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

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BuckeyeFROMscUM said:
KyleSLamb, BN's insider, is reporting that two kids have named OSU their leaders from the Spiece tourney this weekend. These kids ARE not Conley/Oden. We should have more details tomorrow. Its simply unreal what Matta is doing.
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Don't want to spread any rumors or anything, but when you said that, the 2 players that immediately popped into my head were Bill Walker and O.J. Mayo. That statement surely has my brain entertained! :)
 
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SCBuck said:
BN44820---

Since am relatively new to basketball recruiting, does anyone know how often bball recruits rescind a verbal commitment?
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Unless they declare for the draft, much less than football players. The fall signing period is a big reason why,IMO. It happens, but not nearly as much as w/ football.
 
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The Fab 5 had a pair of guards, Voskul and Pelinka, come off the bench...the Thad 5 could have a pair of 6-8 forwards in Tucker and Harangody.

If I am not mistaken, Harangody and Tucker play on the same AAU team.
 
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I believe Tucker is now playing with Cook, Conley, and Oden on Spiece Indy Heat. Harangody and Tucker were teammates when they both played for SYF. Atleast, this is what Tucker's bio says, so I am assuming that is correct.
 
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All I can say is I now officially hate Wake Forest. Reading their board has made me both sick and laugh my ass off at the same time. They seem to think they are one of the greatest basketball schools and universities that have ever graced the Earth.

I love OSU hoops and football. I wish Thad and the Bucks the best of luck no matter who they get. Yet it sure would be nice to get all those guys:) I know they won't regret the decision one moment.
 
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As a Buckeye fan I feel like we have all always had high expectations, especially when it comes to recruiting. And thus, we are easily diappointed when we lose out on a top recruit. It's nice to see someone else on the wrong end of the recruiting stick in a sport that we are used to having to watch others clean up in. Now, I know a couple of girls that played field hockey at OSU...I have to make sure they start doing some campaigning so we can start stealing field hockey recruits away from WF too...
 
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Matta has the passion and drive for recruiting and that is why is has been successful. He has the reputation of being a "players coach" which works in his favor. I can't say enough about what Matta and his staff have been able to do in less than a year with the program. Its simply amazing.

As far as the Wake board goes.....its pathetic over there.....they can't believe Matta possibly could lure Conley and Oden away from Wake to go to OSU. They don't seem to understand that Matta has had a relationship with Conley and Oden for several years and has ties to Indiana basketball. They can't fathom being beaten at basketball recruiting by a football school.

Times change people.......:wink2:
 
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link

5/3/05




Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">'Thad Five' looking like a possibility



On Monday, the media, fans, family and friends met David Lighty, the future Ohio State basketball player.
It didn't take long after Villa Angela-St. Joseph's Lighty officially let out of the hat the area's worst-kept secret - he intends on playing in Columbus, starting in 2006 - that his sights were set on his official college visit to the OSU campus this weekend.
It won't be just another token recruiting trip. As excited as Lighty was to make his college intentions known on Monday, the thought of what potentially lies ahead for Ohio State basketball made the nation's No. 17-rated junior's eyes light up.
With his college decision behind him, a relieved Lighty and Dayton Dunbar's Daequan Cook, Ohio's No. 1-rated junior by several recruiting services who is also verbally committed to OSU, hopes his future coach, Thad Matta, can extend his recruiting touch beyond the Ohio border.
Looming in Indianapolis is the equivalent of the Lighty/Cook tandem: the nation's top high school junior, 6-foot-11 Greg Oden, and point guard Mike Conley Jr., both of Lawrence North High School. Also in the mix is a 6-foot-8 forward from Memphis, Tenn., Thaddeus Young, the nation's No. 7-rated junior. The three out-of-staters are planning to join Lighty and Cook for an official visit to the Ohio State campus this weekend.
Lighty's recruiting pitch to Oden, Conley Jr. and Young?
"Hopefully we'll be the next North Carolina, be the next "Fab Five" and win the national championship," said Lighty, sporting an Ohio State cap during his news conference at VASJ.
Should all things come to fruition, years from now they won't be known as the next "Fab Five," referring to the University of Michigan class that featured the likes of Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose.
Any mention of the "Fab Five" inside the Schottenstein Center would make any Buckeye fan cringe. Rather, a moniker being tossed around Columbus pertaining to this potential recruiting class is "The Thad Five."
"That's a nice name," Lighty said of the moniker. "It's something different. Let's hope it sticks."
Recruiting will never be an exact science, but Matta and his coaches must be ecstatic where the recruiting trail has taken them. The same can be said of Lighty.
"I think the chances are pretty high we're going to get them all," Lighty said of Oden, Conley Jr. and Young. "I think it's way better than a 50/50 chance. For all of them, Ohio State is already in their top two. Now (the coaches) have to reel them in."
Matta clearly knows how to seal the deal. He's done it with Cook and now with Lighty, both Ohioans. The biggest test will be this weekend, especially trying to talk Oden, rumored to be the likely No. 1 pick of the '06 draft, that Columbus should be his future home and not the Charlotte Bobcats or Atlanta Hawks. Oden was recently quoted as saying he intends to attend college.
Lighty's mother, Emily, can attest Matta's simple approach to recruiting works, as did a memorable victory to close out the regular season.
"He's very personable, down to earth and very approachable," Emily Lighty said of Matta. "David is like that as well, and that helped. I was very impressed by him as a coach. He also had a feather in his cap when his team beat Illinois."
VASJ coach Dave Wojciechowski raved about Matta, who began recruiting Lighty when he was the coach at Xavier.
"Forty-five minutes after he got the job (at Ohio State), Thad called me to let me know David was a priority for them. They wanted David. That says something special."
Two prized recruits are on the way for Matta. A potential for "The Thad Five" is a real possibility if more sparks are made this weekend. Lighty can help make those sparks happen.
Better yet for Matta and OSU, he seems excited to give it a try. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 
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