Mike Davis or Mike Woodson

[GeorgeStrait IU]

who is the better coach?
Both walked into stud interior players. MD when getting his players?
Davis: was able to land DJ White, Robert Vaden & Marco Killingsworth typle players.
(Had DJ not broke his foot twice in 05-06, that 19-12 9-7 team could have easily been 22-9 11-5 or a pinch begter conference keeping him. No NIL)

And we've seen what Woodson has done in year 3 and this season withe caliber of players snd pocket book? Wash? Atleast Davis made the right decision in 05-06 in February to relieve pressue.

Woodson should be at IUPUI or watever they are now. .
Both coaches walked into enough talent for their first two seasons.

 

[SBow]

I never thought we should have let David go. IMO he was the best we have had but maybe there was some reason that I am not aware of. I never understood why we moved from him.

 

[SBow]

Davis had better assistants..

Don’t say that or someone will be saying in a week or so that we need to keep Woody and just get him better assistants. This is the typical football HC move. Always have someone below you that the blame can fall on.

 

[Warison]

I never thought we should have let David go. IMO he was the best we have had but maybe there was some reason that I am not aware of. I never understood why we moved from him.

Here, let me remind you…

He went 15-14 one year then followed that up with 14-15.

He called in sick for the Iowa game.

He let Bracey Wright shoot free throws from like the 3 pt line.

He went full on rhatard and started doing some kind of chicken dance at the end of the Kentucky game.

I’m sure there’s more that I’ve tried to erase from my memory but he was a better coach than Woodson.

 

[ulrey]

Don’t say that or someone will be saying in a week or so that we need to keep Woody and just get him better assistants. This is the typical football HC move. Always have someone below you that the blame can fall on.

I deleted it.

 

[GeorgeStrait IU]

Here, let me remind you…

He went 15-14 one year then followed that up with 14-15.

He called in sick for the Iowa game.

He let Bracey Wright shoot free throws from like the 3 pt line.

He went full on rhatard and started doing some kind of chicken dance at the end of the Kentucky game.

I’m sure there’s more that I’ve tried to erase from my memory but he was a better coach than Woodson.

Ummm.. It was 14-15 and then 15-14
lmao. I get ya.

I will say that 15-14 team, startimg out 2-6?? Davis did a helluva job to finish 10-6 in confefence. Take away that Brendan Plavich half court heave and that quarterfinal win over Minnesota, they would have slipped in the dance. 10-6 couldnt
make the ncaa's but Bowlsby and his 7-9 Hawkeyes sure made it. Easier non conference season (Minnesota's was a joke) and 15-14 10-6 could have been 18 dubs entering conference tourney.

 

[Kelly_32]

Davis actually gave a shit which makes him a better coach than Woodson.

 

[GThomas]

Woody is the worst post-Knight coach. (Yes, even worse than Archie.)

The Notorious BIGfoot is the king of doing less with more.

 

[bsmitty08]

who is the better coach?
Both walked into stud interior players. MD when getting his players?
Davis: was able to land DJ White, Robert Vaden & Marco Killingsworth typle players.
(Had DJ not broke his foot twice in 05-06, that 19-12 9-7 team could have easily been 22-9 11-5 or a pinch begter conference keeping him. No NIL)

And we've seen what Woodson has done in year 3 and this season withe caliber of players snd pocket book? Wash? Atleast Davis made the right decision in 05-06 in February to relieve pressue.

Woodson should be at IUPUI or watever they are now. .
Both coaches walked into enough talent for their first two seasons.

Woody makes Crean look like Dean Smith

 

[Chicago-bound Hoosier]

Death by hanging or death by firing squad. Both produce the same result.

 

[Bucket Getter]

Davis cared. End of story.

 

[kmathum]

Davis cared. End of story.

Davis was better. But one thing they both have in common, neither was remotely qualified for the job.

 

[VanPastorMan]

Davis actually gave a shit which makes him a better coach than Woodson.

Davis has said that he was in over his head being the HC of IU. Woodson on the other hand thinks he is above IU. Now that last part might not be fair but it's what I think whether it is right or wrong.

 

[Bucket Getter]

Here, let me remind you…

He went 15-14 one year then followed that up with 14-15.

He called in sick for the Iowa game.

He let Bracey Wright shoot free throws from like the 3 pt line.

He went full on rhatard and started doing some kind of chicken dance at the end of the Kentucky game.

I’m sure there’s more that I’ve tried to erase from my memory but he was a better coach than Woodson.

Anyone got a clip of the chicken dance? I’d kinda forgotten about that one.

 

[VanPastorMan]

who is the better coach?
Both walked into stud interior players. MD when getting his players?
Davis: was able to land DJ White, Robert Vaden & Marco Killingsworth typle players.
(Had DJ not broke his foot twice in 05-06, that 19-12 9-7 team could have easily been 22-9 11-5 or a pinch begter conference keeping him. No NIL)

And we've seen what Woodson has done in year 3 and this season withe caliber of players snd pocket book? Wash? Atleast Davis made the right decision in 05-06 in February to relieve pressue.

Woodson should be at IUPUI or watever they are now. .
Both coaches walked into enough talent for their first two seasons.

I would say Crean was a better coach because of what he started with. At times we were #1 in the country after some years before starting walk ons and some freshmen who probably shouldn' t have been at IU.

 

[kkott]

Here, let me remind you…

He went 15-14 one year then followed that up with 14-15.

He called in sick for the Iowa game.

He let Bracey Wright shoot free throws from like the 3 pt line.

He went full on rhatard and started doing some kind of chicken dance at the end of the Kentucky game.

I’m sure there’s more that I’ve tried to erase from my memory but he was a better coach than Woodson.

Didn't he also send a recruiting letter with the wrong name on it?

 

[Warison]

Yes! Sent Mike Conley a Kansas recruiting letter. Forget the Kansas players name.

It’s all coming back to me now. When he lost Oden and Conley to OSU his days were numbered.

And the year he started 2-6, it was 6 non conference games in a row he lost.

And….. he was still better than Woodson.

Woodson is Scott Frost. Just a tremendous bad hire.

 

[Warison]

The irony about Mike Davis is he screamed proudly about being the 4 seed in the BIG tournament. We mocked him for that.

When we the last time we were a 4 seed or higher in the BIG tournament?

Unreal…

 

[abraxis]

Davis actually gave a shit which makes him a better coach than Woodson.

Davis certainly left a masterpiece of sh*t the night he was afraid to come out of his basement, calling in “sick” 45 min before the Iowa game. Hopefully, he’s since received expert counseling.

 

[frikkenfrakken]

The irony about Mike Davis is he screamed proudly about being the 4 seed in the BIG tournament. We mocked him for that.

When we the last time we were a 4 seed or higher in the BIG tournament?

Unreal…

It was less than 2 years ago. Under Woodson.

 

[13thman]

The irony about Mike Davis is he screamed proudly about being the 4 seed in the BIG tournament. We mocked him for that.

When we the last time we were a 4 seed or higher in the BIG tournament?

Unreal…

2 yrs ago

 

[ams66]

Davis certainly left a masterpiece of sh*t the night he was afraid to come out of his basement, calling in “sick” 45 min before the Iowa game. Hopefully, he’s since received expert counseling.

He may have had an undiagnosed anxiety disorder at the time but the weird thing about that is he worked for Knight. Can’t image that was a relaxing job.

 

[abraxis]

He may have had an undiagnosed anxiety disorder at the time but the weird thing about that is he worked for Knight. Can’t image that was a relaxing job.

Well, the old saying is, “If you can’t stand the heat…” Mike’s “kitchen” was Assembly Hall.

The really weird thing about Mike having worked for Knight is he admitted never understanding the motion offense. Was it too complex for the simple mind? Did he have a comprehension problem, some learning disability in addition to anxiety disorder?

The thing of it was, many IU fans had grown tired of the stogie motion offense, just as they had tired of Knight. They thought the offense had become outdated, not the style of high school stars with run and gun NBA aspirations. For this reason, his incredulous statement was dismissed, forgiven, but not forgotten by people like me.

 

[Harpo Marxist]

Mike Davis beat Duke....and went to the championship game. Woodson isn't even in the same zip code. And while both were bad hires....Woodson is an atrocious if not malicious hire.

 

[kkott]

It was less than 2 years ago. Under Woodson.

wasn't that the year we finished "tied" for 2nd with NW, but like 5 games behind PU? Oh yeah, and NW swept us of course. I can understand why you'd not think we were top 4.

 

[frikkenfrakken]

wasn't that the year we finished "tied" for 2nd with NW, but like 5 games behind PU? Oh yeah, and NW swept us of course. I can understand why you'd not think we were top 4.

Yes. We were the 3 seed. 3 games back of Purdue, while also sweeping them, I think.

Yes, I can too. Everyone craps on Woodson so much that it's easy to forget anything positive.

And before everyone jumps on me, no, I'm not saying we should keep Woodson.

 

[Carib04]

So do you want to be shot or hanged is the choice? Davis being shot. Woodson being hanged. In this case, being shot would be quicker and more humane. Hanging, too many things to go wrong that end in a gruesome scene beyond, well you know death I suppose. So Davis it is. The idea is a MMF festival, you know IU will be F'd both ways.

 

[kkott]

Yes. We were the 3 seed. 3 games back of Purdue, while also sweeping them, I think.

Yes, I can too. Everyone craps on Woodson so much that it's easy to forget anything positive.

And before everyone jumps on me, no, I'm not saying we should keep Woodson.

I'm not sure sharing facts and opinions on how we play is "crapping on Woodson". I always go back to what he said his goals were in coming to IU: "to compete for Big 10 and national titles". That was probably his best B10 finish but we were so far back the whole year, I still don't think we "competed for the B10 title", despite nominally finishing second. In your opinion did we compete for the B10 title that year? Have we ever competed for a national title, or even been relevant on the national scene? Are we on an arc to do either in the future? Is that crapping on him?

 

[dbmhoosier]

Davis. Not even a conversation.

 

[wi_hoosier]

Here, let me remind you…

He went 15-14 one year then followed that up with 14-15.

He called in sick for the Iowa game.

He let Bracey Wright shoot free throws from like the 3 pt line.

He went full on rhatard and started doing some kind of chicken dance at the end of the Kentucky game.

I’m sure there’s more that I’ve tried to erase from my memory but he was a better coach than Woodson.

Davis' stellar coaching performances after leaving Indiana should tell someone all they need to know about his coaching acumen. SMH

 

[SRIV94]

Ummm.. It was 14-15 and then 15-14
lmao. I get ya.

I will say that 15-14 team, startimg out 2-6?? Davis did a helluva job to finish 10-6 in confefence. Take away that Brendan Plavich half court heave and that quarterfinal win over Minnesota, they would have slipped in the dance. 10-6 couldnt
make the ncaa's but Bowlsby and his 7-9 Hawkeyes sure made it. Easier non conference season (Minnesota's was a joke) and 15-14 10-6 could have been 18 dubs entering conference tourney.

A few problems—losing to ND, MIZ and NW didn’t help matters. Nor did going something like 3-9 against the tournament field.

We didn’t belong. A lot of empty wins in that 10-6.

 

[TR32]

Worst offensive coach- Davis ,
although Archie was bad. Davis had those 2 memorable seasons of total stagnation.

Worst defensive coach- Crean (299th in points allowed one year)
Worst recruiter- Archie
Least prepared- Woodson
Worst human- Sampson
Worst at building a program-Woodson
Worst at keeping players-Crean
Worst at maintaining a good culture- Sampson
Worst at drawing up a last second play- Davis
Worst non-Indiana record....

Let's break this down. This is where things amaze.

Mike Davis, as a college basketball coach is 297-281 = 51% winning. Proving 2 things- the man loves basketball, and he's not a good coach.

Tom Crean, as a college basketball coach outside of IU is 237-171= 59%. Proving 2 things- he wins when he has future NBA all stars who are upper classmen, and otherwise he doesn't win.
Archie Miller, as a college coach outside of IU is- 175-111 = 61%. Proves he had no business coaching Indiana, but he may be a decent mid major coach

Mike Woodson- NBA vs college is not a good comparison because pro coaches don't have great records, they just win playoff games. Even Gregg Popovich was only 0.625. But Mike Woodson coaches this way in college (without the playoff wins). He rolls into February at only 6-4 in conference with 2 NBA players, and compared to first year Big conference coach Dusty May, he has accomplished nothing in 4 years that May isn't doing in his first.
Mike Woodson is 77-48 =61.6%. But here's the thing, He is doing that with NIL and NBA talent. Could you imagine who Davis could have brought in in 2003 with NIL money....or salesman Crean? I'll give Mike a big advantage over Archie in this department, but the bottom line is he isn't winning consistently with all the resources.

These numbers are abysmal. Bob Knight won 64.5% of his games at Army and Texas Tech without any resources. He resurrected TTU and took them to a S16 in year 4, averaging 23 wins per game in those seasons, at a time when people were saying "the game had passed him by". Sampson, as we know, has done very well outside of IU.

Indiana needs a coach who will win above 0.70 at Indiana and will win at least a Big Ten title every 4 seasons and/or have regular runs in the tourney like Beilein did.
Our biggest competitor, Matt Painter has averaged 6 losses per year the past 4 seasons. Woodson has 6 Big Ten losses, this season already. Indiana is not where they need to be.

Last 9 seasons? Fran McCaffrey 175 wins. Indiana 162 wins.

 

[IUNorth]

Ranking the coaches since RMK…

1. Sampson

A fall off to number 2 about as deep as the Marianas Trench.

2. Crean

Another sizable drop.

3. Davis
4. Archie
5. Woodson
6. Dakich - The coach that technically did the least with the most talent.

 

[steelyvan]

Ranking the coaches since RMK…

1. Sampson

A fall off to number 2 about as deep as the Marianas Trench.

2. Crean

Another sizable drop.

3. Davis
4. Archie
5. Woodson
6. Dakich - The coach that technically did the least with the most talent.

weird to think about: if you can suppress the distaste for DD the radio guy, would we have been a better program had we retained him as head coach?

 

[GeorgeStrait IU]

p

weird to think about: if you can suppress the distaste for DD the radio guy, would we have been a better program had we retained him as head coach?

No. He was meant for horizon league. Could have done well there. He had sucess with Keith McCloud at BG one or two seasons.

 

[IUNorth]

weird to think about: if you can suppress the distaste for DD the radio guy, would we have been a better program had we retained him as head coach?

No. Crean was the right guy for the time and situation. Might be the only hire they got “right” since RMK. They just kept him a couple years too many, in my opinion.

 

[ams66]

Yes. We were the 3 seed. 3 games back of Purdue, while also sweeping them, I think.

Yes, I can too. Everyone craps on Woodson so much that it's easy to forget anything positive.

And before everyone jumps on me, no, I'm not saying we should keep Woodson.

The sweep of Purdue in 2023 was nice. Probably the high point of Woodson's career here.

 

[TR32]

No. Crean was the right guy for the time and situation. Might be the only hire they got “right” since RMK. They just kept him a couple years too many, in my opinion.

Should have dropped him after the 2015 season and picked up Gregg Marshall.

 

[steelyvan]

No. Crean was the right guy for the time and situation. Might be the only hire they got “right” since RMK. They just kept him a couple years too many, in my opinion.

im not anti-Crean. after all, he created the scenario of the Wat Shot and one of the best AH memories. But take Dwayne Wade out of his history and would IU have hired him? maybe. maybe not. but DD might have produced a better program over the years than what we have endured. especially recently. we will never know.