College Basketball Fans Calling For Mike Woodson To Be Fired Sunday
Yesterday at 02:29 PM
Entering the season with a well-stocked roster thanks to NIL, Indiana head men's basketball coach Mike Woodson had plenty of pressure on him.
Woodson, an Indiana alum, led the Hoosiers to a 19-14 record in 2023-24, missing the NCAA Tournament after making it the previous two seasons. There were more than a few loud cries to fire the 66-year-old former NBA guard and head coach last spring and bring in Dusty May, a onetime manager for Indiana basketball who had built Florida Atlanta into a Final Four participant.
Instead, IU kept Woodson and May went to Michigan. The thought process for the Hoosiers was that key returners like Malik Reneau, Trey Galloway and Mackenzie Mgbako joining forces with transfers Oumar Ballo, Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle and Luke Goode would vault Indiana back into the upper echelon of the Big Ten.
Instead, the Hoosiers are now 14-7 overall and 5-5 in conference play after Sunday's 79-78 home loss to Maryland. Indiana has lost four of five, and following today's empty final possession, fans took to social media to call for Woodson's dismissal.
"FIRE MIKE WOODSON. quite possibly one of the worst final possessions I've ever laid my eyes on," one IU fan said.
"Fire Mike Woodson on the spot right now," a second fan added.
"[Athletic director Scott] Dolson, Woodson and team need to understand that these actions have consequences. We'll be lucky to have any recruits that want to come to Indiana. Dumpster fire #firewoodson#iubb," a third fan said.
"I'm officially out. FIRE MIKE WOODSON," a college basketball gambler chimed in.
"Quite the execution and play calling in the last minute by Mike Woodson. It's a good thing they held onto him for another year instead of hiring Dusty May. Woodson is an [embarrassment]. If they were smart, they'd fire him now and get ahead of the hiring cycle. He's clearly done," a Kansas fan said.
There's time for Indiana to turn this around, but the Hoosiers are coming up on a four-game gauntlet, which includes road games at Purdue, Wisconsin and Michigan State and a home date with Michigan.
Barring a major change of course, IU might want to start looking into its buyout for Woodson, whose current contract runs through the 2026-27 season.
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