Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson comments on Pat Knight’s — son of legendary IU coach Bob Knight — hire at Marian

Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson has a long and respected network in the college and NBA world. From his time as a player at Indiana all the way up to his coaching career in the NBA, Woodson has always been about relationships and honoring them in any way — big or small.

On Wednesday, he made sure to acknowledge the Marian basketball program and its newest men’s basketball coach — Pat Knight.

“I am really excited for Pat Knight, Steve Downing and the basketball program at Marian,” Woodson said. “Pat is a great young man, an exceptional young coach, and will do wonderful things while coming home to work for such a great university.”

It was reported earlier this week that Pat — the son of former legendary Indiana basketball head coach Bob Knight — would become the next head coach at Marian, adding to the Indiana basketball ties with the university.

The current Athletic Director at Marian is Steve Downing, for former IU standout who helped lead Bob Knight’s 1973 Hoosiers to the Final Four.

This will be Knight’s third head coaching stop. He led Texas Tech from 2008-2011 before serving as the head coach at Lamar from 2011-14. He led Lamar to the 2012 NCAA Tournament in his first season before two seasons that totaled just six wins to follow.

Indiana played Marian in 2022 as an exhibition, but now it wouldn’t be a surprise for the two programs to meet more often.

“Steve and I have been friends for a long time and I’m proud of the job he’s done as AD at Marian and giving them an opportunity,” Woodson said back in 2022. “I’m going to do it every year that I’m here — that they (hopefully) come in here and play.”