FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2022
Media Contact:
Bryan Kelley, Vice President
bkelley@indianablackexpo.com
(317) 925-2702
Friday, July 15, 2022, at 11:00 am
Indiana Convention Center
Indiana Black Expo will present IU Head Basketball Coach Mike Woodson with the Excellence in Sports Award at the Corporate Luncheon
Indianapolis, IN – Today, Indiana Black Expo announced that it will present IU Head Basketball Coach Mike Woodson with the Excellence in Sports Award at the Pacers Sports and Entertainment Corporate Luncheon presented by Indiana University on Friday, July 15 at the Indiana Convention Center. Individual luncheon tickets are $70 and tables are $700. Tickets and tables can be purchased at www.summercelebration.net. The luncheon will begin at 11:00 AM.
About Coach Mike Woodson
In his first year as IU’s head basketball coach, Woodson guided the team to a nine-win improvement, an NCAA Tournament win, built the top-rated defense in the Big Ten according to KenPom (22nd, nationally). IU also led the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense at 39.6% and finished second in blocked shots at 4.83 a game. In Big Ten games, the Hoosiers also led the league in field goal percentage defense at 41.3%.
He led the Hoosiers to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2003 and helped three players earn All-Big Ten status including Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson and Xavier Johnson. His team also ended nine-game losing streaks to Purdue and Michigan and his staff landed the fifth-best recruiting class in the country according to 247Sports.
Woodson returned to the Bloomington campus in the spring of 2021 with a vast experiences and knowledge after playing in the NBA for 11 seasons beginning in 1980 and serving as a coach in the league beginning in 1996 for seven NBA franchises, including nine years combined as a head coach with the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. He was currently serving as an assistant coach with the Knicks.
Woodson was the 1980 Big Ten Player of the Year and NABC All-American as a senior in leading the Hoosiers to a conference title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. Despite undergoing back surgery in December and missing seven weeks, he was honored as the Chicago Tribune’s Silver Basketball Award Winner following the season.
As head coach of the Knicks, Woodson guided his 2012-13 Atlantic Division Champions to their first appearance in the Eastern Conference semifinals since 2000 and finished his tenure as New York’s coach with a record of 109-79 (.680). As an NBA head coach with Atlanta (2004-2010) and New York (2011-2014), Woodson saw his teams compile two 50-plus win seasons including a personal high of 54 victories during the 2012-13 season with the Knicks.
Woodson joined the Knicks staff following six seasons as head coach of the Hawks, where he guided the Hawks to the NBA Playoffs in each of his last three seasons (including 2007-08, ending Atlanta’s eight-year Playoff drought), and into the Eastern Conference Semifinals in his last two seasons. In the Playoffs, he piloted the Hawks to back-to-back Game 7 wins in the first round over Miami in 2009 and Milwaukee in 2010.
Before joining the Hawks, Woodson served for one season (2003-04) as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, where he earned an NBA Championship ring as one of the chief architects behind Detroit’s suffocating defense that helped lift the Pistons to the 2004 NBA title. Prior to his six years at the helm of the Hawks, Woodson logged eight seasons as an assistant coach with Milwaukee (1996-97 through 1998-99), Cleveland (1999-2000 through 2000-01), Philadelphia (2001-02 through 2002-03) and Detroit (2003-04).
As an assistant, he has worked for greats such as Chris Ford (Bucks), George Karl (Bucks), Larry Brown (76ers and Pistons), Mike D’Antoni (Knicks), Doc Rivers (Clippers), and Tom Thibodeau (Knicks).
The Knicks selected Woodson with the 12th pick of the 1980 NBA Draft and he enjoyed an 11-year NBA playing career, averaging 14.0 points over 786 games for the Knicks (1980-81), New Jersey (1981-82), Kansas City/Sacramento (1981-82 through 1985-86), the LA Clippers (1986-87 through 1987-88), Houston (1988-89 through 1990-91) and Cleveland (1990-91). He scored a career-high 18.2 ppg with Kansas City in 1982-83. He also averaged 12.2 points in 13 career Playoff games over five post-seasons. Woodson’s NBA playing career began in 1980-81, when he averaged 4.7 points over 11.7 minutes in 81 contests with the Knicks.
He had the honor of playing for some of the most decorated coaches in league history including Red Holzman (Knicks), Larry Brown (Nets), Cotton Fitzsimmons (Kings), Gene Shue (Clippers), and Don Chaney (Clippers and Rockets).
Woodson played 104 games for the Hoosiers after graduating in 1976 from Broad Ripple High School and is the fifth all-time leading scorer with 2,061 points and his 19.8 points per game average is tied (Calbert Cheaney) for the second highest by a Hoosier who played four seasons in college. He averaged 21 points during his junior season and helped lead Indiana to an NIT Championship. Woodson captained the USA’s Pan American Games team to a gold medal during the summer prior to his senior year and was all set to have a perfect season with the Hoosiers who were ranked No. 1 in the preseason of the 1979-80 campaign. After five games, Woodson suffered a herniated disc in his back and had to undergo surgery. Upon losing Woodson, the Hoosiers went 7-5 in the Big Ten until he returned to spark Indiana back into action. IU finished the conference season with six straight victories and won the Big Ten title. Woodson was the MVP after playing in only six league games that season.
The 64-year-old was born on March 24, 1958 in Indianapolis. At Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis, he averaged 28.6 points as a senior, scored 1,154 points in his career, and earned All-State honors while being a member of the Indiana All-Stars. He was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Mike and his wife, Terri, have two daughters, Alexis and Mariah, who were volleyball players at Georgia Tech. Alexis also played one season at IU.
About Indiana Black Expo, Inc.
Indiana Black Expo, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) statewide organization with 12-chapter affiliates. The mission of IBE is to serve as an effective voice and vehicle for the social and economic advancement of African-Americans. IBE is known for its two major events, Summer Celebration and Circle City Classic® and provides year-round youth and family initiatives, including its Education Conference, recent Black Business Training Institute, Performing Arts Academy, Community Learning Hub, Education Day (college fair), Summer Internship Program, Scholarship Fund, Statewide Anti-Tobacco Initiative, Youth Leadership Summit, Employment Opportunity Fair, and Business Series and Conference.