Matta will no longer coach Ohio State

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Ohio State has called a 2 p.m. press conference for athletic director Gene Smith and men’s basketball coach Thad Matta to meet with the media.

Sources have indicated that Smith and Matta will announce that the upcoming 2017-18 season will be Matta’s last as the OSU head coach.

Matta has dealt with health issues in recent years after undergoing back surgery. His last two teams failed to reach the NCAA Tournament and this past year’s team was his first to not reach the 20-win plateau at 17-15.
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http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Arti...ll-coach-Thad-Matta-to-retire-after--53035954
 
 
The sport is in transition and we may solidly be entering the golden age of the basketball only school era. All those smaller catholic colleges like Nova, Gonzaga, Creighton, etc... may be much better gigs than a big Power 5 football school like tOSU. Just ask Shaka Smart how things went at Texas LY. Don't get me wrong, tOSU will throw a ton of $s at someone and get a good coach but that will still not help recruit into a situation that is less than ideal for many of the better HS basketball players, a half empty NBA style arena where you play 2nd fiddle on a massive campus to the big brand football team.

I think tOSU would be wise to consider a young dynamic "out of the box" style coach than some guy who did well at a mid major that is looking to cash in and give his family some financial security.
 
joesports said:
... or will they go with interim coach?
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BobKnight.jpg
 
The timing of this doesn't make sense. They could have made a run at Archie, who appeared to have been the most logical replacement target. The only thing they've achieved is jumping to the front of the line for next year should they go with an interim hire.
 
Heard a couple ideas from the media on why this was probably done now in order of probability:

- A former NCAA coach now in the NBA just became available and Smith wanted to pounce quickly.

- A top level NCAA coach just became available and Smith wanted to pounce quickly.

- The health thing hit a new level recently and Thad was having trouble traveling for recruiting; he was not going to able to hit some key events this summer and Gene Smith said that was enough to make the change now with a Fickel type caretaker, Jent, installed for the '17-'18 season.

Many are saying that Gene Smith is as sharp an AD as there is and that this smells like behind the scenes a new guy is already teed up and ready to go. Thad was told the way it would go down to give him the best possible send off before the new guy is announced later this week, that is why it was so emotional for him. Best thing I heard was that another former Florida Gator coach may be heading to Columbus :p
 
Auggie said:
Heard a couple ideas from the media on why this was probably done now in order of probability:

- A former NCAA coach now in the NBA just became available and Smith wanted to pounce quickly.

- A top level NCAA coach just became available and Smith wanted to pounce quickly.

- The health thing hit a new level recently and Thad was having trouble traveling for recruiting; he was not going to able to hit some key events this summer and Gene Smith said that was enough to make the change now with a Fickel type caretaker, Jent, installed for the '17-'18 season.

Many are saying that Gene Smith is as sharp an AD as there is and that this smells like behind the scenes a new guy is already teed up and ready to go. Thad was told the way it would go down to give him the best possible send off before the new guy is announced later this week, that is why it was so emotional for him. Best thing I heard was that another former Florida Gator coach may be heading to Columbus :p
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Sounds good,Billy Ball I can live with that...BAM!:thumb:
 
Yellow_Jacket06 said:
A shame they waited so long. Could have got Archie before Indiana.
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Could they? People keep saying this. I don't really know why, other than the fact he was an assistant here for 3 years. It's not like Ohio is all that significant to him other than Dayton being his first HC job. Indiana is in a better immediate situation and considered a blue blood.
 
Raymo said:
Should have been done two months ago,what took so long?:Ohno:
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Likely money. His buyout 2 months ago was like $10 million. Also maybe he was going to let Thad figure things out one more year but then the Lyle issue and Bazely decommitment was too much. Probably a combination of all 3 of these and then some.
 
Taco MacArthur said:
Could they? People keep saying this. I don't really know why, other than the fact he was an assistant here for 3 years. It's not like Ohio is all that significant to him other than Dayton being his first HC job. Indiana is in a better immediate situation and considered a blue blood.
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Pretty sure he considered OSU his dream job. At least once upon a time. Maybe not so much anymore. They could have at least competed for him though.
 
I don't see Marshall taking the job and Donovan might be a long shot as well. They will have to pay an enormous amount for either, which shouldn't be a problem. Marshall returns everybody from next year and they will be really good so I wonder if he sticks around for another potential tournament run.
 
Very interesting presser by Matta, and alot of the things that were not said that made you wonder? Matta's an old school guy, and it's very difficult if your not new school. When you tell the AAU superstars that they have to play defense and earn playing time, they go and look for other places to show there talents, and of course they can always transfer.

Lot of respect for Matta's teams over the year. He typically took alot of not great players and they played at a high level. 5 big ten titles in 13 years is awfully impressive. Then you consider how few current NBA players were Buckeyes, it's even more impressive.

I've always said being the basketball coach in Cbus is tough because many simply don't care enough about basketball. What's worse, haters or apathy?
 
14Red said:
Matta's an old school guy, and it's very difficult if your not new school. When you tell the AAU superstars that they have to play defense and earn playing time, they go and look for other places to show there talents, and of course they can always transfer.
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Matta was always known as a player's coach and recruited many AAU superstars.

Lot of respect for Matta's teams over the year. He typically took alot of not great players and they played at a high level.
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OSU had 8 first round picks, including 4 top 4 picks in 8 years.
 
Matta basically gave up recruiting the last few years. Ohio State should own Columbus for recruits. If you own recruiting in Columbus. You should own the Big 10
 
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