The Brad Stevens shrine outside Assembly Hall was all for naught.
Indiana University apparently has settled on its replacement for recently-departed men's basketball coach Archie Miller, and despite some wild speculation, it isn't the Boston Celtics head coach.
Indiana is expected to hire New York Knicks assistant coach Mike Woodson as its next head coach, according to multiple reports.
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Woodson is a great hire for the Hoosiers. The 63-year-old is an Indianapolis native who played under Bobby Knight at Indiana before enjoying lengthy NBA careers as both a player and coach.
Woodson has a total of nine years' head coach experience with the Atlanta Hawks (2004 to 2010) and Knicks (2011 to 2014) and re-joined New York's staff as an assistant last September.
Woodson's expected hire definitively closes the door on Stevens returning to his home state to coach the Hoosiers. The Zionsville native and former Butler head coach had to swat down rumors about his interest in the Indiana job on several occasions, but it looks like he's done answering those questions.
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Stevens' Celtics also have won two games in a row to get back to .500 (23-23) after acquiring Evan Fournier, Moe Wagner and Luke Kornet at the NBA trade deadline. So, with clarity regarding their roster and the standing of their head coach, perhaps the C's can close out the 2020-21 season strong.