By Jordan Long
The University of Indiana Men’s Basketball Team has a new coach. They hired Mike Woodson to take over the program after letting go of Archie Miller.
Miller spent 4 years at Indiana from 2017 to 2021. He previously coached at the University of Dayton from 2011 to 2017. Miller took Dayton to 4 NCAA Tournaments. Indiana was hoping Miller would do the same thing for Indiana. They had not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2016. At the time Tom Crean was the Head Coach. They advanced to the Sweet 16 before getting knocked off by North Carolina.
Indiana wanted better results. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Miller coached 125 games and went a disappointing 67-58, a winning percentage of .536. The Hoosiers didn’t even earn an NCAA Tournament berth with him. The results weren’t there and Indiana decided it was time to go a new direction with the Men’s Basketball Program.
According to usatoday.com, Athletics Director Scott Dolson said, “In the days following the completion of our season in the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, I have spent a great deal of time evaluating our recruiting, student-athlete development, leadership development, and playing philosophy and strategy. That review, combined with the on-court results, ultimately led me to conclude that a change in leadership of our program is warranted at this time.”
Indiana started a coaching search for their next Head Coach to take over the program. They pursued Boston Celtics’ Head Coach Brad Stevens and Ohio States’ Head Coach Chris Holtmann. Stevens didn’t make a whole lot of sense. He has been with the Boston Celtics for the past 8 seasons. He is 341 and 269 with the Celtics with 6 straight playoff appearances. They will probably make it this season.
Stevens doesn’t seem like he has the desire at least right now to go back to the college game. The last time he coached in college was with Butler in 2013. He had success there with 5 NCAA Tournament appearances and 2 Final Fours. Stevens didn’t make sense. He is coaching a talented team in the NBA and they are in the thick of the playoff race. He won’t take a step back unless the Celtics fire him.
Chris Holtmann was a good try. He has been with Ohio State for 4 years. The Buckeyes are 87-44 under him and have made the NCAA Tournament 3 out of his 4 years. He seems like he wants to continue to build that program.
The Hoosiers turned their attention elsewhere and decided to go with Mike Woodson. Woodson played his college basketball for the Hoosiers from 1976 to 1980 and helped them go to the NCAA Tourment twice averaging 19.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Woodson doesn’t have any NCAA coaching experience. He has been an NBA head coach for the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. He was with the Hawks from 2004 to 2010. Atlanta went 206-286 under him with 3 playoff appearances. Woodson was let go after the 2014 season when Atlanta finished 53-29. He had his second chance in the NBA with the New York Knicks in 2012. That lasted until 2014. The Knicks ended 188-109 with him and advanced to the postseason twice.
Woodson knows the game of basketball. The NCAA is a step back from the NBA but he has his opportunity to learn from his mistakes as a Head Coach. Those lessons could help him in the college game. The only way this move won’t work out for Indiana is if they keep missing the NCAA Tournament. They will give Woodson plenty of time to build a program. Hopefully, he leads the Hoosiers back to the NCAA tournament for years to come and maybe a Final Four for the first time since 2002.
Leave a Reply