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

[DaveyBoy]

The most underrated head coach in the US.

Pundits and fans sometimes equate "bench coaching" with having lots of set plays to run and a lot of direction of their teams' offesive flow. But effective coaching usually relates more to establishing a mindset on defense (Buckeyes are annually among the very top in fewest-point-per-opponent-possession) and allowing offensive talent to manifest itself without undue constraint. Matta is a master at these things.

I hope our men get him his first NC in about a week - he and they deserve it.

you very efficiently and effectively described Thad's greatest strength as a coach. He instills a philosophy and relentlessly (or stubbornly depending upon perspective) implements and nutures it. I am concerned about his "bench coaching" because at times the team is simply in need of a spark to get the O flowing again. Without a motion offense or a quiver of set plays, it gets very very difficult to jump start it. Once it's jump started, the offense is among the best out there.

But you really did a great job of explaining Matta's style: instill --> nuture --> perform --> results

put this way, Matta is clearly in the elite group of 5 or 6 coaches nationwide

 

[LitlBuck]

The most underrated head coach in the US.

Pundits and fans sometimes equate "bench coaching" with having lots of set plays to run and a lot of direction of their teams' offesive flow. But effective coaching usually relates more to establishing a mindset on defense (Buckeyes are annually among the very top in fewest-point-per-opponent-possession) and allowing offensive talent to manifest itself without undue constraint. Matta is a master at these things.

I hope our men get him his first NC in about a week - he and they deserve it.

For once we agree:) If he coached a team on The East Coast he would get the plaudits that he deserves. Boeheim had no idea what to do yesterday. Ohio State just shredded that vaunted zone defense.

 

[Bill Lucas]

For once we agree:) If he coached a team on The East Coast he would get the plaudits that he deserves. Boeheim had no idea what to do yesterday. Ohio State just shredded that vaunted zone defense.

Yep.

When Sully got his 2nd foul Ohio State forced them to play slow and when he returned they mad Syracuse play fast. Ohio State completely controlled the tempo of the game.

 

[Dryden]

Interview with Brando:

http://www.cbssports.com/video/play...N/werner-ladder-coaching-spotlight-thad-matta

 

[Buckskin86]

Thad radio interview- 3 27 12

 

[Bucknut24]

Thad Matta gonna be on the Dan Patrick Show sometime soon, he just said coming up

 

[LitlBuck]

So far, Matta has earned $100,000 in performance incentives on top of his $2.7 million compensation for the 2011-12 season, and he could earn another $100,000 if the Buckeyes win the NCAA championship. Buford?s Big Ten title-clinching shot at Michigan State was worth $20,000 to Matta, as well as another year on his contract (which now runs through the 2017-18 season). Matta also earned $40,000 when the Buckeyes made the NCAA Tournament, $20,000 when they reached the Elite Eight and another $20,000 when they made the Final Four.

http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/stories/2012/03/27/osu-mbk-insider-3-27-gskgk54a-1.html

 

[Buckskin86]

Rob Oller commentary: Matta won?t back down from persistent pain
By Rob Oller
The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday March 28, 2012

Three days before Christmas and Thad Matta?s holiday was about to disintegrate. Ohio State had just dismantled Miami University by 29 points in Nationwide Arena. The Buckeyes were 12-1 and rolling. Matta stood to leave the postgame news conference and ...

No one noticed. Matta sat back down, able to conceal the agony. He has become adept at masquerading his misery. The Ohio State basketball coach has suffered from back pain since age 15. Such chronic ache presents two options. Either complain about it constantly, a path that eventually wears out friends and family. Or learn to manage it. Matta manages it.

But this time? This time the throbbing created not just pain but doubt. While many Ohio State fans entered the New Year predicting a trip to the Final Four, Matta wondered if Miami had been his Final One.

?I went through a three-week stretch this season where I thought I was done,? Matta said yesterday in Value City Arena, where the Buckeyes had just finished practicing for a national semifinal against Kansas on Saturday.

That is no exaggeration. A back that buckles is like a broken-down car in Montana. When it goes, that?s it. You sit. In Matta?s case, he reclined.

?I spent Christmas break, in essence, in bed, trying to get ready for the next game,? he said.

cont...

http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/stories/2012/03/28/matta-wont-back-down-from-persistent-pain.html

 

[Buckskin86]

Thad Matta succeeds with a different style
March, 28, 2012

NEW ORLEANS -- Ohio State needed this Final Four.

Thad Matta did not.

Matta has never been about self-promotion. The Buckeyes' coach is a fierce competitor but never talks about his need to collect rings, according to his good friend and former assistant Sean Miller of Arizona, even though Matta has piled away a combined eight conference titles in stops at Butler, Xavier and Ohio State.

Ohio State's athletic department was reeling a year ago as its football program, the crown jewel of Columbus, was embroiled in a scandal. An investigation turned up NCAA violations, which were followed by suspensions and eventually the departure of longtime coach Jim Tressel.

The Buckeyes survived the turmoil and have been rejuvenated by the hiring of Urban Meyer. And while the two sports don't rely on each other, athletic director Gene Smith said the department needed something like the Buckeyes' NCAA tournament run to get everyone back on board.

"This means a great deal," Smith said. "We've gone through quite a bit of challenges, and you're trying to highlight the positives.

"At the end of the day, it's football and basketball where all of the fans' interests are, and when basketball makes a great run like this, it helps remind people what we're all about," Smith said. "It gives people pride. It's significant. It's significant."

Spring football practices start Thursday, which is certain to create additional buzz in Columbus this weekend while the Buckeyes are in New Orleans preparing for Saturday's national semifinal against Kansas. Smith said Meyer will try to fly down to New Orleans on Saturday if his schedule permits.

"With practicing starting Thursday, with the Final Four, and then the spring game on April 21, we have a chance to really continue to help our fans feel positive," Smith said.

Smith said Matta's handling of this squad, especially with the losses of Jon Diebler and David Lighty from last season's team, has been proof of his exceptional leadership.

"I'm proud of the work he's done," Smith said.

So, too, is Miller. Well, he's almost in awe.

"Thad is a very unique coach," said Miller, who replaced Matta at Xavier before he went to Arizona. "It's part of why he's so great at what he does. To me, he thinks differently than a lot of coaches in that he has very little ego.

"I don't know if his big picture is as important to him as it is to others who have won like him. I don't think Thad aspires to be in the Hall of Fame. He isn't counting his rings, and he has quite a few. He's more into coaching and motivating his team. Thad doesn't think about his legacy as much as other great coaches do."

cont..

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...ta-flies-radar-final-four-run-ncaa-tournament

 

[LitlBuck]

The more I read about Coach Matta the more I respect him as a coach and as a person. He is truly an amazing man for what he has accomplished despite his pain and physical limitations.

 

[Buckskin86]

‘Low-Major Guy’ Hits Biggest Stage
By PETE THAMEL
Published: March 29, 2012

NEW ORLEANS — Thad and Barb Matta were married in August on a sweltering Thursday evening in North Carolina, 11 days after their engagement. Barb bought a dress in Asheville, ordered a small white cake and planned a reception for a handful of family and friends in their $200-a-month faculty housing apartment.

Coach Thad Matta, the face of Ohio State basketball, has led the Buckeyes into this year’s Final Four. His team is 31-7 this season.

Thad had just accepted an assistant coaching job in 1995 at Western Carolina, but Barb told him that she would not move to tiny Cullowhee, N.C., unless they were married.

Fewer than a dozen people sweated through the ceremony at the Cullowhee United Methodist Church, a modest event emblematic of Thad’s humble roots. Western Carolina Coach Phil Hopkins recalled that his invitation to be Matta’s best man coming the day before the wedding.

“There was sunshine coming through the stained glass windows,” Barb said. “It was a nice warm day. He was so hot in the church I had to wipe his face before we could kiss.”

With Thad Matta leading Ohio State into the Final Four this weekend, the unpretentious wedding ceremony offers a sharp contrast to both the bacchanal backdrop of New Orleans and the size of the Superdome’s stage. Matta, who led Ohio State to the N.C.A.A. final in 2007, where the Buckeyes lost to Florida, proudly calls himself a “low-major guy.”

Barb Matta unintentionally summarized her husband’s ascent by explaining why he could not wait a week to give his family more time to travel to North Carolina for the wedding.

“Thad had to go out recruiting,” she said with a laugh.

cont...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/s...-for-thad-matta-the-biggest-stage-awaits.html

OSU players have love affair for Matta
Mar. 30, 2012
Written by
Rob McCurdy
CentralOhio.com

COLUMBUS -- Some coaches want players who will run through a wall for them.

Ohio State's Thad Matta is thankful his guys will step in front of an errant teammate heading his direction in practice.

"The funny thing is how they protect me," he said. "If they know there's a loose ball and they're within distance to stop, (they'll stop) so they can't run over me. Guys have jumped in front of me before in practice to take a hit so I wouldn't get hit."

Matta's issues with a bad back are well documented. Plagued with back problems soon after the 2007 season ended in the national championship game, he had surgery, but it didn't go well. The aftermath left him with no feeling in his right foot and calf, forcing him to wear a brace so he can walk.

The depth of Matta's disability and how he deals with it on a daily basis was revealed last week in a piece written by CBSSports.com's Jeff Goodman.

"I definitely feel for him, but he does a great job of not letting it hinder what he wants to do," sophomore point guard Aaron Craft said.

Added senior guard William Buford: "It's crazy with that one foot, and he never complains about it. A lot of people would complain about that and you'd hear about it, but with him you never hear about it. He just keeps on rolling. That's just great to see."

For guys to step in front of their coach to take on a flying body like soldiers falling on a grenade in a foxhole speaks to the relationship Matta has with his players.

"His players really genuinely love him," former Buckeye point guard Scoonie Penn said.

Penn never played for Matta, but he's stayed close to the program since Matta took charge eight years ago.

"He lets his players play. He gets along with his players, and I think the guys want to play for him," Penn said. "When you have a guy you want to play for, it makes it easy."

cont...

http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/20120330/SPORTS/203300312

 

[cjmik_75]

We're all so lucky to have been able to enjoy this season and watch this young team grow and get to a final four under Coach Matta's guidance. Making the final four is so difficult and so special that relishing in the excitement felt before it is something not lost on this Buckeye Fan. Thank you Coach, for bringing The Ohio State University Basketball team to where it is today and continued success for many years to come!

Now, let's go win this Big Dance!!!

 

[matcar]

With the pain he endures, could Matta retire if we won it all?

 

[NFBuck]

8 Years:

221 Wins (27.6 per year)
8 Twenty Win Seasons
5 Twenty Five Win Seasons
3 Thirty Win Seasons
6 NCAA Apperances
5 Regular Season B1G Titles
3 B1G Tourney Titles
16-4 vs scUM
4 Sweet 16s
2 Final Fours
1 National Runner-Up

Just a little perspective. :osu:

 

[BuckTwenty]

There's no other coach in the country I would rather have coaching and representing my Buckeyes than Thad Matta. In just 8 short years, he's turned us into a powerhouse program.