I find myself going conspiracy theory a bit with why Matta is on staff. He would have been a great outright hire and to a lesser extent, same with Fife for HC. I know you can rationalize it away with Dolson wanted somebody very experienced to guide/groom Woody and Fife, but it seems weird to me that Matta would want that job if he wanted any job and probably doesn't need one. He's like 5 years older than me and he looked that way 20 years ago, so I'm guessing his health is a legit concern for him and priority over coaching again. It still seems odd to me that he'd want a job at all. I suppose, maybe he was bored, and this isn't all that demanding, more like consigliore, but he's honestly not a ton older than Fife. I still like the triumvirate hire, but I'm starting to wonder what the grand scheme is or was that sold them all on this arrangement
The reasom for Matta?
- Thread starter go_iu
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This was an experiment from the start. Dolson banked on all of them being buddy-buddy but Woodson probably doesn’t like the fact that two “babysitters” were hired to help navigate and, in turn, Fife and Matta are probably thinking WTF is this setup where we have no input? It was another IU bungle at the AD level. It’s a history, a culture, of ineptitude.
Hiring assistants. Giving out ludicrous extensions. Bring in senior citizens with no college coaching experience. The thought process there over the years has been nothing short of jaw-dropping.
that could be. I can't imagine Woodson saw something that just needed better coaching in our roster. If he just agreed to start the ship and be back in Btown, build a house, and retire in a few, I could definitely see that, be friends with Bobby down the block.
Matta confuses me, he's not that old and why would he want this over an analyst position at the tourney or the like? He might have big med expenses maybe, it just seems odd that he'd want that kind of role. I think there's something going on there and maybe it was agreed to, like let Woody be the fall guy and bring back tradition and fan base, and as soon as Thad's back is back, let's win a few years, and then when Thad does that, Fife is ready. I realize that's insane speculation, but a lot of these people think insane. This one doesn't bother me so bad if I'm right, it's maybe a PR and fan friendly transition
Good fricken lord. He is a great basketball mind and wanted to get back into the game. He wants to be an AD but had no experience. This is a stepping stone job for him. We needed experience and help. He’s not getting back into coaching and Woody isn’t a fall guy.🤣🤦🏻
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Our #1 assistant appears to be the Director of Basketball Administration (I believe the guy with his butt planted right next to Woodson every game is Armond Hill). It does not matter what college guys they forced on Woodson, his #1 is a former NBA assistant. Fife and Matta are here to offer opinions that are not going to be truly heard IMO. If they were, that platoon, NBA substitution shit would have been strangled to death early on.
So was the Archie hire a jaw-dropping screw up? You and all the experts said it was a great hire. Remember that you were among Archie's biggest supporters. I seem to recall talk of a local reality show featuring the Bromance between the two of you. Of course that show never materialized because Archie crashed and burned.
looking back now, yeah obviously CAM hiring was a disaster for IU. I wasn't blown away by his hiring, but I'm still stunned by how badly he failed, and how miserable he looked being here, almost from the beginning.
CAM's hiring came in on the coattails of his bigger brother, Sean. at Arizona. We assumed he's be as good, if not better because IU is located in Indiana with their barnyard basketball hoops, not Arizona, home of stinging scorpions and Gila monsters.
Archie doesn't have anywhere near Sean's personality. He a classic introvert and was never going to succeed at a pressure cooker type job. Fred made a horrible decision.
I still remember IU fans here fawning over the Archie "Can't Miss" Miller hire. He always came across to me as being "uptight". Of course, I always thought the same of Duke's coach, K. Fred Glass should have worked harder at "Making His Own Luck" Something tells me there won't ever be a second printing in the works, no more Borders book signings. Archie Miller is his legacy.
You might not be old enough to remember the McNeeley AD hiring-what an ass! He was worse than Fred Glass. Who calls the shots when hiring these clowns who then hire clown coaches? The clowns have spoken! Send OUT the clowns!
Yeah, he wasn't my first choice, but I doubt my first five choices would have come here. In retrospect it was a bad hire, but it was widely thought to be a great hire at the time among most news outlets. He was a hot commodity. OSU probably would have grabbed him had we not.
I don't know why the guy tanked so badly. Maybe he's more of a big fish little pond guy. Who knows?
Right now..There's very little separation between Miller and Woodson..imo
I'd say Woodson is worse with his substitution patterns...
Woodson doesn't have much to work with, and what he does have are players who tend to try to win games "Hero style". They don't seem inclined to work as a team. Watching Wisconsin, I see some very good, not great, players who work very well together. Teamwork is a fundamental personality trait that needs to be built into the IU team through better recruiting. That means you won't see a real "Woodson Team" for a couple years. I council patience, at least for two years.
One of the problems is that Woodson’s entire coaching experience is in an environment that encourages highlight reel one-on-one ball. I think what you see is what you’ll get on this one: a guy who requires 5 starters and 5 backups that are all dynamic playmakers. It won’t happen at Indiana. He’s not going to ever recruit at that level to run his “system”… whatever NBA style ball he’s trying to run here.
Oh so we should wait until he is 66 to find out if he is a quality coach or not. Makes sense.
He's more than an introvert. I recognize a personality disorder when I see one. Nothing against Archie, just an observation.
And damn you, Adam Herbert.
The time to get Matta was 2004. But no.
That alone is the biggest reason this program is forever farked. We'd have already hung Banner 6 with Oden and Conley, and the whole landscape of this program is set for the future.
Matta was the hire for HC until the physical. IU backed out and hired Woodson after they didn’t like what they saw. And threw Thad a bone for an easy job as consolation. Another monumental error by our administration.
Liar. IU wouldn’t hire him if he flunked a so called physical. Same risk regardless of job you doofus. Gtfoh.
What would make Fife a great hire? Is it his losing record at IPFW (82-97)? Or, is it because he was an assistant at Michigan State? After Crean, not sure I want a second head coach from the MSU coaching tree.
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I don't get the Fife hype either. I know he did well (relatively speaking) at IPFW, but that's hardly a parallel. To me he's just another guy who people loved as a player, so of course he should be the next coach. I don't see any other high major programs sniffing his bum.
The thing about the quiet ones is this...by the time you find out what it is they're thinking, its oftentimes too late. My second ex-wife was like that. She kept everything hidden inside. The steam coming out of her ears was a red flag that I missed. I'm colorblind to reds and greens, as many males are. Who knew!
Herbert was the one that stopped us from hiring Beilein. I heard it was nearly a done deal until Herbert was told by Greenspan that Beilein was white.
If Matta had to step down today it wouldn’t impact us at all. If Woodson did it would change the entire program. This is basic
See, my wife throws things when she is really mad. I make it my goal to not have her throw things or I better be good at ducking.
WTF are you talking about? I’m talking about injury/litigation risk. Matta didn’t fail a physical. If he did they would not have hired him. For coach, janitor or any other positions. It wouldn’t matter. It’s like any other business. He doesn’t want to coach, he wants to be an administrator of some sort.
Agree 100%. DF was a terrific defensive player at IU. The one strength this IU team has shown is defense and some on this forum assume Fife has no input/affect in that regard. I can certainly see how it is possible both Woodson and Fife together have worked to create this strong defense. The offense is another thing and we all know the coach(es) cannot shoot the ball for these guys and unfortunately the players can't hit the broad side of a barn during a "must win" game, on their home court, with a full throated Hoosier crowd on hand. Not a lot the coach can do to fix this until he can get some shooters on this team.
I'm an old school Hoosier grade/fan, and as such I'm of the opinion that the entire 5 star player ranking system is a farce. Lander is the perfect example. I was just as excited as the next IU fan when Lander signed and I'm still happy he is a Hoosier. However, he and others are proof positive that the ranking system(s) are flawed and cannot stand up to the eye-test. I'm curious to see if Coach Woodson shows up at high school gyms to see future recruits in person (ala Coach Knight) and not rely on AAU clips and/or player rankings. XJ has saved IU's ass in games lately but I can't remember many outstanding IU players of the past having such a "hitch" in their shooting motion; if so, there was a designated staff member working to correct it. Again, I'm old school and I suppose it is possible the pure shooting motion is no longer valued providing a kid has the stats to prove he can shoot the ball.
Our dishwasher has permanent dents in it from dishes and ceramic bowls thrown in its direction. It's a constant reminder of the way life can always be.
Good news. Woody goes to the gyms and watches recruits.
We don't know but it sure sounds like Woody gets most of his advice from NBA guys. Probably cost us the season.
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