Indiana hires Mike Woodson as new head coach, Thad Matta as associate athletic director in charge of men’s basketball

Indiana is in the process of hiring New York Knicks assistant coach and former IU All-American Mike Woodson to be its new head coach and former Ohio State, Xavier and Butler head coach Thad Matta to be an associate athletic director in charge of men’s basketball, an IU athletic department source confirmed to The Daily Hoosier on Sunday.

The two pieces of news were originally reported by several other sources, including Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star, Rick Bozich of WDRB and Jon Rothstein of CBS sports.

Woodson starred at Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis and Indiana, scoring 2,062 points in his IU career and earning second-team All-America honors in 1980 when the Hoosiers won the Big Ten and reached the Sweet 16. He spent 10 years in the NBA and began his coaching career as a Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach in 1996. He’s been coaching in the league ever since and was head coach with the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-10 and the New York Knicks from 2012-14. He led the Hawks to the playoffs three times and the Knicks to the playoffs twice.

Matta played his college basketball at Butler and took the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in his lone season as head coach there in 2000-01. He was head coach at Xavier from 2001-04 and then Ohio State from 2004-17 where he led the Buckeyes to the 2007 national championship game, two Final Fours, five Big Ten regular season championships and four Big Ten tournament titles. He left coaching in 2017 due to continued complications from a back surgery years earlier.

UPDATE: Indiana has formally announced the hire of Woodson:

Welcome home, Coach Woodson. pic.twitter.com/jrIeKcYawR

— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) March 28, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

UPDATE: Indiana confirmed the hires of both Woodson and Matta through a press release. It follows:

Former Hoosier All-American Mike Woodson Named 30^th Men’s Basketball Coach at Indiana University

Indiana University Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Dolson has named former Hoosier All-American and Indianapolis native Mike Woodson as the 30^th head coach in the men’s basketball program’s history.

Woodson returns to the Bloomington campus with vast experiences and knowledge after playing in the NBA for 11 seasons beginning in 1980 and serving as a coach in the league beginning in 1996 for seven NBA franchises, including nine years combined as a head coach with the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks.  He was currently serving as an assistant coach with the Knicks.

Woodson was the 1980 Big Ten Player of the Year and NABC All-American as a senior in leading the Hoosiers to a conference title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen.  Despite undergoing back surgery in December and missing seven weeks, he was honored as the Chicago Tribune’s Silver Basketball Award Winner following the season.

In addition, Dolson has announced that former Ohio State Coach Thad Matta will join the athletic department in the newly created position of Associate Athletic Director for Basketball Administration.

Scott Dolson On Mike Woodson

“This is a great day and a great fit for Indiana Basketball. Throughout this process, I was looking for someone I could partner with to return Indiana Basketball to a level of success that Hoosier fans have come to know and expect, and Mike is that person.”

“During the last two weeks, I have spoken with numerous individuals at the college and NBA levels, and they were unanimous in their support of and respect for Mike. From his ability in terms of X’s and O’s to his skill at building relationships and developing players, his reputation is outstanding. As a coach, he’s succeeded at the highest levels of the NBA, and he’s mentored some of the game’s all-time great players. On top of all of that, as one of our program’s legendary players, Mike certainly gives us a bridge to our past. But more important than what he did as a former Hoosier player, he’s someone who shares my vision for what Indiana Basketball is about, and I’m thrilled about what this day means for our program.”

UPDATE: Before Woodson’s introductory press conference on Monday, Indiana put out a longer release on Woodson’s career. It follows.

More Mike Woodson

As head coach of the New York KnicksKnicks, Woodson guided his 2012-13 Atlantic Division Champions to their first appearance in the Eastern Conference semifinals since 2000 and finished his tenure as New York’s coach with a record of 109-79 (.680). As an NBA head coach with Atlanta (2004-2010) and New York (2011-2014), Woodson saw his teams compile two 50-plus win seasons including a personal high of 54 victories during the 2012-13 season with the Knicks. Woodson joined the Knicks staff following six seasons as head coach of the Hawks, where he guided the Hawks to the NBA Playoffs in each of his last three seasons (including 2007-08, ending Atlanta’s eight-year Playoff drought), and into the Eastern Conference Semifinals in his last two seasons. In the Playoffs, he piloted the Hawks to back-to-back Game 7 wins in the first round over Miami in 2009 and Milwaukee in 2010.

Before joining the Hawks, Woodson served for one season (2003-04) as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, where he earned an NBA Championship ring as one of the chief architects behind Detroit’s suffocating defense that helped lift the Pistons to the 2004 NBA title. Prior to his six years at the helm of the Hawks, Woodson logged eight seasons as an assistant coach with Milwaukee (1996-97 through 1998-99), Cleveland (1999-2000 through 2000-01), Philadelphia (2001-02 through 2002-03) and Detroit (2003-04).

Among the All-Stars he’s mentored are Ray Allen (Milwaukee Bucks), Kenny Anderson (Atlanta Hawks), Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks), Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons), Sam Cassell (Milwaukee Bucks), Derrick Coleman (Philadelphia 76ers), Baron Davis (New York Knicks), Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers), Richard Hamilton (Detroit Pistons), Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks), Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers), Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks), DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers), Shawn Kemp (Cleveland Cavaliers), Jason Kidd (New York Knicks), Kenyon Martin (New York Knicks), Dikembe Mutombo (Philadelphia 76ers), Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers), Paul Pierce (Los Angeles Clippers), Julius Randle (New York Knicks), Glenn Robinson (Milwaukee Bucks), Derrick Rose (New York Knicks), Amar’e Stoudemire (New York Knicks),  Antoine Walker (Atlanta Hawks), Ben Wallace (Detroit Pistons) and Rasheed Wallace (Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks).

As an assistant, he has worked for greats such as Chris Ford (Bucks), George Karl (Bucks), Larry Brown (76ers and Pistons), Mike D’Antoni (Knicks), Doc Rivers (Clippers), and Tom Thibodeau (Knicks).

The Knicks selected Woodson with the 12^th pick of the 1980 NBA Draft and he enjoyed an 11-year NBA playing career, averaging 14.0 points over 786 games for the Knicks (1980-81), New Jersey (1981-82), Kansas City/Sacramento (1981-82 through 1985-86), the LA Clippers (1986-87 through 1987-88), Houston (1988-89 through 1990-91) and Cleveland (1990-91). He scored a career-high 18.2 ppg with Kansas City in 1982-83. He also averaged 12.2 points in 13 career Playoff games over five post-seasons. Woodson’s NBA playing career began in 1980-81, when he averaged 4.7 points over 11.7 minutes in 81 contests with the Knicks.

He had the honor of playing for some of the most decorated coaches in league history including Red Holzman (Knicks) Larry Brown (Nets) Cotton Fitzsimmons(Kings); Gene Shue (Clippers), Don Chaney (Clippers and Rockets).

Woodson As A Hoosier
Woodson played 104 games for the Hoosiers after graduating in 1976 from Broad Ripple High School and is the fifth all-time leading scorer with 2,061 points and his 19.8 points per game average is tied (Calbert Cheaney) for the second highest by a Hoosier who played four seasons in college.  He averaged 21.0 points during his junior season and helped lead Indiana to an NIT Championship.  Woodson captained the USA’s Pan American Games team to a gold medal during the summer prior to his senior year and was all set to have a perfect season with the Hoosiers who were ranked No. 1 in the preseason of the 1979-80 campaign.  After five games, Woodson suffered a herniated disc in his back and had to undergo surgery.  Upon losing Woodson, the Hoosiers went 7-5 in the Big Ten until he returned to spark Indiana back into action.  IU finished the conference season with six straight victories and won the Big Ten title.  Woodson was the MVP after playing in only six league games that season.

About Mike Woodson
The 63-year old was born on Mar. 24, 1958 in Indianapolis.  At Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis, he averaged 28.6 points as a senior, scored 1,154 points in his career, and earned All-State honors while being a member of the Indiana All-Stars.  He was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Mike and his wife, Terri, have two daughters, Alexis and Mariah, who were volleyball players at Georgia Tech.  Alexis also played one season at IU.

Career                                            680          315      365          463      
Postseason Record                        46            18        28            .391

Coaching Timeline
1996–1999                                 Milwaukee Bucks (assistant)
1999–2001                                 Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant)
2001–2003                                 Philadelphia 76ers (assistant)
2003–2004                                 Detroit Pistons (assistant) • 2004 NBA CHAMPIONS
2004–2010                                 Atlanta Hawks (Head)
2011–2012                                 New York Knicks (assistant)
2012–2014                                 New York Knicks (Head)
2014–2018                                 Los Angeles Clippers (assistant)
2020–present                             New York Knicks (assistant)

As A Player