Indiana head coach Mike Woodson made a quick return visit to New York on Wednesday night.
He’ll leave with a better recruiting tool than he ever could concoct on his own — because it was a genuine moment.
All high school players aspire to reach the NBA, and they want to believe their college coach can help them get there. That’s why seeing this video of Woodson reuniting with his former New York Knicks players should really resonate with recruiting targets. Woodson started the 2020-21 season as an assistant with the Knicks, and he was reunited with his former players one-by-one at Madison Square Garden.
In a moment that resembled football coach Tom Allen’s post-game interview at Wisconsin in December, Woodson was greeted with hugs and smiles by a wave of young millionaire athletes.
The message was clear — Woodson is loved, and respected, by the game’s best.
Once a Knick, Always a Knick.
Coach Woodson got all the love from the guys when they saw him 🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/XMP2kCv9DN
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 22, 2021
Here is a little bit of a different angle. You can see that the players ran up to greet Woodson.
The @nyknicks welcome Mike Woodson back to the Garden as he roots for the squad 🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/bPcir7VuUy
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) April 21, 2021
Woodson received a signed jersey from Julius Randle after the Knicks won the game in overtime.
Julius Randle gave a signed jersey to Mike Woodson after their big OT win. pic.twitter.com/FhF0BYxXUQ
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 22, 2021
Woodson had a long history with the Knicks organization prior to his brief stint as an assistant.
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. 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.
The Knicks selected Woodson with the 12th pick of the 1980 NBA Draft.
See also: Knicks’ Thibodeau on Woodson: “He’ll knock it out of the park”
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