Mike Woodson's lame-duck run at Indiana feels familiar to Dan Monson, who made tourney in 2024 after exit plan

The former Long Beach State coach says he's been watching as many Indiana games as possible

Dan Monson may not know Mike Woodson on a personal level, but from across the country the Eastern Washington coach sure can empathize with how the Indiana coach may be feeling. 

There are parallels between Woodson's imminent departure from Indiana and Monson's exit from Long Beach State last spring. After spending 17 seasons with the program, Monson and Long Beach State agreed to mutually part ways just over a week before the 2024 NCAA Tournament began and days before the Big West Conference Tournament.

Indiana announced earlier this month that Woodson would not return for the 2025-26 season amid another slow start. His decision to depart his alma mater and simultaneously open up one of the most coveted jobs in the sport comes after sources indicated to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander that Woodson was considering stepping down after increased scrutiny over the past month.

"Because I've been through it, I've watched almost every Indiana game since that happened," Monson told CBS Sports on Wednesday, hours before Indiana's win over Penn State. "I see it with the (look) on the kid's faces. I think doing it (that way) in the middle of the season for college student-athletes, it takes away from their experience and takes away from their accomplishments. It's really hard to see kids go through that. ... They signed up to play for Mike Woodson. They go into it knowing that may not happen for their whole career, but in the middle of the year, I think it's a lot for everyone to take in."

Monson was given the option to resign, mutually part ways with the school, or get let go after he approached school administrators amid a five-game losing streak to end the regular season about his future. 

"I (was) not going to come out and say that I agreed with the timing of it because that would be telling my kids exactly the opposite of what I've been telling them for a month," Monson said. "We are not quitting on each other. We are going to fight through this. As a coach, your word with your players is a bond that you can't break. Fortunately, they still let me coach still, which I appreciated, but I didn't feel like the timing was the best for everybody."

But then something funny happened: Long Beach State won three straight games as the No. 4 seed in the Big West Tournament and defeated UC Davis in the conference title game to clinch the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012. LBSU lost to Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

It didn't take long for Monson to find work after his exit from LBSU, with Eastern Washington snatching him up. 

Monson has been keeping up with the Indiana program partly because of his friend Steve Alford -- the current coach at Nevada and a former All-American guard at Indiana under Bob Knight. Monson and Alford entered the Big Ten together in 1999 when Alford became the coach at Iowa and Monson accepted the job at Minnesota. Monson and Alford grew their friendship while Alford was coaching at UCLA in the mid-2010s.

"We talk weekly if not more," Monson said. "Him being an Indiana alumnus, I have heard a lot of the things that are going on there. It's sad. ... I follow (Mike Woodson) because of Steve. I know how passionate (Steve) is for his alma mater."

With three games in Big Ten play remaining and the conference tournament on the horizon next month, Indiana is still in the mix to reach the NCAA Tournament. In CBS Sports' latest Bracketology projections by Jerry Palm, Indiana is listed as one of the last four teams in.

Since the school announced Woodson would not return next season, Indiana is 3-2 with wins over Michigan State, Purdue and Penn State. Indiana defeated Penn State 83-78 at home on Wednesday to keep its hopes of an at-large bid alive.

The Hoosiers' path to reaching the NCAA Tournament will be different from Long Beach State's last year. With a strong finish to the regular season and a respectable showing in the Big Ten Tournament, Indiana will go dancing for the third time in Woodson's tenure. 

"As I told (Long Beach State administration), at a mid-major school your whole season is still ahead of you at this point with a week to go," Monson said. "Your whole season is about getting into the tournament."

However far Indiana may go in Woodson's final days as its coach, Monson will be keeping tabs.