INDIANAPOLIS — One of the first things Thad Matta looked into when he was hired last spring as Indiana's associate athletic director for men's basketball was whether he could get newly-hired head coach and basically NBA-lifer Mike Woodson a head start.
After 17 years as a head coach at Ohio State, Xavier and Butler and 11 more as a college assistant coach, Matta knows the NCAA rulebook, including the rule rule that allows Division I programs the opportunity to take an international trip in the summer once every four years. It's supposed to be an educational opportunity, but teams are allowed to practice 10 times on campus before they go on tour and can play up to 10 games against non-NCAA teams on tour long before the official start of practice.