Indiana appears to be closing on its next head coach and it is a familiar name for NBA fans.
According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Indiana is trying to finalize a deal to hire Mike Woodson as its next head coach.
Per NBA insider Shams Charania, Woodson is expected to accept the deal.
Woodson, 63, is a native of Indianapolis and played at Indiana from 1976-1980 under Bobby Knight, leading the team to the 1979 NIT Tournament title and the Big Ten championship in 1979-80.
Yet, he has never coached at the college level, spending his entire coaching career at various different stops in the NBA as both a head coach and an assistant.
He is currently an assistant coach on Tom Thibodeau’s staff with the New York Knicks – where he was also head coach from 2011-14, going 109-79 while leading the Knicks to the playoffs in his first two seasons — which is also the last time the Knicks had made the playoffs.
Prior to his time as head coach of the Knicks, he was head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-10, going 206-286 in that span and leading the team to three playoff berths.
Woodson has also spent time as an assistant with the Clippers, Pistons, Sixers, Cavs and Bucks.
Indiana had fired Archie Miller earlier this month after four seasons with underachieving results, including a 33-44 record in the Big Ten.
Per college hoops insider Jeff Goodman, Indiana also considered Celtics head coach Brad Stevens and Ohio State head coach Chris Holtman, but both declined, leading to Woodson moving up on their list.
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