Ad Disclosure
Mike Woodson may have won over the Indiana basketball fanbase with one simple statement during his introductory press conference on Monday morning in Bloomington.
Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson officially introduced Woodson, a former player under head coach Bob Knight, as the next head coach of the program. The press conference comes two weeks after the program fired Archie Miller after four seasons with the program.
Woodson paid tribute to his former head coach in his opening statement.
“Indiana basketball will always be Bob Knight,” Woodson said in his statement. “He took a chance on a kid from Indianapolis many years ago to play basketball…and it was a journey for Mike Woodson.
“He taught me how to be a man on and off the floor, and that was huge for me.”
https://twitter.com/schuttecfb/status/1376538375038046217?s=21
https://twitter.com/schuttecfb/status/1376538236122714114?s=21
Woodson, a native of the Indianapolis area, played under Knight at IU from 1976-80 before enjoying a decade-long career in the NBA as a player. He then jumped into coaching, serving as an assistant for eight seasons before getting his first opportunity as a head coach.
The Indiana job will be Woodson’s first opportunity as a head coach at the college level. He’s prepared to use his experiences under Knight to help rebuild the Hoosiers into a blueblood program in college basketball.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB