Since his return to his alma mater, Indiana head coach Mike Woodson has left his imprint on the Hoosiers’ basketball program.
Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson clearly demonstrates the process of returning to the Hoosiers to Mike Krzyzewski
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As of now, Woodson’s team is 5-0 and ranked 11th in the country. Woodson is 26-14 as Indiana’s head coach after directing the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament last year.
He showed up on Sirius XM’s Basketball and Beyond with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to discuss his return to Bloomington.
“Well, as you know, I spent 34 years of my life in the NBA and I’m truly blessed,” Woodson told Coach K.
“Because that just doesn’t happen very often to guys and I think the timing was right, coach. You know, when the job opened up, there were all kinds of names swirling around, for this job. And I got the call as an assistant coach with the Knicks about an interview, you know, and Scott Dawson, our AD, wanted to talk to and I told him well, the only way I was talking to him if he gets on a plane and he flies to New York.”
“And he did the very next day, and he and I spoke for about, we sat down for about three, three and a half hours and just talked basketball. And we talked about the vision of Indiana basketball. And I had my thoughts about it and he had his thoughts. He didn’t make a decision that day. About two weeks went by and I got a call at nine o’clock on a Sunday morning saying, ‘Hey, Coach, I’m bringing you back home.’ And it was the biggest thrill of my life.”
From 2004 to 2014, Woodson was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks, going 315-365.
Before joining the Pacers, Woodson worked as an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers (2014-18) and the New York Knicks (2020-21).
Indiana remained undefeated with a win over Little Rock on Wednesday, but star Trayce Jackson-Davis was injured.
“No, I just said next man up,” Woodson said postgame. “Him and Galloway was out; I said next man up. That’s what this team has got to be about. I’ve always been about that as a coach. I’ve coached games where my best players have been out of the lineup. I can’t wait on those guys. I’ve got to still coach and get guys to perform and play at a high level. I expect guys to be ready to play.”
Indiana plays Jackson State on Friday before hosting No. 1 North Carolina the following Wednesday, Nov. 30.
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