Say it ain't so! According to Rick Bozich of WDRB.com, the two names of note tied to the emerging head-coaching vacancy at Indiana are Drake head coach Ben McCollum and Clemson head coach Brad Brownell. Bozich's intel suggests that it might be Brownell in the driver's seat to get the job and for McCollum be Indiana's second choice to replace the departing Mike Woodson.
I wrote about Brownell saying all the things people say before the end up taking jobs like Indiana earlier in the week. Brownell grew up in Evansville and played his college basketball in-state at DePauw. While he is not an IU alum, his high school teammate is none other than Indiana legend Calbert Cheaney. The pieces are starting to come together, pending Clemson's upcoming NCAA Tournament run.
In 15 years under Brownell, the Tigers have made the NCAA Tournament just four times, and never back-to-back until this season. The ACC may be down on its luck across the board with only a handful of teams expected to take part in March Madness, but Clemson has been above the fray throughout most of this season's duration. They are in great shape!
Bozich seems to think that if Brownell does not take the job then McCollum will be the one for Indiana.
On Thursday, Drake coach Ben McCollum was The Hot Name for #iubb job. My sources say Clemson’s Brad Brownell is #1 and McCollum is #2.
— rickbozich (@rickbozich) March 14, 2025
Indiana has still not been able to effectively replace the legend that was Bob Knight on the sidelines.
Why many Indiana fans are not excited about Brad Brownell's prospects
For starters, Brownell is only 291-194 in his 15 years at Clemson. This may be a tough job in the ACC, with Clemson being more of a football school historically. However, Indiana fans may not love the .600 winning percentage at the Power Five level, nor that he has only made the NCAA Tournament four, going on five times to date. Brownell made it three times when at UNC-Wilmington and Wright State.
Overall, the idea of bringing a man who hails from Indiana back home to lead the Hoosiers makes sense. Brownell has had varying levels of success in his coaching career dating back to 2002-03 when he was first leading the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks. Unfortunately, I do not think Indiana fans see it that way. They are longing for yesteryear, something many good coaches could not deliver on.
Ultimately, I would expect that Indiana will make its hire to replace Woodson shortly after the Hoosiers' season ends and whatever comes with Brownell's Tigers and McCollum's Bulldogs. If any of those three teams go on a run in the next few weeks, that may delay the hiring process. All I know is that conversations have been said behind closed doors and Indiana has an idea of who they will want.
Right now, I sense a short tournament run for Indiana and Clemson would likely end up with Brownell.