Mike Woodson to be next IUBB coach. Thad Matta to be associate AD

[BadgerVol]

1 minute ago, mdiu28 said:

I have no idea what you're talking about. You'll never see me tell anyone what they should feel about anything. 

Before you just assume I'm trying to "win" something, I'm not thrilled with the hire either but like most, I'll get behind him and give him a shot. Just asked a question. 

If you couldn’t see the condescending tone in your own post so be it. I’m not dipping my foot into it. If all you did was “ask a question” then just ask it. But whatever.

I’ll get behind out coach. I hated Crean a lot more. I eventually closed my eyes, plugged my nose and took the medicine. Eventually bought my “Crimson and Crean” shirt I eventually pitched. I’ll do it again with Woodson.

Would be nice to hire a coach FOR ONCE that we aren’t all arguing about why we need to “give the guy a chance”because instead we are all flipping out with excitement. 

[mdiu28]

1 minute ago, BadgerVol said:

If you couldn’t see the condescending tone in your own post so be it. I’m not dipping my foot into it. If all you did was “ask a question” then just ask it. But whatever.

 I’ll get behind out coach. I hated Crean a lot more. I eventually closed my eyes, plugged my nose and took the medicine. Eventually bought my “Crimson and Crean” shirt I eventually pitched. I’ll do it again with Woodson.

Would be nice to hire a coach FOR ONCE that we aren’t all arguing about why we need to “give the guy a chance”because instead we are all flipping out with excitement. 

I did ask it. 

But you apparently know more about my intentions than I do. Done with this stupid argument. 

Go Hoosiers. 

[southernindianahoosier2]

not sure what can be done in regard to facilities, except maybe renovate/expand Cook Hall somehow?

Uniforms, (Nike sponsorship, names on back, adding mascot (the Arkansas Razorback uniforms were so cool, we could do the same with a bison)) that’s an easy fix, same with a few of the other complaints.

Facilities, I would assume you would need to expand cook hall. Maybe double the size and add a lot of amenities.

My dream would be we turn the Hyper back into a Hinkle Fieldhouse arena where IU would play for like 9,000 fans while they rebuild assembly hall into something awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

[Bowhunter]

I’m still shocked by this hire. I will support Woodson and Dolson, but I am baffled that Woodson was chosen before the other active college coaches , that were considered great hires.

 

I personally would have went after One of the bigger name college coaches and put Woodson as a high paid assistant. But what do I know

.

 

I liked the idea of Oats, Musselman, Beard, Drew , Enfield etc.. bringing guys with them from the school they leave. Covid year making it possible.

Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

 

 

 

 

[Magisterium]

28 minutes ago, southernindianahoosier2 said:

Uniforms, (Nike sponsorship, names on back, adding mascot (the Arkansas Razorback uniforms were so cool, we could do the same with a bison)) that’s an easy fix, same with a few of the other complaints.

Facilities, I would assume you would need to expand cook hall. Maybe double the size and add a lot of amenities.

My dream would be we turn the Hyper back into a Hinkle Fieldhouse arena where IU would play for like 9,000 fans while they rebuild assembly hall into something awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

IIRC it would cost almost as much (unfortunately) to meaningfully rebuild SSAH as it would to build a new arena altogether (or so the planning committees were told)

if Wildermuth/Gladstein is left as is, I guess the only ways expanding Cook Hall might be feasible would be to the west and/or vertically somehow

[IUBBx5Banners]

Ah screw it I don’t care. I’m happy. Maybe I’m just a sucker for some of these “coming home” posts and quotes on social media (and the amazing photos IU has put out). But I’m tired of being negative about the program, which I’ve been for 10+ years..

[ray]

I will admit, when I learned of the hire from my brother I was far from excited. Even with him telling me of Matta becoming staff, I wondered if Matta would be able to involve himself in the ways he’s most capable and in ways most beneficial to the program. I’ve warmed up to it since. With the right assistant hires combined with the experience and connections of Matta and Woodson, this could bode well. I’m skeptical and worried we might be back in this same boat a half a decade later, but I prefer to be optimistic and float with this choice until the on-court performance gives me better judgment. Besides, I can’t change a thing in my position anyways  

With all that said, what excites me most about this hire is the fact he loves Indiana. It truly is his dream job. Crean, and I know many of you hate to even read his name, came to Indiana raving about how Indiana basketball was the greatest coaching job on the planet. When he arrived, I could tell he meant that with sincerity. His enthusiasm for the history of IU basketball swept across much of the state like a virus. It brought in a slew of great in-state players including Cody Zeller and Yogi Ferrell. Some didn’t pan out like most hoped, but he made Indiana high schoolers rethink Indiana basketball and made many jump at the chance to bring it back to prominence. It even led to a pre-season #1 ranking that lasted much of the season. I’m not saying IU will have a preseason ranking to match anytime soon, nor am I saying they’ll have stud players like Zeller and Yogi jump onboard. But, with Woodson’s love of the game...and more importantly, his love for IU...I tend to believe anything is possible. Couple that possibility with a talented coaching staff of assistants capable of player-development and recruiting along with some luck with the portal and/or key returning players, and I think theres a chance for a momentum which leads to short-term improvement and potentially long-term success. What I’m much more certain of is there’s little chance (and hardly any room) for a backslide resulting in a worse scenario than where Indiana has been in recent memory.

It wasn’t my choice, but I’m onboard. Like I said, what choice do I have anyways? It’s not like I’ll ever quit watching IU basketball like some others have suggested they might. I’m a lifer. I was here for the Colts when they moved to town and I was here for IU basketball all along. I know how to root for the underdog and weather the ugliness of loss, but I’m also old enough to remember watching Indiana in its glory years, as well as the Colts. Sometimes many years of loss makes it that much sweeter to experience victories

Welcome, Woodson and staff. I’m rooting for you!

[KoB2011]

I've thought about this a lot today, mostly while painting my daughter's room, so haven't had a ton of time to read other opinions, hot takes, and absorb outside info....

But I've gone from pretty underwhelmed to cautiously optimistic. Woodson is a good coach. He took two terrible NBA franchises to the playoffs. He showed he could win consistently in the NBA. Matta can help him adjust to managing a college program, I hope he keeps Hunter for recruiting and brings in Lewis or Fife, preferably Lewis. Not sure who I'd like to see for the last assistant. 

From and X and I perspective, he's going to be one of the best coaches in the Big Ten. The NBA is far more advanced schematically than college basketball is. His past players have talked a lot about his development and how much they love playing for him. He needs help getting talent, that's a real question mark, but I think he has a lot of other positives if he can get that part. 

[akumanina]

2 hours ago, Treesh said:

Gosh this picture would be amazing with Brad ****** Stevens!

You gotta close the chapter and start chanting MIKE ******* WOODSON!!

[mdiu28]

great take on both Woodson & Thad

 

[iuthruandthru]

2 hours ago, Indiana8585 said:

Underneath Memorial 

I may be wrong but thought his was the underground parking accesss to SSAH.  Entrance is on the North East corner.  No?

[ALASKA HOOSIER]

I gotta tell ya, this is friggin' intriguing! I think all the coaches in the big10 just collectively puckered their booty holes. I gotta give Scott D. some serious kudos here because this is such a bold-@$$ move. I honestly think this can work. Matta supporting Woodson with planning on who to recruit, scouting teams. Woodson in the trenches with the players. Wow!

I think i just went all in.

[CrossboneIU22]

56 minutes ago, southernindianahoosier2 said:

Uniforms, (Nike sponsorship, names on back, adding mascot (the Arkansas Razorback uniforms were so cool, we could do the same with a bison)) that’s an easy fix, same with a few of the other complaints.

Facilities, I would assume you would need to expand cook hall. Maybe double the size and add a lot of amenities.

My dream would be we turn the Hyper back into a Hinkle Fieldhouse arena where IU would play for like 9,000 fans while they rebuild assembly hall into something awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Uniforms - Don’t touch them, especially no names on the jerseys, ever!  I would be fine with some sort of mascot though!  Changing sponsors is fine if we want, I’m not in love with Adidas per say, but I also don’t have anything against them either. I would be ok with an alternate uniform for the B1G tournament or to use in a non-conference tournament but not as a permanent change.

Facilities - Cook Hall was just built. There should be 0 reason to renovate it already.  What other facilities are we missing that wasn’t just built with the additions made to Memorial Stadium which are for the entire Athletic Department, not just Football?
 

Assembly Hall could use some more renovating overall but doesn’t need rebuilt. It would change the acoustics and feel of the crowd, which is a huge part of what makes the place great and special. I hate all of these new nba style arenas like the YUM center.  They all look the same and the atmosphere sucks. However and having said all that, I would be ok with it if we kept the look, the feel and overall recognizable design of it but that would never happen in today’s architecture and building trends. 

[Hoosierfan1901]

Pictures from his arrival yesterday, for anyone who is curious

[KzooHoosier82]

Has anyone seem a write up of what Thad’s role will be? I’ve only seen the vague “will help out the men’s bball program”. He was a hell of a recruiter at OSU so I’m hoping he’s focusing on that end.  
 

I think this hire was Brad Stevens or bust for most fans but I think Woodson will do a tremendous job and will look to install his successor in a more planned strategic fashion, leaving this program in a much better place than when he arrived. 

[Indiana8585]

43 minutes ago, iuthruandthru said:

I may be wrong but thought his was the underground parking accesss to SSAH.  Entrance is on the North East corner.  No?

You’re right i should’ve waited to answer.....way too much to drink today 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Indiana8585

[HoosierRich]

1 hour ago, southernindianahoosier2 said:

Uniforms, (Nike sponsorship, names on back, adding mascot (the Arkansas Razorback uniforms were so cool, we could do the same with a bison)) that’s an easy fix, same with a few of the other complaints.

Facilities, I would assume you would need to expand cook hall. Maybe double the size and add a lot of amenities.

My dream would be we turn the Hyper back into a Hinkle Fieldhouse arena where IU would play for like 9,000 fans while they rebuild assembly hall into something awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

      You’re not the only person I’ve heard mention facilities and it honestly  confuses me a bit. Assembly Hall just went through a complete renovation including new stadium entry, video boards, sound, locker rooms, and players lounge.  Cook Hall is what...13 years old? It may not be the newest, but serious question: what “amenities” are missing that need to be added? I heard the idiot Doyle talk about the Marquette job like it was the Lakers going on about how they pay more (they don’t as Woj made $1.7 vs Arch at $3.3) and their facilities. They have an incredible practice facility, but their arena is off campus and is a no-character NBA arena. Other than being new, what does it have that Cook Hall doesn’t?

   Additionally, didn’t IU just recently build new basketball player housing?

This critique of facilities seems to be more a comparison someone making $20 mil vs $30 mil rather than some one making $200k vs $10 mil.

Tell what I’m missing.
 

[seanmm1971]

My take on this whole situation, is this a homerun, maybe? To make a baseball analogy, is this a mammoth 500 ft. towering shot over the center field wall, no. But this could be a line driver gapper perfectly placed between the outfielders with a speedy runner, with the right carom(assistant hires) its still a homerun. It may not be as awe inspiring as the blast, but, it still counts the same. Thats my 2 cents, but I'm always gonna be a glass half full guy when it comes to IU.

[IUguy77]

7 hours ago, e1999doubleglock said:

The guys that think we are still a blue blood are the guys that are disappointed. Not blaming you for thinking that way, but I do not think we are a blue blood. 

Blue blood implies nobility and infallibility. We haven't made the tournament in 5 years and have made one Elite 8 in the last 20. We have been incompetent and embarrassed by our rivals...Hardly infallible--how the hell could we look in the mirror and say we are a blue blood? I cringe when I hear it.

Luckily we have a road back to blue blood status, which other schools do not. Huge advantage. But we are not a blue blood at the moment. 

The reason we aren’t a blue blood is because we refuse to be one. When you pay $3.5mill a year for a coach you get an average coach. If you want to be mentioned with UK, Duke, UNC and Kansas you have to spend money like they doing. IU is too cheap and stupid to do that. They keep spending money to fire bad coaches instead of spending money to hire a good one. People say this coach or that coach would never come here and that’s partially true. For $3.5mill they won’t. Try spending some money on these guys and you’ll get a different set of ears listening. This is more of the same. Only this time they are going to experiment by hiring 2 guys to try and make one good coach. Hopefully when this experiment is over we dont have to hear the hire an IU guy garbage anymore. 

Edited March 29, 2021 by IUguy77

[IUrocker]

If Woodson brings the NBA style offense and let’s the players play more freely, that in itself ought to entice the players in the portal to return. Archie seemed to have them scared to do the wrong thing every play and everything was so repetitive and structured.