This season has been an emotional rollercoaster for the Indiana Hoosiers. They started out in the AP Top 25, but by midseason, they found themselves outside of the rankings. The downfall seemed to come in late January to early February, when the Hoosiers couldn’t win a game.
It was around this time that fourth-year head coach Mike Woodson met with the school’s athletic director to announce his decision to step down at the end of the season. Woodson has not had the level of success expected from the former Indiana player, leading fans to call for his firing, with some even booing him at a game earlier in the season.
At the end of their last game at Assembly Hall last weekend, he told a reporter that he wasn’t sure if he made the right decision to leave. Nonetheless, he has made his decision, and now the speculation about potential replacements has begun. While Indiana is certainly an attractive job for a head coach, it’s believed that the Hoosiers will not land a big-name coach— not even Chris Beard, who has been rumored as a potential candidate.
“As things stand, it doesn’t look like Indiana is pursuing Ole Miss’ Chris Beard,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote.
In fact, the two favorites for the job are not household names in college basketball, despite their successful careers.
“The two names who have come up the most in conversations are Drake’s Ben McCollum and Clemson’s Brad Brownell,” Borzello added.
While those names are the favorites, they aren’t the big names like Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger or Pat Kelsey. For now, Woodson and his players are focusing on making the end of the season special.
However, it seems that soon the spotlight will shift to Brownell and McCollum. Indiana is in a tough spot to find the right replacement.