Transcript: Everything Mike Woodson said at Hoosier Hysteria

  • 10/21/2023 9:46 am in

Indiana coach Mike Woodson conducted a brief interview with Rhett Lewis at Friday’s Hoosier Hysteria at Assembly Hall.

Here’s a full transcript of everything Woodson said in a five-minute interview near midcourt:

On what nights like Hoosier Hysteria say about the state of Indiana’s love for basketball and the support for the IU program:

“It hasn’t changed all these years. Indiana has the greatest fans in college basketball without a doubt.”

On what the next step is this season for IU basketball:

“Well, the only step, when I came in here a few years ago is trying to get our team to win a Big Ten title. Shouts out to Teri Moren and her ladies for winning a Big Ten title. That was unbelievable. But that’s the next step and then you go from there to winning a national title.

“That’s the only reason why I came back. There’s nothing in it else for me. It’s never been about me. It’s about the players behind me that I coach, my family, my daughters, my immediate family and the fans.

“And I gotta say this. When all of you guys go home tonight, do me a favor. Get on your knees and say a prayer for Bob Knight and his family because I wouldn’t be standing here – make no mistake about it – Bob Knight is Indiana basketball.”

On the legacy that players like Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson have left and the legacy that guys like Xavier Johnson and Trey Galloway can continue to build:

“Well again, we’re going to miss those guys. There’s no doubt about that. Their time here was special. The two years that I spent with them. But as a coach, my staff and I, we gotta move on and get ready for this season.

“I love the makeup of our ballclub. This summer they put in a lot of work and yes there’s a lot of work that Mike Woodson’s got to get done on both ends of the floor with this group to win at a high level. And we’ll get there, but it’s going to take some time. But I’m very pleased with the progress and where we are today know that we got a lot of work ahead.”

On what winning basketball will look like with this year’s team:

“It’s unbelievable. We got 10 new faces on this team and they don’t really know what Indiana basketball is about. They don’t know the fanbase and how we travel. It’s unbelievable, man. It’s hard to describe.

“So only time will tell when they step foot on this floor in front of our fans that they’ll realize how good it is.

“I also want to give a shoutout to our president Pam Whitten and our athletic director (Scott Dolson) because I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for him. So thank you guys, thank you for coming out this evening because it means a great deal to the ladies program and to the men’s basketball program. And let’s go root on Tom Allen and his crew tomorrow.”

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