Mike Woodson finally took some responsibility for Indiana basketball’s abysmal season. However, in doing so, he also failed to take any responsibility. It was perhaps the quote of the year.
The Hoosiers are currently 14-13 with four games left in the regular season. They will finish out the year with Wisconsin, Maryland, Michigan State and Minnesota, which is not a cake walk. There is a pretty good chance that they will finish at .500 or below.
Should that happen, it would be just the second time since 2010 and fifth time since 1970. In fact, the last time that Indiana finished below .500 was 2020/21 and it led to Archie Miller’s ouster— which opened the door for Mike Woodson. It is now his job in jeopardy after getting swept by three of the worst teams in the Big Ten.
As his program continues to spiral, Woodson is asking to be blamed for its failures. Kind of.
He accepted responsibility for the struggles in the most backhanded way possible during his standing media appearance on Monday morning. His comments started off on the right note.
Every year I’ve coached, when things don’t go well, I point the finger at me. A lot of coaches won’t do that, but at the end of the day, when things go well, I point the fingers at the players.
That’s just kind of been my nature of how I’ve coached over the years. You know, I know how was it when I played, and I played for coaches that had success with me and I played for coaches that haven’t had success.
— Mike Woodson
And then it took a very contradictory turn. While firmly stating that he will not blame the players, Woodson blamed the players.
You know, sometimes coaches don’t want to take the blame and want to put all on the players. I’m not that type of coach. Even though I don’t miss jump shots, wide open shots, and don’t miss free throws, I’m still a big part of it and I take a lot of responsibility.
All I can do is continue to work with my team right now and try to put them in the best position to be successful. And hopefully they’ll come through for us.
— Mike Woodson
That is certainly a quote!
Woodson might as well have said “it’s me, but it’s really them.” He took responsibility for the losses while reminding everybody that his players are not playing well and making sure that everybody remembers that he cannot make his players play well.
It was completely contradictory in nature. Woodson was unable to leave it as “my fault.” He had to get the jab in at his team. He couldn’t help himself.
The next four games could make or break Woodson’s job. There is a good chance that Indiana chooses to give him another year, but his handling of this final stretch could swing the pendulum in the other direction.