On the road again
Matta begins recruiting trip with one scholarship available
Sunday, July 6, 2008
By Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Mavens who sweat the fact that Ohio State is the only Big Ten men's basketball team without a commitment for the 2009 recruiting class might have overlooked something coach Thad Matta has not.
"We have no seniors on this team," he said.
That's a way of saying that, if everyone returns -- Are you reading this, B.J. Mullens? -- the Buckeyes will have the same team in 2009-10 that they have next season, only one year older and stronger and, presumably, wiser and better.
That's why Matta doesn't appear to be sweating as he and his assistant coaches begin their annual July journey across America, 20 days spent crisscrossing the country to evaluate the prospects in the classes of 2009 and beyond. The road work begins today.
With four freshmen and two junior-college transfers having recently enrolled and three more players -- including Jared Sullinger of Northland -- committed for 2010, Matta has only one scholarship to offer for 2009, which is considered a talent-poor year in Ohio anyway.
If the 7-foot Mullens becomes the third straight OSU center to leave for the NBA after his freshman year, that would free another scholarship next spring.
But if none of the remaining 2009 crop at that point suits Matta's taste, he could give up the scholarship for a year as penance to the NCAA for Kosta Koufos' ill-timed departure this year in terms of the Academic Progress Rate guidelines.
So when asked to describe his 2009 recruiting plan, Matta said, "I can't. We're kind of operating on (the policy that) recruiting changes every day, (because) it does."
It changed again Friday when point guard Trae Golden of Powder Springs, Ga., rescinded his verbal commitment to the class of 2010 and reopened his recruitment.
"We're moving forward," Matta said. "You'd say, 'So you're kind of all over the map?' Yes. But we know what we're (looking for)."
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