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

[Papacap 459]

8 hours ago, Hardwood83 said:

This wasn't directed to me, but since I'm of a similar opinion I'll respond. It's not that I think Woodson can't______________. Who knows? He's never done ________________. He's spent his entire career in the NBA. That knowledge might translate, it might not. Spin it however you want his HC record is not stellar (.463). Oh, yeah, he's old too. My primary disappointment is not that I hate Woodson, it's that I think there were so many better options. Guys that are currently coaching in the NCAA. Guys that have a proven record of doing what we want them to do. Not hoping and wishing- but past performance indicating they will continue to succeed. Why didn't we hire an assistant from the Phoenix Suns or T-Wolves, surely one of their guys knows b-ball! We all know why, Woodson got the job because he's an IU letterman. Now we HOPE that "passion" and "understanding" magically turns into wins. I find that to be a 3rd grade mentality, pure fantasy. Hire someone that has shown they can do the job, not who you want it to be. I don't care if this is Woodson's "dream job." I wanna be an astronaut. Neither of us is qualified. Tell me he's the best guy for the job? Top 3? No, no one believes that. Definition of settling. Hugely disappointing. 

I’m not saying you are wrong in your feelings. Because let’s face it, there is a huge subjective/emotional component to this. There are few coaches we could get that we could say, this is the guy who will get us where we need to be. Drew, Beard, Oats, Musselman....all of the coaches like those have their own question marks. I can see why someone would want them ahead of Woodson, but they are no where near sure things. 

Best guy for the job? I think Stevens was. But once you get past pipe dreams like Donovan, Wright or Bennett, the variance of outcomes becomes too great to say who’s the better choice.

I’ll put it this way. I can see why someone would rather have Beard (or a college coach like him). What I can’t see is the argument that he would clearly outperform Woodson as HC of Indiana. That’s no where near a given to me. So going a different direction than the shiny new coach seems like a valid strategy this time. If folks are disappointed, I get it. But the level of angst I’m seeing from some people makes no sense to me.

[Banksyrules 4,491]

I don’t think facilities is an issue with us.  I go inside Duke and UNC facilities all the time... we are way better than Duke and on par with UNC. UNC though self promotes (highlight their alumni, art work, marketing) a ton more though. 

[DWB 1,098]

4 minutes ago, Me So Hornsby said:

 

I know that our facilities are extreme nice, but as others have said they are not in the top 5 or even top 10 in the country. Don’t you think that we should be in that top 10 range? We are one of the premier basketball programs. Shouldn’t we act like one?


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How about we start with upgrading our mental aspects on winning before we add more $$ to the physical facilities? Unless you can change the size and placement of the hoop, facilities are not a top priority in my book. Many successful entities do a great job without having Taj-Mahal facilities.

[jmsgws 2,181]

6 minutes ago, Me So Hornsby said:

 

I know that our facilities are extreme nice, but as others have said they are not in the top 5 or even top 10 in the country. Don’t you think that we should be in that top 10 range? We are one of the premier basketball programs. Shouldn’t we act like one?


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No, because those facilities rankings ebb and flow.  You build them when you need to build them, not just to keep up.  Build them then update as needed.  

[Golfman25 4,994]

8 hours ago, BadgerVol said:

I see A LOT more question marks, unknowns, and points of GRAVE concern with Woodson at the hire than with Crean AND Archie.

That’s just silly.  Woodson is a more accomplished coach than Crean and Archie combined.  I get that he hasn’t been involved in college and hasn’t recruited, but it’s basketball not rocket science.  I think the guy comes with a lot of credibility and recruits would be fools not to at least listen.  

[Me So Hornsby 2,747]

 Please find me one kid that went to college based on the cut of their uniform.  Young men playing basketball are not doing so to major in fashion design.  Are there some kinds in the past that went to a school because it was Nike, or Adidas?  Sure.  Isn't that what a good portion of the FBI investigation is about?  

 

Boy if you don’t think the way jerseys look and how cool kids will look in them have any effect on recruits I don’t know what to tell you. The look matters. Maybe not the most important thing, but it matters


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[Me So Hornsby 2,747]

How about we start with upgrading our mental aspects on winning before we add more $$ to the physical facilities? Unless you can change the size and placement of the hoop, facilities are not a top priority in my book. Many successful entities do a great job without having Taj-Mahal facilities.

Listen I’m not saying we need to tear down and start over, but continuing to show that we are committed to our facilities is important


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[CS2 174]

As much as I like Fred and the many positive things he accomplished in his tenure, he was not a Football or Basketball man. He is a brilliant lawyer, a skilled funraiser with massive connections and as big an IU guy as there is. What he wasn't is an athletics guy and it showed in his handling of the MBB program...the flagship. Hiring and firing D1 coaches was OTJ training for him.

What Scott, who by the way is at least somewhat connected to the program as a former Manager and working around the joint since Knight, seems to understand is that even he is not a Basketball man nor a former coach who has hired and fired other coaches.

Scott not only has the stones to pull the trigger on Miller despite pandemic optics, potential backlash from the BOT and with a new POTU coming on board but he also has the self awareness to bring in a Basketball man as AAD.

These two men and whomever they hire, may or may not be able to elevate the program back to it's national level and I will let the mouthbreathers jump to those conclusions...but I do like Scott's obvious self-awarenes and willingness to bridge that gap with Matta.

Best wishes...and Go IU!!!

[Hoosierfan222 734]

We did just redo the locker room. It’s not like we aren’t touching the facilities.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,607]

Just now, Me So Hornsby said:

 

Listen I’m not saying we need to tear down and start over, but continuing to show that we are committed to our facilities is important


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Nowadays you have to try to keep up. Keep players beyond comfortable. 

[reconmkd 4,326]

I have refrained from posting, as I have been tossing the hire around in my head to see how I feel. That alone should definitely confirm that it is not a home run hire, however, the more I think about it the more I feel ok about it.

The B1G conference has a problem, tackle basketball, case in point, Michigan is the only team left in the Tourney from the BEST conference in the country. Things need to change!

Michigan hires Howard, he steers the program away from tackle basketball and they all but dominate the conference this year and are now in the Elite 8.

So maybe Woody will work as well. Speed up/free up the offense, and play lock down defense, I could see the Hoosiers turning things around pretty quick.

I am also saving my final judgements for when the assistant positions are filled.

[Chris007 43,565]

1 minute ago, Me So Hornsby said:

 

Listen I’m not saying we need to tear down and start over, but continuing to show that we are committed to our facilities is important


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The more money football brings in the more we will upgrade facilities. The new locker room is as nice as it gets. Renovations at Memorial stadium are unbelievable. 

[Hoosierfan2017 20,824]

After sleeping on this hire I feel better. Why the heck can't it work, you know? We've tried other things and it hasn't worked. Woodson is a guy who knows what IU basketball is supposed to be. This isn't just another job for him. It's the job to him. I got excited seeing the pictures of him walking around Assembly Hall yesterday with him jacket on. He's probably the only coach we've hired since Mike Davis who had IU guy before he got the job. Can't wait to watch the press conference today. I get out of class at 10:00 so it's perfect timing. Maybe it's perfect timing to bring an IU guy back too?

[FightFor6 895]

A thought that has probably been mentioned but also hit me this morning. With the impending opportunity for players to start getting paid for their likeness, I'm wondering if the Associate AD role for Matta will be heavily involved in helping to find these opportunities. I would think that is a pretty appealing recruiting pitch for recruits knowing you have a HOF Coach whose purpose is to start making you as much money as quickly as possible in college.

Edited March 29, 2021 by FightFor6

[Herotime 723]

Anyone have a link to the presser? Thanks!

Edited March 29, 2021 by Herotime

[Trish 11,505]

If we're going all in on an Indiana guy then we should with the staff. This hire is already risky enough, let's push it to unheard of boundaries.

An all-staff that played at Indiana. Lewis, Guyton, Fife, Moye, Cheaney. 

I wonder if Randy Whittman will be considered for something? 

[pumpfake 3,930]

Good post!

Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that in this situation SD and the people involved n these decisions know far more than we do and some of them likely know more about how to run a CBB program than any of us.

[BadgerVol 23]

3 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

After sleeping on this hire I feel better. Why the heck can't it work, you know? We've tried other things and it hasn't worked. Woodson is a guy who knows what IU basketball is supposed to be. This isn't just another job for him. It's the job to him. I got excited seeing the pictures of him walking around Assembly Hall yesterday with him jacket on. He's probably the only coach we've hired since Mike Davis who had IU guy before he got the job. Can't wait to watch the press conference today. I get out of class at 10:00 so it's perfect timing. Maybe it's perfect timing to bring an IU guy back too?

I slept on it last night and I feel slightly better also. At a minimum it’s thinking outside the box. If it works other programs will try to do something similar. I pray all these people have humility to work TOGETHER.

[Banksyrules 4,491]

1 minute ago, Treesh said:

If we're going all in on an Indiana guy then we should with the staff. This hire is already risky enough, let's push it to unheard of boundaries.

An all-staff that played at Indiana. Lewis, Guyton, Fife, Moye, Cheaney. 

I wonder if Randy Whittman will be considered for something? 

I’m down with this. If were jumping off without a parachute I say the more the merrier. Love me some Moye. 

[jmsgws 2,181]

1 minute ago, Me So Hornsby said:

 

Boy if you don’t think the way jerseys look and how cool kids will look in them have any effect on recruits I don’t know what to tell you. The look matters. Maybe not the most important thing, but it matters


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Find ONE example of a kid that chose a University based on the looks of the uniform.  

Changing the cut of the uniform would not do nearly as much for recruiting as being able to add another star on the back of the pants. 

Just like every other program the uniforms get re done every couple of years.  They are probably due for a refresh soon anyway.