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Thad Matta (OSU's All Time Winningest Coach & 3x B1G COY, Butler HC)

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OhioState001 said:
Beverly and Wesson is a pretty underwhelming haul compared to what Thad used to bring in.
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Wesson I think could turn out to be a nice complementary player. Couple problems with that...the way the roster is shaping up, he might be the most talented player, and therefor a focal point. Second, I'm not sure I trust this coaching staff to get the most out of him.

I know I'm one of those folks beating the recruiting drum, but I just don't see kids coming in that can make things any better than the last 3-4 years.
 
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Jake said:
Since the beginning of last season, the basketball Buckeyes have lost 24 games.

The football team has lost 24 games since the start of the 2005 season.
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Obviously not apples to apples, but I feel like each of the 24 football losses still eats at me. Pretty sure I could name them and still get frustrated about something.

The basketball ones- heck even the wins- just all run together anymore. Nothing memorable about anything in the program lately.
 
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wigmon said:
Does Thad go anywhere if the record is 1-17 in the B1G this year? Or more specifically, what record secures Thad's job for next year? Through the end of his contract?
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I never really saw anyone address this question. Are there those that think Thad's job is still secure through next year or the end of his contract no matter what, or is there some record that you think changes things?
 
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wigmon said:
I never really saw anyone address this question. Are there those that think Thad's job is still secure through next year or the end of his contract no matter what, or is there some record that you think changes things?
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I'd probably lean towards him being safe no matter what. Although at the same time does the team probably won't be any better next season, maybe we should just move on now
 
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wigmon said:
I never really saw anyone address this question. Are there those that think Thad's job is still secure through next year or the end of his contract no matter what, or is there some record that you think changes things?
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I think he gets next year, barring some kind of disaster...like losing out. Problem is, the B1G is spectacularly mediocre this year, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them eek out 3-4 more wins. Next year I think is the real "hot seat" year, and anything less than an NCAA tournament appearance is probably the end.

The product has gone to shit, recruiting is a shadow of what it was, and there's a lot of empty seats. That happens again next year (and I see nothing indicating it won't), I think he's offered the option to resign and he takes it.

I'd prefer to just move on now, but I don't make those decisions. I don't see Matta turning things around at all. It just feels like a death spiral. However, I think his past success, and the fact that he's run a clean program buys him more rope with the folks that do make the decisions. If this was a "basketball school", his ass would probably be searing, but the fact that the football program is the cash cow makes it a little different, IMO.
 
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What is the ceiling of this program..Thad got to the finals once.,who will get us back there? At tOSU a Torrance Gibson or a Tate Martel or Isaiah Prince have more cache than any basketball player. At Duke, Kentucky, Villanova, UNC or Kansas basketball rules..tOSU will not draw the top 15 kids anymore. In basketball tOSU is like an Iowa or MSU in football..a developmental program not a plug and play.Agent 0 Sully were the last two plug and play.
 
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Onebuckfan said:
What is the ceiling of this program..Thad got to the finals once.,who will get us back there? At tOSU a Torrance Gibson or a Tate Martel or Isaiah Prince have more cache than any basketball player. At Duke, Kentucky, Villanova, UNC or Kansas basketball rules..tOSU will not draw the top 15 kids anymore. In basketball tOSU is like an Iowa or MSU in football..a developmental program not a plug and play.Agent 0 Sully were the last two plug and play.
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I think the ceiling is a little higher than I thought pre-Matta. This IS a program that can be relevant nationally. It will never be Dook, UK, UNC, or Kansas expecting to compete for national championships every year because it is a FOOTBALL school. But, with the right coach, there's no reason we can't be a very solid program that can compete for a National Title every couple of years. The trick will be finding the right young coach with the energy/passion (which is what I think has been drained from Matta for whatever reason) to sell the program again.

I think a lot of the Matta loyalists worry about finding a coach that can guarantee the success Matta had from '05-'12...which was pretty damn spectacular. But at this point, it's more about somebody that can do better than the last 4 years...which at a program with tOSU's resources shouldn't be that hard. Matta is a top-10 paid coach. Find a young up-and-comer and pay him. The B1G doesn't have any perennial national powers. There's no reason to be paying a coach $3.5M per year and be slowly slipping to the bottom of the conference...which is what we're doing.
 
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Onebuckfan said:
At tOSU a Torrance Gibson or a Tate Martel or Isaiah Prince have more cache than any basketball player.
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This is true to a point. More than any current basketball player? Sure. tOSU has a fickle basketball fanbase. They aren't gonna fill the schott to watch a lousy team. But when they field solid teams, they get support. Oden, Conley, Turner, Sully, Craft were all very popular.
 
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NFBuck said:
I think the ceiling is a little higher than I thought pre-Matta. This IS a program that can be relevant nationally. It will never be Dook, UK, UNC, or Kansas expecting to compete for national championships every year because it is a FOOTBALL school. But, with the right coach, there's no reason we can't be a very solid program that can compete for a National Title every couple of years. The trick will be finding the right young coach with the energy/passion (which is what I think has been drained from Matta for whatever reason) to sell the program again.

I think a lot of the Matta loyalists worry about finding a coach that can guarantee the success Matta had from '05-'12...which was pretty damn spectacular. But at this point, it's more about somebody that can do better than the last 4 years...which at a program with tOSU's resources shouldn't be that hard. Matta is a top-10 paid coach. Find a young up-and-comer and pay him. The B1G doesn't have any perennial national powers. There's no reason to be paying a coach $3.5M per year and be slowly slipping to the bottom of the conference...which is what we're doing.
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If a change is made we need a young Thad Matta ..he has all the characteristics I want. I agree it seems like he has been drained either by health or the frustration these last few classes seem to have caused.
 
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Onebuckfan said:
If a change is made we need a young Thad Matta ..he has all the characteristics I want. I agree it seems like he has been drained either by health or the frustration these last few classes seem to have caused.
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And that's the way to go. Get a young, energetic coach that has cut his teeth at a smaller program. Preferably one with local ties. I'm an Archie Miller fan. I think he could do really well in Columbus. That's the guy I'd like to see them go get.

We're not a blue-blood program that can hope to lure coaches with resumes like Roy Williams or even Bill Self here. And that's fine. Matta was a home-run hire, and he gave us 8 really good-to-great years before burning out. I think that can happen again.
 
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