Indiana basketball legend Isiah Thomas met the Hoosiers in New York and spoke to the team as part of a team dinner on Friday night. The Hoosiers (3-0) are playing in the Empire Classic in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Indiana basketball legend Isiah Thomas met the Hoosiers in New York and spoke to the team as part of a team dinner on Friday night.
The Hoosiers (3-0) are playing in the Empire Classic in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Indiana plays defending national champion and No. 5-ranked UConn at 1 p.m. on Sunday and then plays either Texas or Louisville on Monday in MSG.
Thomas was part of a big team dinner in New York when the team arrived on Friday night.
Thomas led Bob Knight’s Hoosiers to the 1981 national title, being named NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Thomas averaged 16.0 points and 5.8 assists that season before becoming the No. 2 pick in the 1981 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.
Thomas went on to be named to the Basketball Hall of Fame, win two NBA titles, the 1990 NBA Finals MVP, and a 12-time NBA All-Star. In 1997, Thomas was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.
Indiana coach Mike Woodson, one of IU’s all-time leading scorers, has made a concerted effort to make former IU players welcomed back and a part of the IU basketball program.
Thomas spoke at IU’s Hoosier Hysteria in 2021. A portion of his comments to the crowd from that night are played on the video board prior to IU home basketball games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Woodson also had former IU standouts Scott May and Quinn Buckner at a recent practice.
Woodson has former IU standouts Calbert Cheaney, still the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer, and Jordan Hulls on his staff.
Indiana had a team dinner in White Plains, NY, after flying in from Bloomington.
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