Indiana hires Mike Woodson as head coach; Three things to know about former Hoosiers star

Indiana pulled its new head coach off the NBA bench – but no, it’s not Brad Stevens.

Hoziers announced Sunday Earlier this month he hired Mike Woodson, the Nucks’ assistant coach, after shooting Archie Miller. Woodson and Indiana signed a six-year agreement, According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojrowski.

More: Gonzaga is elite, but only perfection can satisfy the Bulldogs

Woodson raced the field, as he was on his way to meet his players shortly after Indiana’s official announcement.

What can a 63-year-old bring to an Indiana program that has struggled to return to its former glory? Here are three big things to know about Woodson.

Mike Woodson has a great history with Indiana

Woodson, an Indianapolis native, may as well come out of the film “Hoosiers”. He was an all-in Indiana basketball from a young age.

“Every yard had a court, small basketball hoops in the yard,” Woodson told The New York Post in 2012. “If you didn’t, you had two doors that you had. You had parks in every area of ​​the city where you could get pickup games. … You should have been able to pass.” And shoot, and dribble, and play without basketball, you know, speed offense. It was Indiana basketball.

“And Bob Knight is the one who really laid out a lot of the fundamentals and how high school instructors teach their teams.”

He inadvertently moved to Indiana and was a huge success under Knight Tuttle, scoring more than 2,000 from the 1976 80s.

Woodson told The Post, “I wanted to go somewhere where I could play, and where I knew I could get a great education, and my family didn’t have to travel far to see me. “And I felt that I was playing for the best coach in the country at that time.”

After his time at Indiana, Woodson went on to play 11 seasons in the NBA, spending time with the Knicks, Nets, Kings, Clippers, Rockets and Cavaliers.

Mike Woodson’s NBA coaching record requires some context

If you look at Woodson’s professional résumé, the final number is not as impressive. In six full seasons with the Hawks as a head coach and two-plus seasons with the Knicks, Woodson compiled 315–365 overall record (.463 winning percentage).

However, it is important to note that Atlanta’s total wins under Woodson (13, 26, 30, 37, 47, 53) increased each season, and he gave New York a 54–28 record during the 2012–13 season Directed to, Nax made a playoff appearance after the last time. Again, that’s a win with 54 Of james dolan Knocks

Was Woodson in the same conversation as Spurs’ Gregg Popovich and Heat’s Eric Spoelstra? No, he had his faults. His offenses could be found to be steady and heavy-handed, and at times, he was hesitant to adopt modern basketball and analytics. (Zach Lowe wrote In a 2013 treatise Woodson preferred “raw points allowed on possession-based statistics”).

Still, the overall record does not portray the full picture of Woodson’s time in the NBA. He deserves the credit for walking around a hopeless Hawks franchise and giving Nucks something to celebrate.

Mike Woodson could use an experienced staff

The main concern with Woodson Rent is how he will face the challenges of college sports, as he has no experience at that level. It would be difficult to recruit in particular.

It appears that the most victorious coach in Indiana State history could borrow from the Indiana NBA model by giving Woodson the “general manager” at Thad Matka.

Matka could assist Woodson in putting together employees capable of competing for top talent – and will ensure Indiana does not recruit at Purdue and other Big Ten schools. Just look at Michigan coach Juwan Howard. He wisely placed Saddi Washington on board and included Phil Martelli and Howard Isley among his staff. The Wolverines feel very good about Howard’s tenure so far.

Can Woodson match Howard’s success? This is a high bar, but hiring experienced assistants will be a step in the right direction.