Hoosiers Now

Report: Former Indiana Standout Michael Lewis Staying at UCLA

A lot of folks were hoping that former Hoosier would join Mike Woodson and Dane Fife at Indiana, but Lewis said Thursday that he's staying at UCLA.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana fans hoping to add to the happy homecoming on the coaching staff got some bad news Thursday. Former Hoosier star Michael Lewis is staying at UCLA, according to Jeff Rabjohns at Peegs.com

When Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson fired Archie Miller on March 15, he talked a lot about embracing Indiana's past and reconnecting the program with former players. That started when Hoosier great Mike Woodson was hired as the head coach on March 29 and got even better earlier this weekend when Dane Fife joined his staff after 10 successful season as an assistant to Tom Izzo at Michigan State.

Lewis has a great resume as an assistant coach as well, and he's currently on Mick Cronin's staff at UCLA. The Bruins just made a successful – and highly entertaining – Final Four run, losing in the national semifinals on a last-second shot by Gonzaga's Jalen Suggs.

Woodson still has one spot to fill on his full-time staff. Aside from Fife, he retained Kenya Hunter off of Miller's staff, and he's been instrumental in keeping transfer Parker Stewart in Bloomington and getting former Pitt guard Xavier Johnson to commit to Indiana out of the NCAA transfer portal on Wednesday.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

  • RACE THOMPSON STAYING: Indiana junior forward Race Thompson announced on Instragram Thursday that he was staying at Indiana and is excited about playing for new coach Mike Woodson. CLICK HERE
  • JOHNSON COMMITS TO INDIANA: Pitt point guard Xavier Johnson commits to Mike Woodson and Indiana's new coaching staff. CLICK HERE
  • DANE FIFE INTERVIEW: Former Hoosier great Dane Fife has spent 10 years on Tom Izzo's staff at Michigan State, but now he's coming home to Indiana to coach the Hoosiers. He chatted with radio star Dan Dakich for 30 minutes, and here's the complete interview, plus the highlights. CLICK HERE
  • DREAMING BIG: Indiana opened as 80-to-1 odds when Draftkings released its odds for winning the 2022 national championship, but it quickly went down to 66-to-1 by morning, so that meant people were placing bets on the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE
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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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