[IUFR] How Hot Should Mike Woodson's Seat Actually Be?
Coach Adragna addresses the growing number of folks frustrated with Mike Woodson and discusses if there is, yet again, a need for change at Indiana.
It’s hard to believe I am writing this piece right now.
Indiana — our storied program with five national championships — is once again in a position where university leadership will at least have to discuss the coach of the men’s basketball program internally.
Whether or not you think that should be the case is certainly up for debate. If you hop on social media, you will find no shortage of disagreements about the future of Indiana Basketball under Mike Woodson.
Without question, Indiana Basketball has been a disappointment this year. The team struggled early on against inferior competition, as I wrote about last week, and they’ve been seemingly non-competitive against several elite college basketball teams.
Since the first of the year, Indiana is 4-8. The four wins have come against Ohio State (twice, before they fired their head coach), Minnesota, and Iowa.
Yes, Indiana had to bring in a lot of new faces this season, but the team cratering to a #98 late-February KenPom ranking is far worse than even reasonable expectations were for the 2023-24 Indiana Hoosiers (as Jerod about last week in examining the up-and-down performance Indiana has gotten from Xavier Johnson this season).
As Indiana has limped toward the finish line, the groans about the coaching have grown louder and louder.
So let’s examine Mike Woodson - the coach.
The Good
I think it would be unfair to look at the entirety of the Mike Woodson era and not acknowledge the good that has happened under his watch.
Tournament Berths
This is certainly number one on the list for me. Until Mike Woodson took over as the Indiana Basketball coach, the Hoosiers hadn’t been to a tournament since 2016.
Say what you want about the tournament performances (and perhaps I’ll even say something about those below), Indiana was back where it belonged: the NCAA Tournament.
Talent Retention/Accumulation
Mike Woodson’s biggest recruiting win, so far, has been getting Trayce Jackson-Davis to return to Bloomington when he took the job.
Jackson-Davis ended up being one of the best players in college basketball for Woodson’s first two years and was the biggest piece to the puzzle in getting Indiana back to the tournament.
Outside of TJD, Woodson has also brought in high-level talent in Jalen Hood-Schifino, Malik Reneau, Kel’el Ware, and Mackenzie Mgbako. He also has McDonald’s All-American and sharpshooter Liam McNeeley committed for next season.
Getting talent to Bloomington has been a large bright spot for Woodson.
Pro Pipeline
Last season, Indiana sent Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trayce Jackson-Davis to the NBA. All indications are that, at minimum, Kel’el Ware will be drafted this June.
Getting guys to the NBA is a big piece of recruiting. High-level prospects want to know that you have a track record of developing guys for the league, and Mike Woodson has built that track record.
Player’s Coach
Mike Woodson’s players enjoy playing for him. Trayce Jackson-Davis has been very outspoken about the relationship he built with Woodson and how he enjoyed playing for him.
When players enjoy the coach they’re playing for, they typically buy into their system and do what is asked of them.
The National Stage
Mike Woodson hasn’t been shy about trying to get Indiana showcased on the national stage. In his time as the coach, he’s established a home-and-home with Kansas, scheduled the Auburn game in Atlanta, got Indiana into the Empire Classic, and played against Arizona in Las Vegas.
He has also re-established the series with Kentucky, which has been dormant since 2011.
The bad news is that Indiana has not fared well in any of the national spotlight games, but Woodson is getting them in the right games to be showcased.
Okay, so that’s the good stuff. It’s all meaningful in its own way, and serves as evidence of Woodson’s ability to get (some) results at Indiana.
But there is a growing chorus of concerns.
Let’s dive into those concerns — and what Indiana should do about them — now …
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