Woodson is more than a decade removed from his last successful stint as a head coach. And while he hangs on as an assistant, he does not really have some great reputation in the NBA for schemes. He is a nice guy that players like and he has experience in the NBA. None of those things are likely to predict great success in college.
Also, I’m not really negative about Woodson as a coach per se. I am negative about Indiana. I mean is this really the best you can do? If so, just hang up all claims of being a blue blood. If you want to be a big time program, act like it and make a great hire.
Woodson is like the broke man’s Juwan Howard to hire as a coach. Sure they are both former players, but Juwan is younger, had a much better reputation in the NBA, and had far more contacts with recruits and AAU programs.
I think he will be competent and that alone is something to be said for IU. But I don’t know about the upside and as much as I thought Tom Crean was a nut job at times…he delivered for them.
They are like Michigan football in that they are clinging to the massive success from three decades ago in an era that was set up for them to succeed but has long since evolved.
Keeping TJD was big and let’s see how he recruits. Roster construction was a big part of Archie’s problem so fixing that and being competent with game plans may make a difference.
My main point with all of the Woodson discussion is what will people, both inside and outside IU measure as success? What does he need to accomplish for IU fans to be happy with the hire? That is the problem that goes along with taking the job at a program with a high level of success.
Look at Matt Painter, I think just about everyone would agree he is one of the better coaches in the Big Ten. He missed the tournament back to back years in 12/13 and 13/14. Then in the last seven years he has made the tournament six out of seven years, three first round losses, two sweet sixteens and an elite eight. He also has one outright and one split big ten title, that is a pretty good run, but is that enough at IU?
Woodson seems like a good guy who everyone likes, I just don’t think he gets the job if he didn’t play at Indiana, which doesn’t seem like the right way to make coaching decisions.
I don’t know. Michigan football has three fundamental problems: there’s not that much HS football talent in the Midwest, the playoff only allows the top four teams in the country in, and then OSU has been a total juggernaut over the last decade, blocking access to other Big Ten teams to the playoff.
IU basketball really doesn’t have those issues. Indiana is in a talent-rich state, and the tournament is vastly easier to get into. There really isn’t any rational reason why they can’t be good. Maybe they have high expectations, but that’s true in many places.
IU’s big problem was that Kelvin Sampson got busted by the NCAA. He’s shown that he’s clearly a good coach.
This is the guy who got suspended after elbowing Tennessee’s John Fulkerson multiple times in the head during the SEC tournament.
He was a top 50 PF/C recruit out of HS who played 38% of minutes this past year as a sophomore. Had a 128 ORTG (great!) on 10.8 USG (horrible!). Basically all his work comes around the rim, most of it (~80%) assisted, and he would have had a top 50 block rate if he qualified. He’s solid on the offensive glass but only average defensively though.
Curious if this implies something about Kofi. Illinois has Giorgi coming back already, and adding Payne gives 3 bigs who would expect minutes. Underwood hasn’t managed to play Kofi and Giorgi together well at all during their time together, and Payne seems less able to play the 4 than Giorgi. Seems to me like Payne might be a Kofi replacement, and not a slam dunk add either.
Last 3 years he’s had ORTGs of 100.2, 107.7 and 92.9 on 26.5, 26.9 and 26.4 USG (2021, 2020 and 2019 stats in that order). In those years he’s shot 23.5% from 3 (102 attempts), 35.7% (168) and 22.3% (179). His career high 2P% is 42.2%, and that was as a freshman. And this is all in the A-10. He does have good AST and TO numbers at least.
Maybe he has a Mike Smith type transformation now that he won’t have to be the focal point of the team (not convinced that will happen), but I am not a huge fan of his. Especially since he’s 5’11 as well. Wahab is a good add for UMD, but even if they get Wiggins/Ayala/Morsell back, I can’t see this team ceiling of this team being any better than 4th or 5th in the B1G. Especially with Turg leading the way.
I saw Rhode Island a number of times back in November during the “I WILL WATCH ANY AND EVERY COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME ON TELEVISION” period of my Covid existence, and I remember rooting for RI against some P6 teams thinking, "That Fatts Russell guy could make some plays! He could be put his team on his back! He could be a Player! And then he’d have a wild turnover or throw up a ridiculous shot and Rhode Island would lose.
For sure, 4th would be a big improvement from this past year. But once again to me that seems like best case scenario, and the initial reaction from Maryland fans right now is “the sky is the limit” for next year so I don’t know how much they’re thinking 4th place vs 1st place.
