Posted on Sat. May. 16, 2009
Ohio State keeps recruiting clean
Men's basketball coach makes the university's quality a selling point.
By Tom Davis
of The News-Sentinel
Unscrupulous actions by collegiate coaches to gain an advantage in recruiting are as old as collegiate athletics themselves. Recent allegations that Southern California men?s basketball coach Tim Floyd had delivered an envelope containing $1,000 to a person connected with former Trojan player O.J. Mayo is not necessarily surprising, it?s just the most recent story regarding this subject.
When it comes to securing the services of top high school athletes, coaches often step outside the boundaries of not just the NCAA manual, but morality and legality as well.
No coach has been more successful at recruiting the top basketball players in the country in recent years than Ohio State?s Thad Matta. What is also notable is the fact that Matta has performed this task without a hint of trouble from the NCAA.
?I tell kids up front in the recruiting process, ?What you see is what you get with me,?? Matta said of his philosophy. ?I don?t want a kid to show up (at Ohio State) and say, ?You remember the guy who recruited me? That?s not the guy who?s here.??
One thing that Matta has used to his advantage that other coaches can not lay claim to is the quality of the university that he represents.
?The biggest (selling point) is that I work at the most powerful university in the country,? Matta stated proudly. ?(Ohio State) is a fascinating place and it has the resources to do things not just for the athletes, but the students (also). That?s the first thing we sell.?