Indiana made its next men’s basketball head coach official Sunday by welcoming New York Knicks assistant Mike Woodson to take charge of the program.
Woodson has coached in the NBA for his entire 25-year career until now, including six seasons in charge of the Atlanta Hawks (2004 to 2010) and three leading the Knicks (2011 to 2014). He has had assistant coaching stints with the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, and Knicks.
“I have spoken with numerous individuals at the college and NBA levels, and they were unanimous in their support of and respect for Mike,” Scott Dolson, the Indiana athletic director, said to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. “From his ability in terms of X’s and O’s to his skill at building relationships and developing players, his reputation is outstanding. As a coach, he’s succeeded at the highest levels of the NBA, and he’s mentored some of the game’s all-time great players.”
The school inked the coach to a six-year deal as he returns to his alma mater. Mike Woodson played at Indiana for Bobby Knight from 1976 to 1980, averaging at least 18.5 points per game in each of his four seasons in Bloomington and earning All-Big Ten honors in 1979. He is fifth on Indiana’s all-time scoring list with 2,061 points.
Mike Woodson replaces Archie Miller, who was fired March 15 after four seasons.
Now for some other news from across the sport this week:
Nothing But News: March 23-29, 2021
The men’s and women’s Division I Elite Eights have been formed. The women’s bracket is mostly chalk but not all, with Indiana and Arizona making their first regional final debuts, and Texas reaching the round following a shock upset of Maryland in the Sweet 16. On the men’s side, multiple programs are returning to the Elite Eight for the first time in a while, like Oregon State, USC, Houston and Arkansas.
The 2021 NBA trade deadline came and went, with tons of deals dropping in the final hours of the window to swap players and picks.
Lon Kruger announced his retirement from coaching after 45 years, bringing an end to his 10-year tenure as Oklahoma men’s basketball head coach.
Indiana also brought former long-time Ohio State head coach Thad Matta into the fold, hiring him as an associate athletic director for the men’s basketball administration.
Marquette hired Shaka Smart as its next head men’s basketball coach, pulling him from Texas after six seasons.
Grand Canyon men’s basketball player Oscar Frayer died in a car cash in California three days after playing in the NCAA Tournament. He was 23.
The San Antonio Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge reached a contract buyout agreement, and the player soon signed with the Brooklyn Nets.
Draymond Green put in his two cents on the disparities between men’s and women’s basketball salaries, attention and other inequalities. Sue Bird, among others, have responded to the NBA player’s thoughts.
Get Caught Up on NBN Content!
Here’s a recap of some of our content from the last week:
A Guide to the Mark Turgeon Situation
Mark Turgeon has been the head men’s basketball coach at Maryland for 10 years, and there are questions swirling around how much longer his time he has left in College Park. The situation is at a crossroads, and as a Maryland alum and someone who has watched almost every game for eight years, Justin Meyer created a guide to explain what’s happening in detail to those who might not know.
Men’s March Madness First Weekend Lessons
These are three big lessons we learned from the first weekend of the Men’s NCAA Tournament, from the Big Ten and Big 12 collapsing to the importance of defense to more.
When Was the Last Time Arkansas Made the Sweet 16?
When Arkansas men’s basketball made the Sweet 16 this year, it was the first time the program reached the regional semifinals in a while. But when was the last time Arkansas made the Sweet 16?
Sweet 16 Teams Rankings: Who Has the Best Chance to Win the Men’s Title?
We ranked all 16 of the teams in the men’s Sweet 16 by their chances at cutting down the nets at the end this wild thing.
Women’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Storylines
We outlined some of the top storylines of the Women’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 ahead of the games, from the Caitlin Clark versus Paige Bueckers showdown to wondering if Texas A&M could keep getting away with it.
