Getty Image / Andy Lyons
There’s nothing like basketball in the state of Indiana. People love their local high school teams, and especially love the Indiana Hoosiers.
When you’ve got a tradition as long and proud as Indiana’s is, the standard is to compete for national titles. But, that hasn’t been the case the last two decades, including under current coach Mike Woodson.
The Hoosiers are going to miss the NCAA Tournament this year under the direction of their third-year head coach. But, it appears they’re sticking with Mike Woodson.
Here’s the Indianapolis Star with more.
Despite a disappointing 2023-24 season, Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson will return next season, an IU athletic department source told IndyStar.
It surely has been a disappointing season in Bloomington. After Mike Woodson’s first two years resulted in NCAA Tournament berths with wins in March Madness, this year has been far from that. They’re just 16-13 heading into Wednesday’s game with Minnesota, including an 8-10 record in the Big Ten. They’re more concerned with the NIT bubble than the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Most concerning is the fact that they appear to have been passed by traditional Big Ten basement dwellers. It’s fair to say the three worst historical programs in the Big Ten are Northwestern, Nebraska, and Penn State. Indiana is 0-5 against those teams this year. Even if those teams are having solid seasons, that’s simply not good enough for a program that has significantly more investment than those three.
That being said, at a certain point, it may not be the fault of the coach. Since the university parted ways with Bob Knight prior to the 2000 season, they’ve cycled through five full-time head coaches. None of them have been able to have sustained success, though there have been some flashes.
That being said, there has to be someone out there who can make things work at Indiana. It’s simply too good of a job with too many advantages to be mediocre for this long.
Plus, things won’t get any easier with USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington moving into the conference next year. Michigan and Ohio State are likely to make blockbuster hires this offseason, too. Indiana could fall further behind.
But, Mike Woodson is one of their own, having played for Coach Knight before decades of coaching, including head coach stints with the Hawks and the Knicks in the NBA. They’re going to stick with him.