Indiana University Athletics
Mike Woodson - What They're Saying
3/31/2021 3:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
A collection of comments made by members of the Indiana Basketball Family and friends of Mike Woodson on his recent hiring as the men's basketball coach.
Bob Knight
"We are all very pleased to have Mike Woodson as the person in charge of our program. He will do an excellent job. He will be an outstanding disciplinarian and teacher working with his team. I've never known a better person that Mike. He is just a great man."
Calbert Cheaney
"I think it's a wonderful hire."
"He's a great coach with a wealth of experience, including a wealth of NBA experience. I know he understands Indiana basketball. He played there. He's been around the program for many years. He's always come back even though he's been in the league.
"He understands Indiana basketball."
"When you put on that Indiana uniform, you're family for life. Even though Woody and I didn't play together, we're part of the IU family forever. We're brothers forever. "For him to be hired and being a former player — I consider him a family member — it's unbelievable."
Jared Jeffries:
"I love it. Woody's an amazing coach."
Eric Gordon
"Mike is a great hire by Scott Dolson. He's an Indiana guy and has competed at the highest level as a player and as a coach. Very excited for Coach Woodson and the men's basketball program."
Jordan Hulls:
"I've always been thankful for Scott Dolson and appreciated him even since I was at IU. I know he's trying his best to make the best decision for the program. Having a former player like Coach Woodson, it means a lot. Maybe I'm biased because I grew up knowing everything Indiana Basketball, but I think it'll be great having someone that can bridge the IU tradition that he helped build with the younger generation as he's had a lot of experience at the NBA level — where every kid wants to go. Kids/recruits will have a unique opportunity to absorb all of what he's been able to do/learn at the next level, and apply it to college game."
Brian Evans:
"Much like Coach Woodson, I grew up in the state of Indiana, rooting for the Hoosiers and dreaming about playing in Assembly Hall. As former players, we share a passion and enthusiasm for Indiana Basketball that would be difficult to measure.
"Woody knows exactly what Indiana Basketball means to our state. He gets 'it' … I'm looking forward to seeing him on the sideline, representing our great university. I'm looking forward to watching a resilient Indiana team that is difficult to play against. A team that plays HARD and plays SMART on every possession. That's the Indiana Basketball that I know and love. Woody's gonna bring it back to us!!"
"Much like Coach Woodson, I grew up in the state of Indiana, rooting for the Hoosiers and dreaming about playing in Assembly Hall. As former players, we share a passion and enthusiasm for Indiana Basketball that would be difficult to measure. Woody knows exactly what Indiana Basketball means to our state. He gets 'it'...I'm looking forward to seeing him on the sideline, representing our great university. I'm looking forward to watching a resilient Indiana team that is difficult to play against. A team that plays HARD and plays SMART on every possession. That's the Indiana Basketball that I know and love. Woody's gonna bring it back to us"
Isiah Thomas
Victor Oladipo
"Coach Woodson was a great coach in the league and will be great for IU. Great to see us Hoosiers sticking together."
AJ Guyton:
"I don't know Mike Woodson extremely well. I ran into him in the NBA when I played. I had great conversations with him. The guys who played for him that I know well, guys like Jamal Crawford and Tyson Chandler, they love his basketball mind.
"They love him as a player's coach. They love how he can keep the balance between player and coach. All those things are exciting to see. All those are things Indiana needs."
Guyton on IU hiring someone who played for Indiana:
"It's very meaningful. I think this was the prime time to give a former player the opportunity. We have enough guys who have put in enough work that qualify for this job.
"I'm glad Scott Dolson gave coach Woodson an opportunity. I'm sure he gave it all due diligence with all candidates, but it helps IU to have someone familiar with the IU basketball family and the way things work in Indiana, as opposed to someone new starting over.
"I'm excited to hear it's a guy who understands what a winning culture is."
"Great job Scott Dolson, taking his time sifting through all candidates and choosing the right candidate for Indiana Basketball. Indiana had to do a hard reset with anyone who came in to coach, I'm confident Mike will establish the culture necessary for recruiting and winning. I'm certain former players have his back, his work ethic will hopefully win over Hoosier nation. I'm excited for IU!"
Dane Fife:
"I've always felt that the uniqueness of IU Basketball requires a head coach who understands the complexities that accompany the job. Coach Woodson is a proven leader that is very well respected by his coaching peers and players alike. This is an exciting moment for the program. Most importantly, because he's a Hoo Hoo Hoo, Hoosier."
Cody Zeller
"I know the guys who have played for him who I have talked to have nothing but great things to say about Coach Woodson. I know his NBA stories and experience will definitely help him in recruiting. High school kids just want to know how they can get to the league the quickest."
"Mike Woodson is a perfect fit to coach the Hoosiers! He's had success as a player and as a coach at the highest level in the NBA. His former players point to his knowledge of the game, passion for competing, and ability to connect with guys off the court. Most importantly, he understands the history and tradition of Indiana Basketball and he wants to help the program return to national prominence. I can't wait to cheer him on!"
Verdell Jones:
Christian Watford:
"I'm super excited about the new hire of Coach Woodson. Always supportive of former Hoosiers getting an opportunity! I feel like he brings a different dynamic to the program that's been much needed and I'm excited about what the future holds! Go Hoosiers"
Mike Davis:
"It's a great great hire. Mike is a outstanding coach with a ton of experience. Indiana will get back to the final 4"
AJ Moye:
"I love Mike as a human being, a man...He gave me a lot of great advice; it was towards the transition from player to coach for me. So I was all ears. All in all. I love Mike, I love how he is a player's coach, and you just cannot find a guy who has played for and coached with more legends than brother Mike has. All in all, Scott Dolson hit this one right out of the park. Time will tell, yet I feel Indiana University put its best foot forward with this hire. Mike Woodson covers all the bases"
Keith Smart
"When you're looking to fill a position like that, the most important thing first is hiring the right head coach. Indiana did that. Then you go from there, and I have no doubt that there are going to be a lot of great assistants who have been great recruiters for years who are going to want to work with Mike at Indiana. No doubt at all.
"Look, I've known Woody for a long time. We worked together in Cleveland (2000-01) as assistant coaches, we've been friends ever since and he is a great basketball mind. He really knows how to develop talent and he's got a great way about him in regards to getting his points across to players. I think he's a perfect guy to work with college players.''
"It great to see one of our guys running the ship,'' Smart said. "I think for us as former players, we can all get behind this hire. We'll all be rooting hard for Mike, and we'll all do whatever we can to help. There's no doubt in my mind that every former IU player is happy for Mike and confident that he will do a great job.
"To us, it matters a lot that our names are still in that locker room and our pictures are around that building. All of that tradition, man it's real, especially among us as players. No one wants Indiana back on top more than we do, and we can't wait for Mike to take us there. He's going to be great.''
Quinn Bucker:
"The man can coach," Buckner said. "He's not soft-spoken then. He's very animated. He's engaged in the game and with his players. And the official occasionally gets in the way. So he deals with that, as well."
"Mike took a team in Atlanta, a young team, to the playoffs, when nobody else thought they could get in the playoffs," said Buckner, who provides commentary on Pacers broadcasts for Fox Sports Indiana.
"He came from the Pistons, where he had a bunch of veterans. Nobody thought that (Hawks) team could get there. They were so young. He was also the last guy to take the New York Knicks to the playoffs. He can coach."
"It's good to see one of our own come on and have a chance to do something that's for the greater good," Buckner said. "I honestly believe, the fact he's here, it's for the greater good. Having success, it means a great deal to a great many people."
"What I have always found to be the issue with Mike: He was not nearly as good a basketball player as he is a human being," Buckner said. "He may be the best human being I know."
Jarrad Odle:
Steve Risley
"I'm giddy about this," said Steve Risley, the former Hoosier forward. "I think you're going to find most players are giddy about it."
"You aren't going to find anyone who says a bad word about the guy."
"Mike's just a beloved guy. There's no ill will from anybody," Risley said. "The pitfall of this whole thing is he's not Bob Knight, and people better get over that real quick. There will never, ever be another Bob Knight at IU. That doesn't mean there won't be successful coaches."
Randy Wittman
"With him playing in the NBA, and all of his coaching being in the NBA, this was the one job he would come to the college level to do because it is Indiana," Wittman said. "I don't know if he would have searched out of any other college job. I think this holds a special place in his heart."
"I'm going to do whatever I can to help this man," Wittman said. "He means that much to me as a person and as a friend and now as a head coach of Indiana. I want to see us get back to where we should be and where we can be. He's definitely a guy who can help us do that."
Landon Turner
"The last few years it's been up and down, and I've been missing the winning ways and seeing the players play like IU champions are supposed to play," Turner said. "I haven't seen that IU championship spirit like we used to have, but I think Mike Woodson is definitely going to bring that tradition, those winning ways back to Indiana University basketball.
"I see banners going up in the rafters again."
"His suits, he knew how to put his ties together. He always had really nice shoes," Turner said. "He was probably the most GQ person on the team."
"Woody will be able to handle that pressure. Pressure's nothing to him," Turner said. "The pressure might make him work even harder and be a better coach. He's that kind of person. Pressure situations, when he was a ballplayer, he handled those situations really well. I'm sure he'll do the same thing as the head basketball coach."
Randy Wittman
"What Coach Knight built here wasn't just a basketball program but it was a family. I felt we got away from that aspect of continuing a family tradition at Indiana," Wittman said. "A lot of the great blue-blood schools, you look around, that's what they do, they maintain that family, and I think we lost a little bit of that. And, hopefully, with Mike coming back, 15, 20, 25 years from now, we're maintaining that same thing."
"I know he hasn't been in college, there are things he is going to have to learn," Wittman said. "But it's not rocket science that we're dealing with. We're coaching kids and basketball. He's done that."
"I'm going to do whatever I can to help this man," Wittman said. "He means that much to me as a person and as a friend and now as a head coach of Indiana. I want to see us get back to where we should be and where we can be. He's definitely a guy who can help us do that."
Alan Henderson
Bob Knight
"We are all very pleased to have Mike Woodson as the person in charge of our program. He will do an excellent job. He will be an outstanding disciplinarian and teacher working with his team. I've never known a better person that Mike. He is just a great man."
Calbert Cheaney
"I think it's a wonderful hire."
"He's a great coach with a wealth of experience, including a wealth of NBA experience. I know he understands Indiana basketball. He played there. He's been around the program for many years. He's always come back even though he's been in the league.
"He understands Indiana basketball."
"When you put on that Indiana uniform, you're family for life. Even though Woody and I didn't play together, we're part of the IU family forever. We're brothers forever. "For him to be hired and being a former player — I consider him a family member — it's unbelievable."
Jared Jeffries:
"I love it. Woody's an amazing coach."
Eric Gordon
"Mike is a great hire by Scott Dolson. He's an Indiana guy and has competed at the highest level as a player and as a coach. Very excited for Coach Woodson and the men's basketball program."
Jordan Hulls:
"I've always been thankful for Scott Dolson and appreciated him even since I was at IU. I know he's trying his best to make the best decision for the program. Having a former player like Coach Woodson, it means a lot. Maybe I'm biased because I grew up knowing everything Indiana Basketball, but I think it'll be great having someone that can bridge the IU tradition that he helped build with the younger generation as he's had a lot of experience at the NBA level — where every kid wants to go. Kids/recruits will have a unique opportunity to absorb all of what he's been able to do/learn at the next level, and apply it to college game."
Brian Evans:
"Much like Coach Woodson, I grew up in the state of Indiana, rooting for the Hoosiers and dreaming about playing in Assembly Hall. As former players, we share a passion and enthusiasm for Indiana Basketball that would be difficult to measure.
"Woody knows exactly what Indiana Basketball means to our state. He gets 'it' … I'm looking forward to seeing him on the sideline, representing our great university. I'm looking forward to watching a resilient Indiana team that is difficult to play against. A team that plays HARD and plays SMART on every possession. That's the Indiana Basketball that I know and love. Woody's gonna bring it back to us!!"
"Much like Coach Woodson, I grew up in the state of Indiana, rooting for the Hoosiers and dreaming about playing in Assembly Hall. As former players, we share a passion and enthusiasm for Indiana Basketball that would be difficult to measure. Woody knows exactly what Indiana Basketball means to our state. He gets 'it'...I'm looking forward to seeing him on the sideline, representing our great university. I'm looking forward to watching a resilient Indiana team that is difficult to play against. A team that plays HARD and plays SMART on every possession. That's the Indiana Basketball that I know and love. Woody's gonna bring it back to us"
Isiah Thomas
Let it be known #Hoosiers https://t.co/OlII3HIwZw
— Isiah Thomas (@IsiahThomas) March 28, 2021
Victor Oladipo
"Coach Woodson was a great coach in the league and will be great for IU. Great to see us Hoosiers sticking together."
AJ Guyton:
"I don't know Mike Woodson extremely well. I ran into him in the NBA when I played. I had great conversations with him. The guys who played for him that I know well, guys like Jamal Crawford and Tyson Chandler, they love his basketball mind.
"They love him as a player's coach. They love how he can keep the balance between player and coach. All those things are exciting to see. All those are things Indiana needs."
Guyton on IU hiring someone who played for Indiana:
"It's very meaningful. I think this was the prime time to give a former player the opportunity. We have enough guys who have put in enough work that qualify for this job.
"I'm glad Scott Dolson gave coach Woodson an opportunity. I'm sure he gave it all due diligence with all candidates, but it helps IU to have someone familiar with the IU basketball family and the way things work in Indiana, as opposed to someone new starting over.
"I'm excited to hear it's a guy who understands what a winning culture is."
"Great job Scott Dolson, taking his time sifting through all candidates and choosing the right candidate for Indiana Basketball. Indiana had to do a hard reset with anyone who came in to coach, I'm confident Mike will establish the culture necessary for recruiting and winning. I'm certain former players have his back, his work ethic will hopefully win over Hoosier nation. I'm excited for IU!"
To my post Knight legends, you mean just as much to the culture as anyone else! Woody and Dolson are talking to you to. This is the time we all come together as one! Get down there and visit ASAP! I can't wait to see you all! We are 1! #iubb #iufamily #fullcircle
— A.J. Guyton (@ajguyton) March 29, 2021
This is my first time watching a press conference from start to finish. I can say I'm comfortable with the program in Woodson & Dolson's hands and I can rest now! Excited for the program! Go IU! #iubb #bridgingthegap #iubrotherhood #hoosier #isupportmikewoodson ???????
— A.J. Guyton (@ajguyton) March 29, 2021
Dane Fife:
"I've always felt that the uniqueness of IU Basketball requires a head coach who understands the complexities that accompany the job. Coach Woodson is a proven leader that is very well respected by his coaching peers and players alike. This is an exciting moment for the program. Most importantly, because he's a Hoo Hoo Hoo, Hoosier."
Cody Zeller
"I know the guys who have played for him who I have talked to have nothing but great things to say about Coach Woodson. I know his NBA stories and experience will definitely help him in recruiting. High school kids just want to know how they can get to the league the quickest."
"Mike Woodson is a perfect fit to coach the Hoosiers! He's had success as a player and as a coach at the highest level in the NBA. His former players point to his knowledge of the game, passion for competing, and ability to connect with guys off the court. Most importantly, he understands the history and tradition of Indiana Basketball and he wants to help the program return to national prominence. I can't wait to cheer him on!"
Verdell Jones:
Let's get it! Where's my candy stripes, Ima walk around Champaign with them on ????#Hoosiers https://t.co/NlthPwmgoQ
— Verdell Jones (@Vj3_217) March 29, 2021
Christian Watford:
"I'm super excited about the new hire of Coach Woodson. Always supportive of former Hoosiers getting an opportunity! I feel like he brings a different dynamic to the program that's been much needed and I'm excited about what the future holds! Go Hoosiers"
Mike Davis:
"It's a great great hire. Mike is a outstanding coach with a ton of experience. Indiana will get back to the final 4"
AJ Moye:
"I love Mike as a human being, a man...He gave me a lot of great advice; it was towards the transition from player to coach for me. So I was all ears. All in all. I love Mike, I love how he is a player's coach, and you just cannot find a guy who has played for and coached with more legends than brother Mike has. All in all, Scott Dolson hit this one right out of the park. Time will tell, yet I feel Indiana University put its best foot forward with this hire. Mike Woodson covers all the bases"
Keith Smart
"When you're looking to fill a position like that, the most important thing first is hiring the right head coach. Indiana did that. Then you go from there, and I have no doubt that there are going to be a lot of great assistants who have been great recruiters for years who are going to want to work with Mike at Indiana. No doubt at all.
"Look, I've known Woody for a long time. We worked together in Cleveland (2000-01) as assistant coaches, we've been friends ever since and he is a great basketball mind. He really knows how to develop talent and he's got a great way about him in regards to getting his points across to players. I think he's a perfect guy to work with college players.''
"It great to see one of our guys running the ship,'' Smart said. "I think for us as former players, we can all get behind this hire. We'll all be rooting hard for Mike, and we'll all do whatever we can to help. There's no doubt in my mind that every former IU player is happy for Mike and confident that he will do a great job.
"To us, it matters a lot that our names are still in that locker room and our pictures are around that building. All of that tradition, man it's real, especially among us as players. No one wants Indiana back on top more than we do, and we can't wait for Mike to take us there. He's going to be great.''
Quinn Bucker:
"The man can coach," Buckner said. "He's not soft-spoken then. He's very animated. He's engaged in the game and with his players. And the official occasionally gets in the way. So he deals with that, as well."
"Mike took a team in Atlanta, a young team, to the playoffs, when nobody else thought they could get in the playoffs," said Buckner, who provides commentary on Pacers broadcasts for Fox Sports Indiana.
"He came from the Pistons, where he had a bunch of veterans. Nobody thought that (Hawks) team could get there. They were so young. He was also the last guy to take the New York Knicks to the playoffs. He can coach."
"It's good to see one of our own come on and have a chance to do something that's for the greater good," Buckner said. "I honestly believe, the fact he's here, it's for the greater good. Having success, it means a great deal to a great many people."
"What I have always found to be the issue with Mike: He was not nearly as good a basketball player as he is a human being," Buckner said. "He may be the best human being I know."
Jarrad Odle:
I would have loved to see the faces of big10 coaches when they heard the hire. Guarantee it brought more fear to them than many if not all of the other coaches that were in the conversation
— Jarrad Odle (@JarradOdle) March 29, 2021
Steve Risley
"I'm giddy about this," said Steve Risley, the former Hoosier forward. "I think you're going to find most players are giddy about it."
"You aren't going to find anyone who says a bad word about the guy."
"Mike's just a beloved guy. There's no ill will from anybody," Risley said. "The pitfall of this whole thing is he's not Bob Knight, and people better get over that real quick. There will never, ever be another Bob Knight at IU. That doesn't mean there won't be successful coaches."
Randy Wittman
"With him playing in the NBA, and all of his coaching being in the NBA, this was the one job he would come to the college level to do because it is Indiana," Wittman said. "I don't know if he would have searched out of any other college job. I think this holds a special place in his heart."
"I'm going to do whatever I can to help this man," Wittman said. "He means that much to me as a person and as a friend and now as a head coach of Indiana. I want to see us get back to where we should be and where we can be. He's definitely a guy who can help us do that."
Landon Turner
"The last few years it's been up and down, and I've been missing the winning ways and seeing the players play like IU champions are supposed to play," Turner said. "I haven't seen that IU championship spirit like we used to have, but I think Mike Woodson is definitely going to bring that tradition, those winning ways back to Indiana University basketball.
"I see banners going up in the rafters again."
"His suits, he knew how to put his ties together. He always had really nice shoes," Turner said. "He was probably the most GQ person on the team."
"Woody will be able to handle that pressure. Pressure's nothing to him," Turner said. "The pressure might make him work even harder and be a better coach. He's that kind of person. Pressure situations, when he was a ballplayer, he handled those situations really well. I'm sure he'll do the same thing as the head basketball coach."
Randy Wittman
"What Coach Knight built here wasn't just a basketball program but it was a family. I felt we got away from that aspect of continuing a family tradition at Indiana," Wittman said. "A lot of the great blue-blood schools, you look around, that's what they do, they maintain that family, and I think we lost a little bit of that. And, hopefully, with Mike coming back, 15, 20, 25 years from now, we're maintaining that same thing."
"I know he hasn't been in college, there are things he is going to have to learn," Wittman said. "But it's not rocket science that we're dealing with. We're coaching kids and basketball. He's done that."
"I'm going to do whatever I can to help this man," Wittman said. "He means that much to me as a person and as a friend and now as a head coach of Indiana. I want to see us get back to where we should be and where we can be. He's definitely a guy who can help us do that."
Alan Henderson
I like this! #champion #veteran #naptown #coach Excited to see him build us back up. #iubb #broadripple https://t.co/TFCPxYvYWg
— Alan Henderson (@44AlanHenderson) March 28, 2021
FB: Nico Radicic - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Drew Evans - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Bray Lynch - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Spring Practice - Curt Cignetti Press Conference
Thursday, April 16