Indiana bringing in a 63 year old assistant coach from the NBA as next head coach

I am guessing everyone else said 'no' so they had no choice. Haven't followed it too closely I thought Dane Fife was the leader in the clubhouse?

Leonard Hamilton is 72 are they expecting similar results?
 
He is a legacy, but so was Kent Dorfman.

Unlike Flounder, Woodson was a helluva player at IU, and in the Association for a while. Had some rotten timing at Indiana, missing the 1976 and 1981 NCAA Champs by one year each and missing a chance at Olympic gold because of Carter's 1980 boycott.

I can guarantee two things. The alumni that bought out Archie Miller have fond memories of Woodson's Indiana career, and the second thing is that Bobby Knight gave his blessing. Woodson is a fierce Knight loyalist, like Quinn Buckner and Alford, and neither would have betrayed Knight.

He brings NBA pedigree, for what that's worth. And he had a great collegiate career. A modern day comp would be a healthy Josh Langford, perhaps recent Penn State Lamar Stevens.
 
He is a legacy, but so was Kent Dorfman.

Unlike Flounder, Woodson was a helluva player at IU, and in the Association for a while. Had some rotten timing at Indiana, missing the 1976 and 1981 NCAA Champs by one year each and missing a chance at Olympic gold because of Carter's 1980 boycott.

I can guarantee two things. The alumni that bought out Archie Miller have fond memories of Woodson's Indiana career, and the second thing is that Bobby Knight gave his blessing. Woodson is a fierce Knight loyalist, like Quinn Buckner and Alford, and neither would have betrayed Knight.

He brings NBA pedigree, for what that's worth. And he had a great collegiate career. A modern day comp would be a healthy Josh Langford, perhaps recent Penn State Lamar Stevens.

Obviously, Brad Stevens turned them down. So was Woodson their 4th or 5th choice?
 
Hiring former players seems to be the trend. I fully expect that when Fran retires after 15 years at Iowa (without making the sweet 16) Troy skinner will be the next Iowa coach
Obvious LOL.

Isn't Skinner an attorney somewhere? Matt Gatens and Jeff Hoerner, for starters, are actually aspiring coaches. Connor is certainly coaching material, and perhaps CJ will go that route as well. Dean Oliver has been on Greg Gard's staff for several years.
 
Thad Matta is coming in as Associate AD and Asst. BB coach, Which makes for an interesting dynamic. I imagine Matta will recruit and Woodson coach,
 

He was an nba head coach for two different teams I believe. From indianapolis and was a great hoosier player. 27 years of coaching in the nba iirc, we shall see
 
He is a legacy, but so was Kent Dorfman.

Unlike Flounder, Woodson was a helluva player at IU, and in the Association for a while. Had some rotten timing at Indiana, missing the 1976 and 1981 NCAA Champs by one year each and missing a chance at Olympic gold because of Carter's 1980 boycott.

I can guarantee two things. The alumni that bought out Archie Miller have fond memories of Woodson's Indiana career, and the second thing is that Bobby Knight gave his blessing. Woodson is a fierce Knight loyalist, like Quinn Buckner and Alford, and neither would have betrayed Knight.

He brings NBA pedigree, for what that's worth. And he had a great collegiate career. A modern day comp would be a healthy Josh Langford, perhaps recent Penn State Lamar Stevens.
But is an 18 kid going to commit and play for a 63 year old coach they never heard of?

The question is going to be how he can relate to recruits or pull them in.
 
Hiring former players seems to be the trend. I fully expect that when Fran retires after 15 years at Iowa (without making the sweet 16) Troy skinner will be the next Iowa coach


I was thinking Jeff Moe. I think there is a reason he's back in Iowa City. Think about it!!
 
Indiana Basketball and Nebraska Football are pretty much the same thing. Once proud blue blood programs who are mired in mediocrity or worse because they cannot find a head coach to match the legend that built the program. Both have struggled for 20 years to recapture the magic, but in the meantime, college athletics have moved on. Bobby Knight and Tom Osborne would not thrive in today's college landscape, and chasing their shadows is self-defeating. Each program has hired pro coaches, no connection coaches, favorite son coaches, and dirt bag coaches. All have flamed out. This hire does not look any more promising to me.

It should not be that hard to win in either place given the resources, tradition, and ridiculously loyal fan bases. But, they keep looking for shiny toys instead of a steady hand.
 
Indiana Basketball and Nebraska Football are pretty much the same thing. Once proud blue blood programs who are mired in mediocrity or worse because they cannot find a head coach to match the legend that built the program. Both have struggled for 20 years to recapture the magic, but in the meantime, college athletics have moved on. Bobby Knight and Tom Osborne would not thrive in today's college landscape, and chasing their shadows is self-defeating. Each program has hired pro coaches, no connection coaches, favorite son coaches, and dirt bag coaches. All have flamed out. This hire does not look any more promising to me.

It should not be that hard to win in either place given the resources, tradition, and ridiculously loyal fan bases. But, they keep looking for shiny toys instead of a steady hand.
I kind of wonder if part of the reason these teams like Nebraska, Indiana and Michigan are having difficultymay be that coaches are getting paid more now than they ever were and we as a society are filled with individuals who like objects/items and to live in nice places. If a coach is now getting paid $$$$$, they can really choose to live in a nice area or climate. Top coaches can choose to live on the coast in mild or warm weather opposed to living in the midwest and putting up with the snow and cold. It's different now and I think living conditions is really playing into it now. Why go to a place and put up with that and have to try to recruit top notch recruits to come to that climate to live an play. It plays a part I feel.
 
I kind of wonder if part of the reason these teams like Nebraska, Indiana and Michigan are having difficultymay be that coaches are getting paid more now than they ever were and we as a society are filled with individuals who like objects/items and to live in nice places. If a coach is now getting paid $$$$$, they can really choose to live in a nice area or climate. Top coaches can choose to live on the coast in mild or warm weather opposed to living in the midwest and putting up with the snow and cold. It's different now and I think living conditions is really playing into it now. Why go to a place and put up with that and have to try to recruit top notch recruits to come to that climate to live an play. It plays a part I feel.
There may be something to this, but I think the weather is impacting recruiting talent more than recruiting coaches, especially in football. Back in the day, Nebraska and Michigan could fly down to Florida and gather all the talent they wanted, and those kids knew if they wanted to be on TV, they best head North to football country. Those days are gone. SEC kids are staying in SEC country

I still think the problem is that these programs are not getting the right people. I always believed that when Michigan briefly flirted with KF as their football coach, that would have been a good match. A grinder like KF with more resources and exposure to talent? He could have thrived at Michigan. That is type of guy that is needed in these environments. Steady program builders. Not resume builders.
 
Look no further then Indiana as to why those that have been in a hurry to get rid of Fran should pump the brakes. The grass isn't always greener. If Indiana can't make a hire of any significance to move the needle what gives us any confidence that Barta could? Hell I feel like he got lucky getting Fran to begin with after the Licklighter disaster. Asking Barta to make another hire seems like pushing our luck.

I mean if you're gonna make a coaching change just to change it (not because the guy really sucks or is breaking rules) then you better be damned sure who you're going to get is good and will be your guy. What Indiana just did settling for their 4th choice or so is a terrible look. Paying that huge buyout to do that?

Half of Indianas lineup is in the transfer portal so it's basically a rebuild now. Granted rebuilding these days is different then it used to be with the transfer portal and all. But still what kind of expectations should they have for the next couple yrs?
 

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