Indiana Hoosiers Basketball

Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari announced Wednesday the Wildcats have "agreed in principle" to restart an annual rivalry series against Indiana beginning with the 2025-26 season.

Calipari said further information will be provided at a later date as the deal with the Hoosiers is "at the administrative level now, so all the details will be worked out."

Kentucky and Indiana faced off in men's basketball for the first time in December 1924, a 34-23 Hoosiers victory. The schools met every season from 1969 through 2011.

The Wildcats and Hoosiers have met twice since that point, both times in the NCAA tournament. UK won a 2012 meeting in the Sweet 16 and IU came out on top in the 2016 second round.

Kentucky holds a 35-23 advantage in the all-time series.

Indiana coach Mike Woodson said in May he wanted to resume the series, even if it meant playing a yearly neutral-site contest rather than a standard home-and-home structure.

"It might not be Bloomington, Lexington, I don't know," Woodson said. "But however way we can get it done, I'll take it. So we've just got to figure that part of it out."

He added it would be special to play the games on the respective campuses, though.

"I'm going to stay on [Calipari's] heels about getting the Kentucky-Indiana series back on the table," Woodson said. "Because I just think over the years, man, that was a hell of a game, going to Lexington and them coming down to Bloomington."

Calipari didn't address whether home games were under consideration as part of his comments Wednesday at SEC media day.

Both Kentucky and Indiana head into the 2022-23 season inside the Top 15 of the Associated Press poll, with UK at No. 4 and IU at No. 13.

The storied programs will each open the new campaign Nov. 7, when the Wildcats host Howard at Rupp Arena and the Hoosiers welcome Morehead State to Assembly Hall.

New Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson is considering adding one of the state's most legendary coaches to his Hoosiers staff. 

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Woodson has discussed bringing former Indiana Pacers coach Larry Brown to Bloomington in a non-recruiting role:

The 80-year-old's last college job was as the head coach at SMU from 2012-16. He spent the 2018 season coaching in Italy. 

Brown won an NCAA title with the Kansas Jayhawks in 1988 and an NBA title with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, served as the head coach for Team USA at the 2004 Olympics and as an assistant at the 2000 Olympics. He is a member of both the Basketball Hall of Fame (2002) and College Basketball Hall of Fame (2006). 

After putting together three consecutive 25-win seasons at SMU, Brown stepped down in 2016 following failed contract extension negotiations. Prior to the 2015-16 season, an NCAA investigation found that Brown had failed to report numerous violations including academic fraud.

The NCAA banned SMU from the postseason and suspended Brown for nine games. 

Brown left Kansas shortly after winning the NCAA tournament in 1988 following the NCAA levying multiple sanctions against the Jayhawks tied to a number of recruitment violations. 

That kicked off an NBA coaching career that spanned seven franchises and nearly three decades. Brown's stint with the Pacers included back-to-back trips to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1994 and 1995 at the height of the team's rivalry with the New York Knicks. 

Woodson would join Brown's coaching staff shortly after, as the coach transitioned to the Philadelphia 76ers and Pistons. 

As Woodson begins his college coaching career with this alma mater, he's hoping there's room to bring one of his mentors back with him. 

New York Knicks assistant coach Mike Woodson is headed home.

Woodson, one of the most prolific players to come out of Indiana, has been named the school's next head coach.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Woodson will sign a six-year contract with the Hoosiers.

Along with Woodson, Indiana also hired former Ohio State head coach Thad Matta to serve as associate athletic director for men's basketball administration.

The Hoosiers embarked on a search to replace Archie Miller upon firing the coach in mid-March, and it was rumored to include a number of current and former collegiate coaches in John Beilein, Chris Beard of Texas Tech and Scott Drew of Baylor as well as Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, who repeatedly denied that he would be returning to the collegiate ranks.

Woodson was a 2,000-point scorer in four seasons at Indiana from 1976 to 1980 and earned a first-team All-Big Ten selection as a junior, when he averaged 21.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

The No. 12 pick of the New York Knicks in 1980, Woodson played 11 NBA seasons for six different franchises, with the bulk of his career spent with the Kansas City/Sacramento Kings. In addition to his current role as a Knicks assistant coach, Woodson has served as an assistant in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit and Los Angeles (Clippers).

He was head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from 2004 to 2010 and the Knicks from 2011 to 2014.

Meanwhile, Matta was the subject of conflicting reports regarding the Indiana coaching search last week.

Jim Coyle of The Hoosier reported Matta was offered the head coaching job but failed a physical, which nixed the deal, but Tom Brew of Sports Illustrated cited a source who refuted the report. Health issues forced Matta to leave Ohio State in 2017, and he hasn't coached since.

Woodson, who at 63 is the oldest Indiana head coach since at least World War II (per Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star), inherits a team that went 12-15 in 2020-21.

In the wake of a report that suggested former Ohio State basketball coach Thad Matta agreed to become Indiana's new head coach but failed a physical, Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star reported that was not the case.

According to Osterman, someone within the Indiana athletic department said the school did not have an agreement with Matta. As it stands, "it's unclear" whether Matta has gone through the hiring process in any capacity, per Osterman.

The search for Archie Miller's replacement is ongoing.

Matta's coaching career spanned 17 years and three programs. He amassed a 439-154 record at Butler, Xavier and Ohio State, with the bulk of his career spent with the Buckeyes. From 2004 to 2017, he led Ohio State to nine NCAA tournament appearances, two Final Four games and an NIT championship while earning three Big Ten Coach of the Year nods (2005-06, 2006-07, 2009-10).

Matta had back surgery in 2007 and felt negative long-term effects from the procedure a decade later. Before Matta and the Buckeyes mutually parted ways, the team—which had gone 38-29 through two years—lost seven rostered players in two years and struggled to land top recruits, with their top player in the class of 2018 reopening his recruitment.

According to Osterman, Matta—who will turn 54 in July—is ready to return to coaching. But as of now, reports that he'll do so with Indiana are apparently false.

With Brad Stevens making it clear he's remaining with the Boston Celtics, the search for the next Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball head coach moves on.

According to Rick Bozich of WDRB.com, New York Knicks assistant coach Mike Woodson "is believed to have interviewed with IU athletic director Scott Dolson on Saturday," while former Ohio State coach Thad Matta "moved into the middle of the discussion" for the Indiana vacancy Sunday.

Indiana parted ways with former head coach Archie Miller following the season. In four years at the helm of the Hoosiers, he finished 67-58 and never made an NCAA tournament. 

There was growing buzz that Stevens might abandon his NBA post to return to his home state of Indiana and take the Hoosiers' head coaching gig. But he shot that down in no uncertain terms Friday. 

"I said it the other day: I am not [considering the Indiana job]," he told reporters. "I tried to say it as clearly as I could and make sure people understand that that place, to me, is special."

"But I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a 44-year-old Massh--e," he added. "I swerve around others when I'm driving. I eat Dunkin' Donuts and I root for the Patriots. I've unfortunately been skewed in a lot of ways, I guess."

Like Stevens, the 62-year-old Woodson would bring NBA experience to the Indiana gig. He's served as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks (2004-05 to 2009-10) and the New York Knicks (2011-12 to 2013-14), along with stints as an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers. 

He's also an Indiana alum and former Hoosiers player, so he has strong ties to the program, though he's never coached or recruited at the college level. 

On the other hand, Matta, 53, spent a season as Butler's head coach (2000-01), three seasons at the helm for Xavier (2001-02 to 2003-04) and 13 seasons leading Ohio State (2004-05 to 2016-17), with 13 NCAA tournament appearances and two Final Four berths to his name.

The question with Matta is whether his body can withstand the rigors of coaching. He left Ohio State in 2017 for health reasons and hasn't coached since, despite teams reportedly interested in his services. It remains to be seen if he would consider a return to the profession now with the Hoosiers job available.

The head coaching job for men's basketball at Indiana is open after the firing of Archie Miller, but a pair of potential candidates have said they have no interest in the gig.

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told Zolak and Bertrand on Tuesday that he does not want to return to the college level, while Iona head coach Rick Pitino said he wants to end his career in New Rochelle, according to Mike Rodak of AL.com.

Miller had coached the Hoosiers since 2017. 

Stevens made his NBA coaching debut in 2013-14, but many hoped he'd want to return to his home state. 

"That's nice of them. That really is," he told Zolak and Bertrand. "That's home. I get it. I appreciate all the nice sentiments. It certainly doesn't go unnoticed, and it's certainly very kind." 

A native of Zionsville, Indiana, Stevens went to college at DePauw and coached at Butler before making the jump to the NBA. But he's made a strong case for himself in Boston, where he has emerged as the fifth-longest-tenured coach in the league and the fourth-winningest coach in franchise history. 

The Celtics have reached the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the past four seasons. They're sitting at 20-18 on the 2020-21 campaign, winning five of their last six to sit at fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Pitino, a two-time NCAA champion as a head coach, took the job at Iona after being fired by Louisville in 2017 amid an FBI investigation into recruiting violations. The Gaels made the NCAA men's tournament as a 15th seed in his first year as head coach after a 12-5 record and a MAAC championship.         

Indiana, meanwhile, will continue its head coaching search as it looks to move on from a 12-15 season.

Indiana has fired Archie Miller as its men's basketball coach, athletic director Scott Dolson announced Monday:

Jeff Goodman of Stadium first reported the news while noting the coach has a $10 million buyout on his contract. 

The Hoosiers went 12-15 in 2020-21 during Miller's fourth year with the program. They ended the season with six straight losses, including a loss to Rutgers in their first game in the Big Ten tournament.

Indiana failed to reach the NCAA tournament in any of Miller's four years, although the 2020 version of March Madness was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 42-year-old coach finished with a 67-58 record at Indiana from 2017-21.

Miller initially signed a seven-year contract with Indiana after joining the team from Dayton. He led the Flyers to four straight NCAA tournament selections, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2014.

He was brought in to replace Tom Crean, who was fired after nine years at Indiana that included three trips to the Sweet 16 and two regular-season Big Ten titles.

There were even higher expectations in Bloomington with a program that has five national championships and eight trips to the Final Four.

Despite high hopes for Miller, the coach disappointed with a 33-44 record in the Big Ten and a 0-7 record against rival Purdue (h/t Matthew Glenesk of the Indianapolis Star).

According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, Indiana has been quietly reaching out to potential candidates to gauge interest for at least a few weeks. 

If the Hoosiers find the right coach and convince sophomore Trayce Jackson-Davis to return, they could be an exciting team to watch in 2021-22.

Steve Bouchie, a member of the 1981 Indiana University men's basketball national championship team, died Sunday.

He was 59.

According to Ryan Reynolds of the Evansville Courier & Press, Bouchie died of complications after suffering a heart attack over the Fourth of July weekend in Evansville, Indiana.

Bouchie, a 6'8" forward, was Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1979 at Washington High School before a storied career at Indiana, helping the team to three conference championships in four seasons and a national title in 1981.

The Detroit Pistons selected him in the fourth round of the 1983 NBA draft, but he never played a game for the franchise. He had a brief career playing professional basketball in Italy before suffering a career-ending injury.

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame inducted Bouchie in 2009.

Coaches aren't afraid to go outside the box to motivate their players, but Tom Crean went a bit overboard one time when he was the head basketball coach at Indiana.

Former Hoosiers player Cody Zeller confirmed a story on Fox Sports' Titus and Tate about a time Crean wanted the team managers to get a live bat:

"He once upon a time wanted to get a live bat...to use as a motivational tactic," Mark Titus relayed the story he was told. "And he asked the managers to go find a bat."

After the managers said they couldn't buy a bat in Indiana, Crean said they should go to the woods to find it. The current Georgia coach ended up using plastic toy bats in front of the players. 

"Very true. I can confirm it 100 percent," responded Zeller, who left IU after his sophomore year and was picked fourth overall in the 2013 NBA draft.

The Charlotte Hornets center provided the backstory as well, noting the incident came after Crean's brothers-in-law, Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh, came to speak to the team shortly after they met in Super Bowl XLVII in 2013.

While one football coach told the players they needed to act like serial killers, the other said they should be "mean and nasty like rabies-filled, blood-sucking bats."

Crean tried to take this image to life but had to settle for a plastic version. His tenure in Bloomington ended in 2017 after nine seasons.