Quinn Buckner was on B1G This Morning on B1G Radio for a short segment. Here's what I heard.
What do you think about the program and conference?
QB - Indiana trying to get back to the top of the conf. If you can play consistently at the top, then you have the opportunity to contend for national championships. Realistically, Coach Knight was once in a lifetime.
As IU was going through process, curiosity about an Alum seemed to grow. How important was it it you?
QB - It was important to me. Not going to kid you about it. Juwan's success was a factor. If you've taken people thru the system, you should bring them back to share their experiences. Just like you do on the academic side. Woodson lived it and brings back additional experience at next level. A lot of that has eroded since Coach Knight. Sustained success is a long term process that take consistency and requires everyone to be on the same page.
What about Woodson's lack of college coaching experience?
QB - You're creating that narrative. Juwan has never coached. Mike has. This is not a HS coach moving up to college. Talks about Woodson coaching up ATL and the Knicks. People discard his playing and that's a mistake. Experience is experience. Not saying it won't be tough. People shouldn't discount what's there. Everyone has shortcomings and it's important to shore those up.
Fanbase expectations. Knight not likely to be repeated. Is that expectation still there?
QB - Managing expectations is really important. It takes time to get it back to where we were. Foundation is cracked and we need to fix it in order to start building on it. Really hard work for Knight and it will be for Mike. Mike knows that because he lived through it. Knight didn't allow distractions. Mike can't either. The IU program and it's fandom is in the fabric of the state. Acknowledges that there are other programs in the state, but overall it's IU. Drive anywhere in the state and you'll see IU flags and odds are they didn't go there.
How does Matta fit in related to shortcomings and how do you form a staff?
QB - Dolson is filling the gaps. Matta has been successful and is filling the gaps. Knowledge gap, nuances between college and pro. It's a really good idea. Relates it to his experience in Dallas. I didn't have someone sitting next to me saying have you considered this or that? That's valuable. There will be things that Mike has shortcomings with and this is how you give him help. It's just like a CEO of a company. He can't do everything, so have him work within his strengths and have other people work within their strengths.
Then they came back from break without QB and talked about where they disagreed on the differences between Juwan and Mike. I did like a point that they made about relating to younger guys. The NBA is full of young guys and Mike won't have any issues relating to young players. They also really liked the Matta hire as a way to address shortcomings.
What do you think about the program and conference?
QB - Indiana trying to get back to the top of the conf. If you can play consistently at the top, then you have the opportunity to contend for national championships. Realistically, Coach Knight was once in a lifetime.
As IU was going through process, curiosity about an Alum seemed to grow. How important was it it you?
QB - It was important to me. Not going to kid you about it. Juwan's success was a factor. If you've taken people thru the system, you should bring them back to share their experiences. Just like you do on the academic side. Woodson lived it and brings back additional experience at next level. A lot of that has eroded since Coach Knight. Sustained success is a long term process that take consistency and requires everyone to be on the same page.
What about Woodson's lack of college coaching experience?
QB - You're creating that narrative. Juwan has never coached. Mike has. This is not a HS coach moving up to college. Talks about Woodson coaching up ATL and the Knicks. People discard his playing and that's a mistake. Experience is experience. Not saying it won't be tough. People shouldn't discount what's there. Everyone has shortcomings and it's important to shore those up.
Fanbase expectations. Knight not likely to be repeated. Is that expectation still there?
QB - Managing expectations is really important. It takes time to get it back to where we were. Foundation is cracked and we need to fix it in order to start building on it. Really hard work for Knight and it will be for Mike. Mike knows that because he lived through it. Knight didn't allow distractions. Mike can't either. The IU program and it's fandom is in the fabric of the state. Acknowledges that there are other programs in the state, but overall it's IU. Drive anywhere in the state and you'll see IU flags and odds are they didn't go there.
How does Matta fit in related to shortcomings and how do you form a staff?
QB - Dolson is filling the gaps. Matta has been successful and is filling the gaps. Knowledge gap, nuances between college and pro. It's a really good idea. Relates it to his experience in Dallas. I didn't have someone sitting next to me saying have you considered this or that? That's valuable. There will be things that Mike has shortcomings with and this is how you give him help. It's just like a CEO of a company. He can't do everything, so have him work within his strengths and have other people work within their strengths.
Then they came back from break without QB and talked about where they disagreed on the differences between Juwan and Mike. I did like a point that they made about relating to younger guys. The NBA is full of young guys and Mike won't have any issues relating to young players. They also really liked the Matta hire as a way to address shortcomings.
