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- Thread starter Jake
- Start date
OHSportsFan
Fan of Ohio Sports in Indy
Replay girl best part of my day.
Stupid refs moved in and blocked her. This day sucks.
Stupid refs moved in and blocked her. This day sucks.
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Hadn't really watched these guys this year but it was on one of the tv's at the gym today.
Holy fuck
Reading all the optimism about young and talented then seeing that product on the court today, I don't even know what to say.
I understand why I'm seeing articles defending Thad now. There have to be voices getting steadily louder about this simply not being good enough.
Holy fuck
Reading all the optimism about young and talented then seeing that product on the court today, I don't even know what to say.
I understand why I'm seeing articles defending Thad now. There have to be voices getting steadily louder about this simply not being good enough.
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Thad has never been the strongest game coach/tactician. His strength has always been his ability to draw talent to Columbus. One has to wonder how much his health is hindering his recruiting because aside from Russell, his recruiting has fallen off the past couple of years compared to his first 7 years. And the results are showing on the floor. This just isn't a very good team. Aside from Russell, neither was last year's, nor the year before.
It's a considerable dilemma. I certainly don't advocate moving on, because what're the chances replacing Matta resukts in a return to what we experienced from '05-'12? This isn't a blue blood basketball program...we could end up Mason/Minnesota-ing ourselves. But i have a nagging feeling brewing that the Matta era has already crescendoed, and the decline has begun. We're in the midst of a third straight underwhelming season, with this one teetering on flat out "bad."
I'm afraid if this year continues to go this way, next year may be a "hot seat" year for this staff.
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buckeyesin07
Veni. Vidi. Vici.
Agreed. This team is woefully inexperienced, which wouldn't be bad--it happens--if the talent level were there to offset things. But the talent level, IMO, is, at best, only "good." Inexperience + good talent, at best = bad season.
As an example, and not to cut on the guy, but A.J. Harris is a 5'9" freshman that provides a lot of hustle and speed, but a rather limited game otherwise. In years past, he'd be getting garbage time only. Yet he's averaging double digit minutes this year.
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Systems_id
Head Coach
This is why folks saying this should be a hot seat year are completely misguided. It wasn't long ago when even Izzo had several strings of garbage teams and fans wanted Izzo gone. One year they BARELY made the tournament by the skin of their teeth. Coach K had a string of mediocre to bad teams with several embarrassing exits. And that's at THE blue blood school. I just think Ohio State fans are completely unable to wrap their heads around the fact that this isn't a basketball school. I also think the frustrating thing about this current slide is that you can't tell if it's just a temporary blip ala Coach K at Duke or Izzo at MSU or if it's a permanent slide like Rick Barnes. At a blue blood you can just say "Fuck it" and fire the guy knowing you'll have coaches lined up. At a second tier school like OSU though? You risk potentially setting your program back to the pre-Thad days when a tournament birth was something you got on your knees and thanked God for.
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buckeyesin07
Veni. Vidi. Vici.
Couldn't agree more. Thad's got a lot of goodwill built up. I think you'd have to see this season be a bust (which, unfortunately, is likely) and next season result in pretty much the same (i.e., no improvement by the guys who are a year older and no significant contribution from next year's freshmen) before you would hear people starting to question whether Thad's the guy going forward.
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As much as I don't want to admit it, I'm thinking that the Thad Matta era is coming to a close. He's aged a lot the last three years. This is a good group of players, but I haven't really seen anyone stand out yet. He is obviously in a lot of pain and his recruiting has suffered. When you hit that slippery slope, things rarely recover. Perhaps things change and this is a momentary blip on the screen, but we're nearer the end than the beginning. 
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Jagdaddy
Head Coach
As much as I don't want to admit it, I'm thinking that the Thad Matta era is coming to a close. He's aged a lot the last three years. This is a good group of players, but I haven't really seen anyone stand out yet. He is obviously in a lot of pain and his recruiting has suffered. When you hit that slippery slope, things rarely recover. Perhaps things change and this is a momentary blip on the screen, but we're nearer the end than the beginning.
Long-term chronic pain is a tough thing. And I think it's likely that it's taken too much of a toll on Coach Matta for him to put the kind of focused energy into the program that he once did. That's not to say that I don't think that he's doing his best or has gotten lazy, but that there probably just isn't enough left in the tank. Fundamentals and tactics both seem to be at mediocre and declining levels.
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Hetuck
Assistant Coach
Thad's recruiting issues go back at least five years to the recruitment of Shannon Scott. Then there was that year four years ago when he didn't sign a recruiting class! It's not surprising that the team is really bad this year with no seniors. And with Loving as the only junior on the team I don't see them being significantly better next year.
Count me among those who thinks we're in the twilight years of the Matta era. Oh and I still have no clue what Greg Paulus brings to this team.
Count me among those who thinks we're in the twilight years of the Matta era. Oh and I still have no clue what Greg Paulus brings to this team.
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Matta has given us spoiled fans probably the best 10 years this program has ever seen, and certainly the best stretch of time as a basketball program since the early 60s.
Like it or not, this is not Kentucky or Duke or UNC or Kansas....this is not a blue blood program. Sure the last couple years aren't quite what we're accustomed too, hence why I said spoiled fans.
I think Matta has earned the right to try to correct the issue. I do think we owe it to him, since he's not only been hugely successful while also graduating his players at a much improved rate AND his players have more or less stayed out of major trouble, to be patient and let it play out.
Like it or not, this is not Kentucky or Duke or UNC or Kansas....this is not a blue blood program. Sure the last couple years aren't quite what we're accustomed too, hence why I said spoiled fans.
I think Matta has earned the right to try to correct the issue. I do think we owe it to him, since he's not only been hugely successful while also graduating his players at a much improved rate AND his players have more or less stayed out of major trouble, to be patient and let it play out.
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