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    Knicks' Mike Woodson Named Indiana HC; Thad Matta Hired as Associate AD

    Jenna CiccotelliAnalyst IIMarch 28, 2021

    FILE - Los Angeles Clippers' assistant coach Mike Woodson looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, in Philadelphia. Woodson, the only Knicks coach to win a playoff series in the last two decades and the last one to even reach the postseason, is coming back to New York as an assistant on Tom Thibodeau's staff. Woodson was one of the assistant coaches announced Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, by the Knicks, who hired Thibodeau as their coach last month. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)
    Chris Szagola/Associated Press

    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.

    Jeff Goodman @GoodmanHoops

    Mike Woodson has been in the mix for the Indiana job from the day it opened, but has moved up the list after Brad Stevens and Chris Holtmann both declined, per sources.

    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.

    Knicks' Mike Woodson Named Indiana HC; Thad Matta Hired as Associate AD
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    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.