Indiana University Athletics
DIPRIMIO: Last Laugh – Dane Fife Brings Humor, Passion to Hoosiers
4/15/2021 10:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Dane Fife will leave you laughing.
Did you expect anything less?
He will coach as he played, driven to break an opponent's will.
Would you want it any other way?
As for the big picture, Fife played on Indiana's last Final Four team (the remarkable 2002 national title-game run), coached on two Final Four squads as a Michigan State assistant, and plans on helping bring a sixth national championship banner to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
"Indiana is a special place," he says via Tuesday morning Zoom opportunity.
Now that Fife is the Hoosiers associate head coach under Mike Woodson, let the winning and joking begin.
"I think Coach Woodson's perfect at this time," he says. "He's going to bring in others who had the same passion (for IU basketball) as he did."
And then …
"The passion for basketball (at Indiana) is unlike any other place in the world."
Passion gets Zoom exposure. During his media session, humor comes faster than a Robin Williams monologue, often at his own expense.
He's "bummed out" that Opie Taylors, once a Bloomington hamburger staple, has closed, but is ready to take full advantage of IU's free food options.
"I'm looking forward to mooching off the program a lot. I've been known to forget my wallet a time or two when it comes time to go to dinner. I'm cheap and have alligator arms and pray to God every time that someone foots the bill."
Fife is OK with brainwashing his kids (currently Michigan State fans) into Hoosier supporters.
Fife mixes humor with truth. He makes it fun, because it should be. Of course you have to win, and few players were more fiercely driven to do that, but you need laughter along the way.
Grim winning won't last. Not in this 21st century era when nothing is sure except social media uproar is here to stay.
Fife has returned to his Hoosier roots to help Woodson reconnect with the program's glory days and former players and coaches.
"I think we'll mend a lot of fences just by virtue of Coach Woodson being here," he says.
Fife will push to make visiting Hoosier towns such as New Castle (once the home of former Hoosier legends Kent Benson and Steve Alford) part of the process, even as the bottom-line goal of winning remains firm.
It starts with great players. Fife says he will learn to recruit to Woodson's style, just as he did under Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.
"I've got to figure out what type of players work best with him."
In so many ways, the Woodson approach is the Izzo approach -- defend and rebound as if your next five meals depend on it.
"Coach Woodson has said that's got to be a staple here," Fife says. "We're going to take it to another level, Lord willing. You have to defend, come up with loose balls and control possessions when it matters."
Last month's coaching changes set Fife's plan to return to Indiana in motion even though, he says, he was "working for one of the best to ever do it." He wants to be a head coach, and Indiana tops his wish list.
"I made no bones about it. Coach Izzo has always known coaching at Indiana was my dream"
He also told Izzo he'd consider returning to IU as an assistant coach if the new head coach was a former Hoosier whom he liked and respected.
Woodson nailed both of those.
"The great thing about him," Fife says, "is he doesn't have an ego. He should, but he doesn't."
Fife sees Cream and Crimson success in Cream and Crimson coaching terms.
"It requires someone who understands the beast that it is. I've always felt the Indiana basketball job should be held by someone who has played or spent a lot of time here."
That includes fellow assistant coach Kenya Hunter, who was retained from last year's staff. Fife got insight on Hunter from former Hoosier Michael Lewis, now a UCLA assistant coach. Lewis and Hunter worked together at Nebraska.
"If he's good with Michael, he's good with me," Fife says. "Kenya is going to be a great head coach someday."
Fife finds the addition of Thad Matta, the former big-time winning coach at Ohio State, Xavier and Butler, as associate athletic director for men's basketball a big plus.
"I was fired up to find out he's here. He's someone you can really learn from. He has been in the business and taken the hits."
Injuries to Joey Brunk and guard Armaan Franklin rocked IU last season, but didn't justify the season-ending six-game losing streak games that produced a 12-15 record and caused a coaching change.
Fife says the Hoosiers were a NCAA tourney quality team, and that the Spartans beat IU twice last season, "Because Rob Phinisee didn't hawk the ball like he usually does."
Is Fife jabbing the coaching needle just as Bob Knight once did to him?
Absolutely.
But Fife also mixes in praise.
"When I think about the toughness, the competitive feature that Indiana basketball should always have as it relates to this team, it's Rob Phinisee. We've got to get Rob back to being a NBA-type defender. He's that good."
Fife isn't done.
"(Phinisee is) the leader up front. That's your first line of defense, and if his mind is elsewhere, your defense will struggle."
Fife will push, and that's as it should be. He says Phinisee should be the Big Ten's best defender and is, in fact, a NBA-caliber defender. He says forward Trayce Jackson-Davis should average 13-plus rebounds a game next season, four more than he averaged during an All-America sophomore season.
Realistic? Absolutely. Challenging? Anything worth doing is.
As for Phinisee's inconsistent shooting (he shot a career-low 34.7 percent from the field, 26.0 percent from three-point range last season), Fife has a plan, and if it reeks of movie mystique, stay out of his way.
"Stella figured out how to get her groove back," Fife says. "We've got to figure out how to get Rob Phinisee's groove back."
Who's Stella?
We'll get back to you.
As a player, Fife was a ferocious defender (his 180 career steals remain the IU record two decades after he played) who for three IU seasons lost his offensive way (he was a big-time high school scorer while earning Michigan Mr. Basketball honors) before regaining it as a senior, when he shot 47.8 percent from the field and made 53 three-pointers
Fife says he nearly transferred to Michigan State after Knight was fired in September of 2000, but stayed because Mike Davis and John Treloar were retained as coaches, and because of teammates' support.
The result -- a NCAA tourney appearance as a junior with Davis as the head coach, and then a national championship game appearance as a senior.
After two years as an administrative assistant under Davis, he followed in father Dan's coaching footsteps (the elder Fife was a big-time Michigan high school winner), but at the college level.
Fife coached at IPFW for six seasons, turning a struggling program recently elevated to NCAA Division I status into a winner by his final two years, going 34-27, including 18-12 in his final season.
Then came 10 years under Izzo, one of America's best coaches. The run included four Big Ten titles.
Now it's Woodson, who has won at the NBA level as a head coach and as an assistant coach.
"I've been in a couple of meetings where he's taught X's and O's," Fife says, "and it's fascinating how advanced it is at that (NBA) level. On the flipside, we get more primitive in college basketball.
"There's going to be a lot of blending. It's going to be a perfect scenario for our players."
And that's no joke.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Dane Fife will leave you laughing.
Did you expect anything less?
He will coach as he played, driven to break an opponent's will.
Would you want it any other way?
As for the big picture, Fife played on Indiana's last Final Four team (the remarkable 2002 national title-game run), coached on two Final Four squads as a Michigan State assistant, and plans on helping bring a sixth national championship banner to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
"Indiana is a special place," he says via Tuesday morning Zoom opportunity.
Now that Fife is the Hoosiers associate head coach under Mike Woodson, let the winning and joking begin.
"I think Coach Woodson's perfect at this time," he says. "He's going to bring in others who had the same passion (for IU basketball) as he did."
And then …
"The passion for basketball (at Indiana) is unlike any other place in the world."
Passion gets Zoom exposure. During his media session, humor comes faster than a Robin Williams monologue, often at his own expense.
He's "bummed out" that Opie Taylors, once a Bloomington hamburger staple, has closed, but is ready to take full advantage of IU's free food options.
"I'm looking forward to mooching off the program a lot. I've been known to forget my wallet a time or two when it comes time to go to dinner. I'm cheap and have alligator arms and pray to God every time that someone foots the bill."
Fife is OK with brainwashing his kids (currently Michigan State fans) into Hoosier supporters.
Fife mixes humor with truth. He makes it fun, because it should be. Of course you have to win, and few players were more fiercely driven to do that, but you need laughter along the way.
Grim winning won't last. Not in this 21st century era when nothing is sure except social media uproar is here to stay.
Fife has returned to his Hoosier roots to help Woodson reconnect with the program's glory days and former players and coaches.
"I think we'll mend a lot of fences just by virtue of Coach Woodson being here," he says.
Fife will push to make visiting Hoosier towns such as New Castle (once the home of former Hoosier legends Kent Benson and Steve Alford) part of the process, even as the bottom-line goal of winning remains firm.
It starts with great players. Fife says he will learn to recruit to Woodson's style, just as he did under Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.
"I've got to figure out what type of players work best with him."
In so many ways, the Woodson approach is the Izzo approach -- defend and rebound as if your next five meals depend on it.
"Coach Woodson has said that's got to be a staple here," Fife says. "We're going to take it to another level, Lord willing. You have to defend, come up with loose balls and control possessions when it matters."
Last month's coaching changes set Fife's plan to return to Indiana in motion even though, he says, he was "working for one of the best to ever do it." He wants to be a head coach, and Indiana tops his wish list.
"I made no bones about it. Coach Izzo has always known coaching at Indiana was my dream"
He also told Izzo he'd consider returning to IU as an assistant coach if the new head coach was a former Hoosier whom he liked and respected.
Woodson nailed both of those.
"The great thing about him," Fife says, "is he doesn't have an ego. He should, but he doesn't."
Fife sees Cream and Crimson success in Cream and Crimson coaching terms.
"It requires someone who understands the beast that it is. I've always felt the Indiana basketball job should be held by someone who has played or spent a lot of time here."
That includes fellow assistant coach Kenya Hunter, who was retained from last year's staff. Fife got insight on Hunter from former Hoosier Michael Lewis, now a UCLA assistant coach. Lewis and Hunter worked together at Nebraska.
"If he's good with Michael, he's good with me," Fife says. "Kenya is going to be a great head coach someday."
Fife finds the addition of Thad Matta, the former big-time winning coach at Ohio State, Xavier and Butler, as associate athletic director for men's basketball a big plus.
"I was fired up to find out he's here. He's someone you can really learn from. He has been in the business and taken the hits."
Injuries to Joey Brunk and guard Armaan Franklin rocked IU last season, but didn't justify the season-ending six-game losing streak games that produced a 12-15 record and caused a coaching change.
Fife says the Hoosiers were a NCAA tourney quality team, and that the Spartans beat IU twice last season, "Because Rob Phinisee didn't hawk the ball like he usually does."
Is Fife jabbing the coaching needle just as Bob Knight once did to him?
Absolutely.
But Fife also mixes in praise.
"When I think about the toughness, the competitive feature that Indiana basketball should always have as it relates to this team, it's Rob Phinisee. We've got to get Rob back to being a NBA-type defender. He's that good."
Fife isn't done.
"(Phinisee is) the leader up front. That's your first line of defense, and if his mind is elsewhere, your defense will struggle."
Fife will push, and that's as it should be. He says Phinisee should be the Big Ten's best defender and is, in fact, a NBA-caliber defender. He says forward Trayce Jackson-Davis should average 13-plus rebounds a game next season, four more than he averaged during an All-America sophomore season.
Realistic? Absolutely. Challenging? Anything worth doing is.
As for Phinisee's inconsistent shooting (he shot a career-low 34.7 percent from the field, 26.0 percent from three-point range last season), Fife has a plan, and if it reeks of movie mystique, stay out of his way.
"Stella figured out how to get her groove back," Fife says. "We've got to figure out how to get Rob Phinisee's groove back."
Who's Stella?
We'll get back to you.
As a player, Fife was a ferocious defender (his 180 career steals remain the IU record two decades after he played) who for three IU seasons lost his offensive way (he was a big-time high school scorer while earning Michigan Mr. Basketball honors) before regaining it as a senior, when he shot 47.8 percent from the field and made 53 three-pointers
Fife says he nearly transferred to Michigan State after Knight was fired in September of 2000, but stayed because Mike Davis and John Treloar were retained as coaches, and because of teammates' support.
The result -- a NCAA tourney appearance as a junior with Davis as the head coach, and then a national championship game appearance as a senior.
After two years as an administrative assistant under Davis, he followed in father Dan's coaching footsteps (the elder Fife was a big-time Michigan high school winner), but at the college level.
Fife coached at IPFW for six seasons, turning a struggling program recently elevated to NCAA Division I status into a winner by his final two years, going 34-27, including 18-12 in his final season.
Then came 10 years under Izzo, one of America's best coaches. The run included four Big Ten titles.
Now it's Woodson, who has won at the NBA level as a head coach and as an assistant coach.
"I've been in a couple of meetings where he's taught X's and O's," Fife says, "and it's fascinating how advanced it is at that (NBA) level. On the flipside, we get more primitive in college basketball.
"There's going to be a lot of blending. It's going to be a perfect scenario for our players."
And that's no joke.
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