I have bad news for you, that sums up my opinion almost exactly. So which one of us is wrong?
His age is important. He will be the strong mental influence on the minds of young college kids that Crean or Miller never could pull off. For those who need it, he will be a strong father figure. He was kinda of a shoulder shrug for me when speculation about him first came up, Post announcement links I found tells me he commands respect from, by, and among the players. He gives it in return. That will show up in the style of play which will be more disciplined. He likes to coach defense. Wonder where that comes from. Don’t know if this will bring a string of final four appearances, but I think IU will be a strong conference presence.
Bingo.
My sentiments, exactly! I checked the second box, but after a lot of thought, I like the hire with the Matta pipeline to steer MW on the right recruiting path. And witnessing how well former NBA player Juwan Howard's UM team looked yesterday displaying outstanding teamwork and precision passing, it inspired me to give the "IU" guy a fighting chance. Of course, Howard has the talent that IU doesn't, but, hopefully, that could very well change for the better. Hell, this is what? The sixth coach (if you count Jockitch as interim) since RMK's firing over 20 years ago. Maybe IU has found a diamond in the rough. I loved Woodson as a player and support his hiring.
This will be Woodson's team...his vision. I see Matta as helping with the initial administrative garbage and helping Woody with the discussion of what players are available to help create Woodson's team in the short term and by leveraging his contacts. Matta will be extremely valuable in those capacities.
More in line with...how he wants the team to be put together. How he wants to play. And yes, I understand your comment.
I seem to get the urge to want to duplicate that "game" face reset everytime I shave.
Except that he isn't allowed contact with recruits or coaches. I fugure though that his rolodex of coaching contacts will be huge for Mike to tap into.
Matta will also be a big help to Woody just acclimating him to the minutia of NCAA rules and compliance bullshit -- who can talk to who when and about what, all that nonsense that Woody won't have a clue about. Sure, we have a compliance staff, but I suspect they're more administrative and reactionary than anything else. Matta can keep Woody from making innocent mistakes. They're going to happen -- they always do, everywhere -- but Thad should help keep them to a minimum. Too many minor infractions can add up and get you into hot water.
Not sure how you pulled this off but literally everything you said here is wrong. Is Googling the facts before you throw out a novel of drivel really that hard? Sheesh
Merge camps 3 and 5 and it's close to where I stand. The "different approach" part includes bringing in Matta to be Woody's liaison to today's college game and the NCAA. That could turn out to be a stroke of genius.
I've moved to cautious optimism b/c we've been like Charlie Brown and the football the last 20 years. Dolson is putting his neck out there. Matta has something to prove and Woodson clearly understands what Indiana basketball means to an awful lot of people and appears like he WANTS that responsibility.
Does no one watch horror movies, never say it can't get worse
.Fife was the last I closely followed IU basketball. So much respect for him as an athlete. The guy was a blue chip who failed miserably to live up to his expectation, but busted his ass year after year to become a great defender (no glory in that) and got his shot to come around by the time he left to be a complete player. Perfect mold. Great example
I have no idea how much he's contributed to the MSU program's success, but I doubt Izzo would have kept him around as long as he has without thinking he brought a lot of value. We'll see how it works out in Bloomington. One has to believe that the head coach position is something he is looking for in the future.
i'll also add that given the circumstances i don't think this AD could have done a better job. on all fronts. iu fans should be over the moon. way more entertaining than miller
Some of the nutters were ready to pillary Dolson for not landing Stevens (or Beard or Drew or whoever), but they've been quiet recently. Given the circumstances, I think Dolson could end up in the IU Hall of Fame. (Or, he could be run out of town on a rail.) Bringing Matta onboard in an advisory/overseer position was genius. Of course, Miller was supposed to be the home run hire four years ago, so we'll just have to see. I'm optimistic we'll be back on top of the college basketball scene for a number of years.
The Fife coup clinched it for me.
I never claimed to know enough to have an opinion. But those I respected (and who obviously know much much more about the game than I do) thought it was a great hire.
