Magisterium

Sounding like May could be returning to the Midwest very soon (either Columbus or Chicago), which would make him almost certainly unavailable to IU a year from now.

Or he’s so certain some donors have his back that he feels he can say anything he wants to other people

Attend 1high school game per month and make the NIT?

If I could be convinced that Reneau and Mgbako returning meant Woodson would finally be running a true “4 out, 1 in” offense (with MM at the 4 where IMO he belongs) then I could view their potential return as a positive development. But the staff’s stated intention to bring in a Ware replacement (“rim protector”) combined with Woodson’s recent statement that he still believes college BB is played from “inside out” makes me conclude that 1) Woodson always planned to use a double-post offense (even after TJD), and 2) his plans still haven’t really changed.

I don’t think the question is whether May has interest in the IU job, it’s whether he also has interest in other jobs like Ohio State. If the answer is yes, I think you can probably say goodbye to May as far as IU is concerned. I don’t believe he’s going to leave OSU (or Michigan or Louisville) for IU, Alma mater or not. If Woodson’s retained we better hope May stays at FAU.

Maybe the BOT is so used to traveling between Bloomington and Indianapolis that they don't know where Highway 46 is? Just a theory.....

that sounds like he'd fit in with IU's defense, unfortunately--but I'm thinking more in term's of IU's offense compared to what Schertz runs. Any ISU players who transferred to Bloomington (or any of May's FAU players for that matter) wouldn't be getting the same kinds of shooting opportunities in Woodson's offense that they currently get. That appears to have been one of the main reasons for McNeeley's decommitment.

the offenses the 2 programs run are night-and-day different in terms of scheme, execution and results.

Realistically speaking, I think the 3rd one (“highest level donors”)-is the one that matters. This is as much about power as it is about basketball.

“And some incoming calls from someone in Ann Arbor, Louisville and Madison. Can I get back to you later?”

Sort of like the Pacers, not so coincidentally

I'd have to go back and look at the former buyout language, but perhaps it stipulated that the $4 million would be due on a specific date as 1 (or maybe 2) lump sum payments, and could not be paid out over a longer time period with smaller payments. Not sure, though...

From my brief experience as a low-level employee in an SEC Ath department decades ago, most buyouts originate from donors since they typically aren’t considered “salary “ or “compensation” in the sense of belonging in the same lines of a university’s budget. But that’s not ironclad, as Jimbo Fisher’s buyout proves. The raise/buyout info re: Woodson was public record info ever since it was announced a year ago, and as soon as I saw it I thought “Dolson’s trading a smaller total buyout amount on April 1st of 2025 for the opportunity to amortize a larger buyout amount over 8 years OR (given Woodson’s age) another opportunity to renegotiate the new buyout amount down.” Reading what few actual tea leaves seem to be out there at the moment, I get the impression that 1) Dolson wants to move on, 2) Buckner wants to stay put, and 3) Pres Whitten may not yet want to be involved (but may soon have to be nonetheless). I have no idea if Pearl (or, more accurately, Pearl’s agent) is now involved, or if Dusty May’s representatives have been fully engaged, but perhaps things have reached some sort of standoff between the folks who want Woodson retained (Buckner, Cooks, Simons, some former players?) and those who strongly feel a change needs to be made (possibly Dolson, some other donors, some other former players, most of the fanbase?). If that’s where matters are at this point in time, history tells me that some sort of exogenous or “outside” event may have to happen to break the stalemate. It seems to me that the most likely event fitting that description might come from the one group directly embroiled in this that possibly has the least concern about what the BOT and donors think: players on the current roster. If enough rumors are true and a “critical mass” of players plan to leave AND Dolson can convince others of that likelihood, maybe that could break the logjam and persuade Pres Whitten, enough donors, and if not QB himself then enough other Trustees, that the status quo is no longer sustainable, and as a result could possibly force the change that so many of us feel is desperately needed. If such a chain of events led to Bruce Pearl, so be it. If it brought home a “native son” like Dusty May, so be it. If I could talk with either of them for 5 minutes I would say “whatever else you do, hire ASAP someone like Matt Graves on your staff because in-state recruiting is on life support and he can do the CPR necessary to revive it.”

I suspect some of the Trustees care little about basketball and would vote whatever way their Chair "suggests"

it would be fascinating, in a masochistic kind of way, if May went to Ohio State and Drew went to Louisville. Yikes...the BOT might have to request a "waiver" from the state legislature so they can (at least temporarily) meet in private

almost seems like destiny, doesn’t it?

I wasn’t going to post this but I might as well now: my (imaginary) sources tell me Steve Kerr has grown tired of the NBA grind and may be thinking about coaching at the college level. I think we can all probably connect the (fake) dots here….vbg

I wonder what kind of house you can buy in central Pennsylvania with $15 million

So Brad and Billy have finally come to their senses? Awesome

Woodson’s original contract was 6 years @ $3 million a year. I don’t think the $1 million annual raise included an extension of the contract’s overall length, but iirc it did extend the length of the “100% guaranteed” term of the buyout by an additional year.

You can build up recruiting chops immediately by hiring the right assistants. Judging from the FAU roster, May’s staff already recruits all over the country and even internationally. And the addition of someone like a guy I previously mentioned (Matt Graves) could get May immediately up to speed in terms of in-state recruiting. Oh well. Still doubt any of it matters, at least in this postseason. Maybe the most we can realistically hope for is that guys like May and Schertz stay put for another year.

You may feel that way but I strongly suspect most recruits and their parents would disagree with you

I wonder if Bill Self stayed in touch with Liam after LM signed

It’s not a question of obligations, it’s a question of public relations. If IU were to lose out and then refuse to release McNeeley if he requested it, imo that would damage IU’s reputation even more than it already is. It would be a terrible look for a program that’s already struggling.

IIRC Woodson wanted the job when Glass fired Crean and hired Miller. If so, perhaps Woodson and Buckner saw in 2021 an opportunity to “fix” or “correct” what they feel was an oversight by Glass in 2017.