(ThyBlackMan.com) As a young Big Ten basketball fan in the late 1970s, one of my favorite players was a silky-smooth swingman for Indiana named Mike Woodson. Whenever an Indiana game was shown in the Detroit market, number 42 was my guy. Woodson had a great collegiate career, en route to scoring 2,062 points from 1977-80, but his run with the Hoosiers came just after the undefeated 1976 national championship team and ended just before IU captured another national title in 1981 led by superstar Isiah Thomas. Therefore it’s easy to forget that Woodson was one of the all-time Big Ten greats and a first-round pick in the 1980 draft by the New York Knicks.
Woodson’s pro career is easy to forget as well, despite the fact that he averaged a very respectable 14 points during an 11-year run in the NBA.
Mike Woodson’s pro numbers may have been good enough to make him a small part of the Knicks lore, had he stayed with the team. However, following an undistinguished rookie season in New York, Woodson embarked on an NBA journey, which included uniform changes in New Jersey, Kansas 
City/Sacramento, Los Angeles (Clippers), Houston and Cleveland. With Kansas City and the Clippers, Woodson reached minor-star status (averaging 18 points during two seasons), but playing in an era when most teams received minimal if any national coverage, few fans outside of the markets where he played were likely to have paid attention to the solid career Mike Woodson was crafting. In fact, as a teenager I followed Woodson’s pro career primarily through box scores and I always smiled when he notched another double-figure performance.
I smiled again years later when I began to see Mike Woodson on NBA benches as an assistant coach after his playing days. As I now stayed connected with my friend through cable TV, I felt that I had picked a good person to follow those many years ago. When Mike Woodson became the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks in 2004, I flashed a big smile and rooted for him passionately many a night through the magic of the NBA League Pass. In typical Woodson fashion—under the radar, away from the spotlight—he began to make the Hawks better culminating in a run of three consecutive playoff appearances.
However, despite transforming what was one of the league’s lowliest franchises when he took over into a consistent playoff qualifier, the Hawks felt they no longer needed Woodson’s talents following the 2010 season.
During the time I have followed Woodson’s career, from my preteen days to manhood, I have learned that life can be cold and Woodson’s exit from the Hawks was a perfect example. But I also have learned that life is full of surprises, such as the surprise of learning that Mike Woodson would be the interim coach of the Knicks following Mike D’Antoni’s departure earlier this month. The timing of D’Antoni’s exit caught this fan a bit by surprise, but I am not surprised that the Knicks have gone 5-0 since Woodson took over following a road victory over Atlantic Division rival Philadelphia on March 21.
I am a realist and I know at some point the team will cool off and the boo birds will come out once again at Madison Square Garden. However, if the Garden faithful stay behind Woodson I can guarantee them they will be rewarded. I can say from years of experience that Mike Woodson is a good man to follow.
Also, life is full of juicy surprises, so maybe the 1980 first-round pick will finally become a part of Knicks lore after all these years. I know I will be pulling for my guy to make it happen.
Staff Writer; Scott Talley
This talented journalist is owner of a public relations firm; Scott Talley & Associates, Inc….
