Masshole but it ryhmes with it.

Is it confirmed he had the players meeting and resigned?

I don't really understand why everyone acts like this is over because no announcement today. No one but one less reliable source said it would. In fact the Ohio State guy said look for April 2nd. This isn't over until it's over or at least not in until we start hearing reliable intel that it is.

The fact there is so much specific detail compared to the Donovan situation makes me feel this is the real deal.