The Mike Woodson era at Indiana will tip off next month. The Indiana alum played for the Hoosiers from 1976-1980 and then played and coached in the NBA from 1980-2021.

Now Woodson is back in the college ranks and he’ll have a seasoned veteran on campus as an asset. Former Ohio State basketball coach Thad Matta is now the Associate AD for Men’s Basketball Administration at Indiana.

During B1G Media Days, Woodson explained the impact that the long-time head coach will have on the program.

“Well, Thad works for the AD. But he also has been very instrumental in giving me input on college basketball. He’s had great success at Ohio State, and it would be foolish of me not to pick him. I’m always picking all the coaches,” Woodson said. “They probably think I’m crazy as hell, but that’s what we do in terms of trying to get information, trying to learn…He sits in all of my meetings and we talk basketball. That’s very healthy and good for me.”

Woodson has served as an NBA head coach for the Atlanta Hawks (2004-2010) and New York Knicks (2012-2014). Matta was a head coach at Butler and Xavier before being the head coach at Ohio State from 2004-2017.

Indiana begins the season at home vs. Eastern Michigan on Nov. 9 (6:30 p.m. EST/BTN). Indiana begins B1G play at Wisconsin on Dec. 8 (7 p.m. EST/BTN).