It was 50-years to the date of Bob Knight's introductory press conference on Monday morning when new head men's basketball coach Mike Woodson was introduced - becoming the sixth head coach at Indiana since 2000, and the fifth since Bob Knight.
A terrific player in his own right, Woodson played from Indiana and under Knight from 1976-80, finishing as just one of five Hoosiers with over 2,000 points.
Knight, who again lives back in Bloomington, released a statement Monday to welcome Woodson back to Bloomington.
“We are all very pleased to have Mike Woodson as the person in charge of our program,” Knight said in a statement. “He will do an excellent job. He will be an outstanding disciplinarian and teacher working with his team. I’ve never known a better person than Mike. He is just a great man.”
During his press conference on Monday, Woodson made sure everyone knew exactly the relationship he had with Coach Knight, but more important what type of person he meant to him.
“He took a chance on a kid out of Indianapolis many years ago to come here and play basketball, and it was a journey for Mike Woodson,” Woodson said. “Coming to Indiana University to play basketball, he taught me how to play the game of basketball from a fundamental standpoint. He taught me how to be a man, on and off the floor. And that was huge for me coming out of the innercity of Indianapolis."
Woodson now looks to carry on the great winning tradition that Knight built at Indiana and knows that he'll always have the full support of one of the best coaches in the game's history.
“Coach, I love you guys, and for me this is a complete circle,” Woodson said. “I’ve done pretty much everything that I wanted to do in basketball.
“So I pay tribute to Coach Knight in the utmost way, because Indiana Basketball will always be Bob Knight. Will always be.”
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