Special for IndyStar
BLOOMINGTON — Isiah Thomas began to tear up.
He’d just began his speech with a story about Mike Woodson. How he remembered the final loss in 1980, the final game of Woodson’s career. He remembers watching Woodson take off his IU jersey for the last time — how that motivated Thomas to win the national title the next year.
His voice began to break as he spoke to the fans gathered inside Assembly Hall for Saturday's Hoosier Hysteria. Thomas told the same story to the IU men’s basketball team in the morning, freshman guard Tamar Bates said.