Mike Woodson's Indiana exit was inevitable as program stagnated during tenure

When Mike Woodson was hired at Indiana, he was supposed to be the man who got the Hoosiers back on the path to greatness.

Instead, he proved to be more of the same, and now he's ready to call it quits.

According to ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel, Woodson is not expected to return to Indiana next season. The Hoosiers are currently 14-9 and 5-7 in the Big Ten, and look likely to be on the outside looking in come NCAA Tournament time for the second straight season.

Woodson's tenure got off to a decent enough start; Indiana made the tournament in each of his first two seasons, and even won a game in year two. But even in those years, there was a sense that Woodson wasn't a perfect fit in the college game. Things never quite jelled for Indiana on the court, and Woodson on multiple occasions criticized players for their hustle and effort on court.

They lost at least 12 games in each of his seasons, and improvement never really came.

The Hoosiers recruited decently under Woodson; future NBA guard Jalen Hood-Schifino played a season in Bloomington before being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, and in 2023, they landed another 5-star prospect in Mackenzie Mgbako, who has not developed in the way that anyone had hoped he would.

Indiana stagnated as the NIL era got into full swing, and with on-court results not improving, the floor fell out prior to this season. Last year's recruiting class ranked 87th, with just five-star forward Bryson Tucker in it. Tucker also has failed to impress thus far in Bloomington, averaging just 6.7 points in his freshman campaign.

That was the common thread of Woodson's tenure; despite the promise and the hope that fans thought he'd bring, the improvement just didn't come. Instead, Hoosiers fans got more of the same, year after year, despite fielding top-end talent (even if their depth was a bit lacking in that regard) that wasn't developing the way they hoped.

To add insult to injury, former Indiana student manager Dusty May has Michigan thriving in his first season at the helm, a coach who would have topped the target list had the Hoosiers moved on from Woodson a year earlier.

But now, his tenure appears to be over, and the Hoosier faithful can go back to hoping that the next coach can deliver them from the wilderness, and won't just give them more of the same.

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