Indiana Hoosiers head coach Mike Woodson is set to step down from his role at the program following the 2024-25 college basketball season. But according to Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter, this decision is perhaps more of an indictment on Indiana’s fanbase than it is on Woodson’s tenure with the Hoosiers.
Sunday’s matchup between Indiana and No. 13 ranked Purdue was largely a shock to much of the college basketball world, as Indiana was ableto cruise to a 73-58 victory.
The win doesn’t change the fact that Indiana is a long shot to make the 2025 NCAA Tournament. But it does perhaps show that Mike Woodson may still have something left as a coach if circumstances were different.
After the game, Matt Painter was asked by reporters what Indiana should be looking for when it comes to their next head coach after Woodson’s departure. Painter responded by outlining how the constant criticism of the program from Hoosier fans on social media has ultimately led to the downfall of the program in his eyes.
“They had a lot of turnover obviously,” said Painter via a video shared on X by Indiana beat writer Jared Kelly. “I think you’ve got to look at some of the common denominators here more than anything. That’s an important piece. Don’t beat yourself. Let’s support somebody. Let’s try that out for once every now and then. When shit goes wrong… Like do you think Purdue fans are happy about what just happened? See, a fanbase isn’t the people who tweet. A fanbase is the people that support you when you’re bleeding.
“They jump on and off things here way too much. Support your coach, man, support your players. Don’t tweet negative things about them. Like, be supportive. See how that works for you. They build them up and they overdo things. Quit overdoing sh*t. Just accurately talk about what is actually happened. Don’t get recruits and say they are like Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen. They aren’t Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen. They are good college players.
“They build it up and then they go, ‘What’s wrong?’ They are a part of it. But it’s not their total fanbase. Everyone has a bad percentage of their fanbase now because of Twitter. We think that’s their fanbase. It’s not our fanbase, it’s not their real fanbase. That’s an important piece. It’s hard for young people to hear all that and then go out and collectively play. We’re playing for you but then you dog us when we lose and we’re the best when we win. We’re somewhere in between, right? I think they need to learn some of those things. Support the new coach, support the staff. But also, kind of be grounded with everything and I think they will be able to have success.”
Indiana is, of course, a blue-blood college basketball program with a rich tradition of success over the years. So naturally, whoever is the head coach of the program is likely in for a ton of criticism when things don’t go to plan.
One could argue that every coach at every program deals with an influx of angry fans on social media after losses. But for someone like Woodson at Indiana, that fact is only amplified.
Only time will tell who ends up succeeding Woodson at Indiana. But clearly, Painter doesn’t believe all that much will change unless the Indiana fanbase is willing to throw their support behind the new head coach.