Could IU Have Finally Gotten It Right?

That is the million dollar question now that Indiana University (IU) has chosen their next head coach. Former IU standout, Mike Woodson was formally introduced as the next coach to hopefully return it’s men’s basketball team to the level that us “old timers” not only remember, but also grew up on, and lived. Woodson comes back to IU having never coached a game in college, which happens to strike fear and be the cause of a little apprehension in some of IU’s fanbase, and rightfully so. But make no mistake about it, Mike Woodson knows the game of basketball. You don’t spend your entire coaching career coaching at the highest level (NBA) without being able to coach…period.

So maybe the real question now becomes whether or not he can recruit and relate to todays players. Woodson just turned 63yrs. old six days ago, so maybe that is a legitimate question. But by all reports and accounts coming from the people he’s worked with and the players he’s coached, one of his strengths is just that, being able to relate to his players. I’ve yet to hear anyone who has spent an extended period of time with Mike Woodson that has anything but respect for him as a coach and as a person. And the general theme from those people seems to be that Woodson will do a great job at IU.

In a move to help his transition from a career of coaching in the NBA and now coming to college despite any previous experience in coaching college basketball, much less a Power 5 school like IU, Indiana went out and hired former college coach Thad Matta as an Associate Athletic Director. Matta only won 74% of the time as a head coach in the Big10, so he just may know a thing or two about what it takes to get it done at this level. His basketball mind, and his understanding of the ins and outs of recruiting should go a long way in helping Woodson hit the ground running. The general consensus seems to be that with the proper coaching staff along side of him, this could prove to be the route IU should have taken 21 years ago when it parted ways with Bob Knight.

When Athletic Director made the move to fire Archie Miller, I’m not sure there was a Hoosier fan around that didn’t want Brad Stevens to be the next coach at IU, and Scott Dolson went after him. But when Stevens said no thank you, he turned his focus elsewhere. In the days following the firing of Miller the IU message boards where full of “Dolson get’s it” comments. When the search went past Stevens and drug on longer than the fan base liked, Dolson getting it was no longer the theme from the outspoken naysayers. Of course some of these people were the same ones clamoring for Miller to be fired no matter what, and were now saying that “we” should’ve waited a year to do it.

Listen, NO ONE knows for sure that Mike Woodson will be successful as the head coach at Indiana University, or if he will fail, but one thing I do know is that Mike Woodson “gets it!” With “it” being in regards to what it means to coach at IU. What it means to be a Hoosier. He understands the past because he lived it. He understands the history because he helped create it. He understands the fan base because he was born and raised a Hoosier. There are some things that just can’t be taught, or even completely learned to fully appreciate them, and being a Hoosier from birth is one of those things.

Mike Woodson is passionate about IU and that was very apparent in his introductory press conference. Hopefully that passion rubs off on the current roster, plus any and all recruits from this day forward. Some people think IU is no longer relevant on a national scale, but if that was the case then all of the national media wouldn’t have been talking about it every single day that the job was open. They care because they felt the need to say that they, and everyone else but Hoosier fans, didn’t care. Believe me, college basketball is better when Indiana University is better. I know it. You know it. And they know it.

I for one am excited as Hell to see what this next chapter in Indiana Basketball will be like. The first 30 or so years of my life were pretty damned good. The past 20 or so, not so much. The bottom line is winning, and winning the right way. The a foundation has been laid for a bridge to span the gap between IU’s historic past with the future. Seeing the joy, the support, the respect, the admiration, and the belief from the who’s who of former Hoosiers has been remarkable. It has also fueled a fire inside of this old Hoosier fan enough to be excited about next year already, and also the years to follow. Mike Woodson, I, along with most Hoosier fans around the world, welcome you home with open arms. Let’s get this thing rolling! GO HOOSIERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!