Coach Mike Woodson Megathread

[5fouls]

35 minutes ago, BobSaccamanno said:

Well, we are lawyers so we get a lot of jokes.  I actually enjoy lawyer jokes.  
 

 

[Seeking6]

3 hours ago, KoB2011 said:

We have a lot of fans that don't follow basketball outside of IU. Again, I think most high-level recruits will know who he is. Mike Woodson is not exactly an obscure name to people who follow basketball. 

 

I don't want to bash our fans but I'm with you. The amount of players, kids, coaches, legends of the game all know how good Mike Woodson is. Just going to take time and results I guess. 

And trust me...I was in the 50/50 camp but after hearing him speak....and putting this brain trust together (can't wait for other assistants to be named) I'm actually very, very excited about this hire. 

[IUFLA]

Interesting article on what some major media types thought of the hire...I thought this was interesting for a journalist from the Atlanta Constitution who'd been there since Woody coached the Hawks...

Atlanta Journal Constitution
Longtime Atlanta Journal Constitution columnist Mark Bradley isn't a big fan of Woodson's, dating back to Woodson's coaching days with the Atlanta Hawks, where he took a horrible roster and got into the playoffs a few years later, but didn't win enough for Bradley's liking. 

"(Woodson) is among the more curious hires of the millennium. He’s 63. He hasn’t coached college basketball. There’s a chance (Woodson) will succeed in the fishbowl job where four others have failed. There’s a better chance he won’t. 

Plot twist: Matta, who’s 10 years younger than Woodson, will join the Indiana athletic department as an associate AD for basketball. Such a package deal is, in college circles, unusual if not unprecedented. With Woodson having never recruited, he figures to need all the advice he can get. Still, we’ve seen what Woodson thinks of advice. (Larry) Drew talked his way into becoming the Hawks’ head coach by listing all the swell ideas he’d had that Woodson ignored.''

You mean the same Larry Drew that succeeded Woody and proceeded to win 44, 40, and 44 games after Woody had won 53 in his last year in ATL?

Sounds like Woody was right to ignore those "swell ideas." And it sounds to me like Drew went running to management to undermine his boss when he didn't get his way...

Edited March 30, 2021 by IUFLA

[John S]

2 hours ago, Cheaney40 said:

I believe this number is incorrect. I think there are over 100 at about a 28% rate or something like that. Your number may be Football. Either way, it is still a low number. 

A low number compared to % Black players in DI,  but a high % compared to overall population in US, which is around 15% i believe.   

[Zuckerkorn]

2 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

Interesting article on what some major media types thought of the hire...I thought this was interesting from a journalist from the Atlanta Constitution who'd been there since Woody coached the Hawks...

Atlanta Journal Constitution
Longtime Atlanta Journal Constitution columnist Mark Bradley isn't a big fan of Woodson's, dating back to Woodson's coaching days with the Atlanta Hawks, where he took a horrible roster and got into the playoffs a few years later, but didn't win enough for Bradley's liking. 

"(Woodson) is among the more curious hires of the millennium. He’s 63. He hasn’t coached college basketball. There’s a chance (Woodson) will succeed in the fishbowl job where four others have failed. There’s a better chance he won’t. 

Plot twist: Matta, who’s 10 years younger than Woodson, will join the Indiana athletic department as an associate AD for basketball. Such a package deal is, in college circles, unusual if not unprecedented. With Woodson having never recruited, he figures to need all the advice he can get. Still, we’ve seen what Woodson thinks of advice. (Larry) Drew talked his way into becoming the Hawks’ head coach by listing all the swell ideas he’d had that Woodson ignored.''

You mean the same Larry Drew that succeeded Woody and proceeded to win 44, 40, and 44 games after Woody had won 53 in his last year in ATL?

Sounds like Woody was right to ignore those "swell ideas." And it sounds to me like Drew went running to management to undermine his boss when he didn't get his way...

My hot take is that the writer was "pro-Larry Drew", likely because he (Drew) was a former Hawks player.  Results be damned.

[Max]

2 hours ago, go_iu_bb said:

This article makes a good point about why Woodson might fail. The recruiting and dealing with college students has been my largest concern with this hire. I think Matta can help with some of this and can at least help Woodson prepare to deal with the rest.

https://sports.yahoo.com/opinion-mike-woodson-rude-awakening-230859190.html

It’s a fair point and thanks for sharing.

Woodson has 2 kids. Has coached young NBA college kids who were handed millions of dollars and entitled superstars. Should be a walk in the park imho.

[John S]

2 hours ago, IUFLA said:

Link

"There are 353 Division I men’s basketball programs, and just 103 of them — or 29.2 percent — have black head coaches. When HBCUs are taken out of the equation, the number falls to 24.1 percent. In the sport’s Big Seven conferences, that number is 22.9 percent. Half of the head coaches in the Big East and the American are black, so when looking at just the Power Five leagues, the number is a paltry 13.8 percent. The Pac-12 does not have a single black head coach. The only black head coach in the Big Ten is Michigan’s Juwan Howard, who was hired in May after John Beilein left for the Cleveland Cavaliers."

Not any more!

Clem Haskins was a Black coach for years at Minny and he was touted as a grouncbreaker.  He was fired after a big cheating scandal.  Minn had Tubby Smith and he was clean  IMO, but didnt have a great record.  

[BobSaccamanno]

1 hour ago, Zuckerkorn said:

My hot take is that the writer was "pro-Larry Drew", likely because he (Drew) was a former Hawks player.  Results be damned.

This is off the top of my head but my recollection is Larry Drew went to Milwaukee and didn’t distinguish himself.   I think they couldn’t wait to get rid of him, and started getting better under Jason Kidd then Budenholzer.  Point being they got better after Drew.   

I think NBA coaching record is mostly a function of talent. Ty Lue did well with LeBron.  But if Woody got a bunch of young players, he could wreck his record like in Atlanta where he piled up losses initially.  But those young guys obviously got better because they ultimately won 50 games.  

I don’t want to be an apologist.  But I have warmed up to him, and I’m giving him a chance.  It will be interesting to see how chemistry develops with Matta and how our recruiting goes.   I’m happy with what I have heard from him as to his plans, but it doesn’t matter what we say.  The proof will be in the pudding.  

Edited March 30, 2021 by BobSaccamanno

[BobSaccamanno]

2 hours ago, 5fouls said:

The key is to avoid recruiting knuckleheads.  A team full of kids who have a good head on their shoulder will have more success than a team full of knuckleheads that may have more natural talent.  

Totally.  I would add if you don’t want to be coached hard, don’t waste our time.  That doesn’t fit our brand and hopefully our brand is coming back.  

[ephul]

2 hours ago, dbmhoosier said:

Not that he can't.  There are no guarantees of anything.  See Archie.  But Archie was 25 years younger and had over a decade of college coaching experience.  Woodson has zero.  The odds are definitely against him.

He has decades of coaching, period. Some of those kids that were on his teams were younger than college seniors. 

Getting kids to buy in at any level is a sales pitch... recruiting battle.

Woodson is a personable, relatable guy. He will have no problem recruiting. He's also selling a program he helped build, and he's selling his decades of NBA coaching 

[NCHoosier32]

4 hours ago, KoB2011 said:

Yeah I think that would be really interesting information to see what they say. Please ask and share what you find! 

UPDATE - I asked each of the starting 5 separately an none had heard of Woodson.  The best one who is a D1 recruit said, "Coach, I would be lucky to name 10 current head coaches in the NBA."  So, I'm not saying this as a knock on Woodson as they also wouldn't be able to tell me who the coach for Arkansas or Alabama is.  I'm just saying I disagree that recruits are going to know who Woodson is unless they grew up in Indiana and their parents were big fans.  Actually maybe their grandparents.  I'm 47 and don't remember Woodson.  

[IUB74]

2 minutes ago, NCHoosier32 said:

UPDATE - I asked each of the starting 5 separately an none had heard of Woodson.  The best one who is a D1 recruit said, "Coach, I would be lucky to name 10 current head coaches in the NBA."  So, I'm not saying this as a knock on Woodson as they also wouldn't be able to tell me who the coach for Arkansas or Alabama is.  I'm just saying I disagree that recruits are going to know who Woodson is unless they grew up in Indiana and their parents were big fans.  Actually maybe their grandparents.  I'm 47 and don't remember Woodson.  

Get off my lawn, you young whipper snapper.😉

[HoobieDoobie]

Just now, NCHoosier32 said:

UPDATE - I asked each of the starting 5 separately an none had heard of Woodson.  The best one who is a D1 recruit said, "Coach, I would be lucky to name 10 current head coaches in the NBA."  So, I'm not saying this as a knock on Woodson as they also wouldn't be able to tell me who the coach for Arkansas or Alabama is.  I'm just saying I disagree that recruits are going to know who Woodson is unless they grew up in Indiana and their parents were big fans.  Actually maybe their grandparents.  I'm 47 and don't remember Woodson.  

Not surprised kids don't pay attention to the coaches in the NBA, its all about the players.  Put together a good staff, start winning, and they will come to Bloomington.

[btownqb]

3 minutes ago, NCHoosier32 said:

UPDATE - I asked each of the starting 5 separately an none had heard of Woodson.  The best one who is a D1 recruit said, "Coach, I would be lucky to name 10 current head coaches in the NBA."  So, I'm not saying this as a knock on Woodson as they also wouldn't be able to tell me who the coach for Arkansas or Alabama is.  I'm just saying I disagree that recruits are going to know who Woodson is unless they grew up in Indiana and their parents were big fans.  Actually maybe their grandparents.  I'm 47 and don't remember Woodson.  

No surprise. It'd be the same across the board for Beard, Musselman and Oats, as well. 

[go_iu_bb]

10 minutes ago, NCHoosier32 said:

UPDATE - I asked each of the starting 5 separately an none had heard of Woodson.  The best one who is a D1 recruit said, "Coach, I would be lucky to name 10 current head coaches in the NBA."  So, I'm not saying this as a knock on Woodson as they also wouldn't be able to tell me who the coach for Arkansas or Alabama is.  I'm just saying I disagree that recruits are going to know who Woodson is unless they grew up in Indiana and their parents were big fans.  Actually maybe their grandparents.  I'm 47 and don't remember Woodson.  

I don't remember Woodson as a player even counting his NBA days. I'm 43 so I'm too young to remember his days at IU since I was just a baby/toddler then. But I was watching sports by the late 80s and don't remember him from then.

Out of curiosity since you mentioned them, did you ask the player who the coaches of Alabama and Arkansas are? I mean, if a D1 recruit doesn't know those then we're no worse off than any school not named Duke, UK, or UNC. That also means that higher someone else from our list of home run hires probably wouldn't have had automatic name recognition either.

Edited March 30, 2021 by go_iu_bb

[btownqb]

Mike Woodson is MY HEROOOOOOO on social media. 

He didn't know how to change his Twitter handle so he made a whole new Twitter (IU_MikeWoodson or something like that).... now the IU pr/media team had him delete it so he could get his "old" account back lolololol 

[btownqb]

He is going to have so many 63 year old blunders its going to be awesome. 

(Btw.. I am also very excited about him being our coach)

[NCHoosier32]

9 minutes ago, go_iu_bb said:

I don't remember Woodson as a player even counting his NBA days. I'm 43 so I'm too young to remember his days at IU since I was just a baby/toddler then. But I was watching sports by the late 80s and don't remember him from then.

Out of curiosity since you mentioned them, did you ask the player who the coaches of Alabama and Arkansas are? I mean, if a D1 recruit doesn't know those then we're no worse off than any school not named Duke, UK, or UNC. That also means that higher someone else from our list of home run hires probably wouldn't have had automatic name recognition either.

i did not, but i'd be willing to bet all they know in this area is Coach K and Roy Williams!

[John S]

3 hours ago, IUFLA said:

Link

"There are 353 Division I men’s basketball programs, and just 103 of them — or 29.2 percent — have black head coaches. When HBCUs are taken out of the equation, the number falls to 24.1 percent. In the sport’s Big Seven conferences, that number is 22.9 percent. Half of the head coaches in the Big East and the American are black, so when looking at just the Power Five leagues, the number is a paltry 13.8 percent. The Pac-12 does not have a single black head coach. The only black head coach in the Big Ten is Michigan’s Juwan Howard, who was hired in May after John Beilein left for the Cleveland Cavaliers."

Not any more!

And dont forget New black coach at Minn.   ben johnson.   

[IUALUM03]

9 minutes ago, btownqb said:

Mike Woodson is MY HEROOOOOOO on social media. 

He didn't know how to change his Twitter handle so he made a whole new Twitter (IU_MikeWoodson or something like that).... now the IU pr/media team had him delete it so he could get his "old" account back lolololol 

They should keep the NBA in his handle, so recruits with those type of aspirations know where he came from, since apparently no one knows he came from the NBA.

[NCHoosier32]

I'm trying to turn my frown upside down, so I will say that the biggest Knicks fan I know says A. Woodson is a great guy who did a lot for the community and B. Is the best coach they had since Pat Riley until they got Thibs.  

[btownqb]

1 minute ago, NCHoosier32 said:

I'm trying to turn my frown upside down, so I will say that the biggest Knicks fan I know says A. Woodson is a great guy who did a lot for the community and B. Is the best coach they had since Pat Riley until they got Thibs.  

That ain't bad, yeah?

[Zville Hoosier]

8 minutes ago, btownqb said:

He is going to have so many 63 year old blunders its going to be awesome. 

(Btw.. I am also very excited about him being our coach)

Speaking of which, yesterday on the DD show he referred to TJD as “Tracy Davis”. A classic grandpa move. (I’ve also come around and am excited, just funny and hopefully they add some youth on the sidelines to counteract the old guy factor) 

[Lostin76]

6 minutes ago, NCHoosier32 said:

I'm trying to turn my frown upside down, so I will say that the biggest Knicks fan I know says A. Woodson is a great guy who did a lot for the community and B. Is the best coach they had since Pat Riley until they got Thibs.  

The guy is pretty respected in NYC that’s for sure. I think I even saw Chuck D tweet his congratulations. 

 

[rico]