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

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Thad has paid a heavy price for all of his victories. Some excerpts from the article linked.
"It means a lot to me for three people: My wife and my two kids because what I've been through the last eight years has been very, very challenging," Matta said. "There's things I can't do as a husband, there's things I can't do as a father when my kids were little, but they never left my side.

"They have to take my shoes and socks off after games because I can't bend over. They're always right there to help me do the good and the bad. For them, it means a lot to me for those three because of what they've done to help me."

Matta arrived at Ohio State 11 years ago with a bad back, but he hurt it badly during a routine swing while playing golf shortly after the Buckeyes' Final Four run in 2007. He underwent surgery and woke up with "foot drop" in his right foot, leaving it unable to move or fully support his body.
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"I couldn't pick them up. I couldn't put them on my shoulders in a swimming pool, you can't play catch with them," Matta said. "They are runners, and I can't move to watch a cross country meet or walk in grass and all that stuff.

"But it is what it is. I have a lot of other things to be happy for."

Now as Ohio State's all-time winningest head coach, Matta felt this was the most appropriate time to show appreciation to the ones he loves.

"I've gone eight years with a disability, and they're the ones that have suffered the things that I can't do as a father, I can't do as a husband," Matta said. "And they've never wavered. For them to stay the course with me, it means a heck of a lot more to me for them than it does for myself."
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http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2015/03/thad_matta_ohio_state_buckeyes.html
 
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The following is a really good story about Matta going out for a sandwich the day of the Northwestern game and running into two Buckeye fans. He has not told his team this story and maybe he is saving it for the appropriate time.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Thad Matta went for a walk. He stopped for a sandwich.

This was in Evanston, Ill., before the Buckeyes played at Northwestern in late January.

"There were two elderly people with Ohio State gear on," Matta said Sunday after the Buckeyes were placed as a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. "I see them, they're looking in the window, then they're not, so they finally come in."

They were shocked to Matta out on his own on gameday. They asked for a photo. And they told Matta why they were there.

"This is our Christmas gift to each other. We live in Toledo, and we came to Chicago to watch the Buckeyes," Matta said in the retelling.

After the couple left, Matta was alone again with his thoughts. And he thought about his team.

"I said, 'I wonder how many guys on this team would understand what that means?' Because it touched me," Matta said. "And it made me say, '(Darn) it, Thad, you've got to win for those two people who saved their money to come watch us play in Chicago.'"
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more at http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index....e_ncaa_tournament_san.html#incart_maj-story-1
 
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Unbelievable man and coach. Look at his record. His worst season was 20 wins with a team that he inherited and who were ineligible for post season. He has never had a losing conference season in his coaching career and he's been in some pretty great conference seasons.

I'm hoping somebody comes up with a medical device that allows him to do some of the things he can't do currently. Love this guy.

Perfect move to the zone today to get the boys back into the game against VCU. They gave up some 3's to hot shooters but it lead them back from 12 down and eventually win the game. Great coaching today.
 
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The criticism of this guy is a pretty much a joke. I'm not sure he is a top 5 coach but without trying I'm sure he is top 10-15ish. Yea we've had two down years but let's look at Billy Donovan. After his back to back championships he has missed the tournament 3 times. Thad has missed the tournament 2 times here one where the team was ineligible and one where we ended up winning the NIT.

Roy Williams has managed to miss the tournament with UNC. Tom Izzo has had many less than stellar years.

I think next year could be rough but if we keep everyone together after that we will be right back to being an elite team.
 
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The only real critique I've ever had of him is he is pretty infexible in his lineup rotations. They tend to be set for the game always at the same times regardless of flow. Also he tends to ride a lineup into the ground if they are down big and they go a run. They close it 5 or so lose their legs and never get subbed out for a fresh fired up bench. But hell more often then not it works.
 
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dragurd said:
The only real critique I've ever had of him is he is pretty infexible in his lineup rotations. They tend to be set for the game always at the same times regardless of flow. Also he tends to ride a lineup into the ground if they are down big and they go a run. They close it 5 or so lose their legs and never get subbed out for a fresh fired up bench. But hell more often then not it works.
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Well, in Matta's defense it's not like he hasn't seen what his guys can and can't do every day in practice, or even in the summer in open gyms when they're banging against Oden, LeBron, Scoonie, Redd, and whoever the hell else shows up out of the blue for the YMCA pickup games they're playing.

Matta has squeezed 20+ wins out of some pretty dysfunctional teams while playing in one of the premier conferences in the country. I'll trust his instincts.

Hell, they beat VCU and are in the round of 32, which is further than I pegged them for after Wisconsin raped them without lube a few weeks ago.
 
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Steve19 said:
Yes. A highly ranked recruiting class but ranked to finish about 6th due to all of the departing upperclassmen. I think they will be in top 3 and go at least as far in NCAA?
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that might be a little bit optimistic because we know absolutely nothing about the guys who are going to play the 5 position and, to a certain extent, PG. Also quite a bit would depend on who leaves and who stays with regard to other Big Ten teams.
 
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IN FAVOR OF PROPOSED RULE CHANGES IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL

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When asked about potential rule changes to the college basketball game in the middle of last season, Ohio State head coach Thad Matta was adamant about two subjects. First, he was an advocate of lowering the shot clock from 35 seconds to 30. And secondly, he wanted players to be given a sixth foul.

So it should come as no surprise Matta sang his approval of the latest proposed set of rules by the NCAA, which will go into effect if approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on June 8.

“I am in favor,” Matta said Tuesday on a podcast by Big Ten Network analyst Stephen Bardo.

There’s a handful of new rules proposed by the NCAA, and the two Matta had been pushing for all season were both on the list.

Matta told Bardo he has been an advocate of the 30-second shot clock since his very first year in the Big Ten way back in 2004. Now, as Matta prepares to enter his 12th year as head coach of the Buckeyes, he may finally get his wish.

“When I first got into this league 12 years ago, Bill (Carmody) at Northwestern and Bo (Ryan) was playing pretty slow at Wisconsin, and after the first year I was screaming to lower the shot clock,” Matta said. “I think the 30-second shot clock is going to be a good thing. It may take a little bit of getting used to at the beginning, but I think it’s going to speed the game up and I think people want to watch a faster-paced game so we’ll see how it goes.”
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Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...-in-favor-of-proposed-rule-changes-in-college
 
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ScriptOhio said:
IN FAVOR OF PROPOSED RULE CHANGES IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL

When asked about potential rule changes to the college basketball game in the middle of last season, Ohio State head coach Thad Matta was adamant about two subjects. First, he was an advocate of lowering the shot clock from 35 seconds to 30. And secondly, he wanted players to be given a sixth foul.

So it should come as no surprise Matta sang his approval of the latest proposed set of rules by the NCAA, which will go into effect if approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on June 8.

“I am in favor,” Matta said Tuesday on a podcast by Big Ten Network analyst Stephen Bardo.

There’s a handful of new rules proposed by the NCAA, and the two Matta had been pushing for all season were both on the list.

Matta told Bardo he has been an advocate of the 30-second shot clock since his very first year in the Big Ten way back in 2004. Now, as Matta prepares to enter his 12th year as head coach of the Buckeyes, he may finally get his wish.

“When I first got into this league 12 years ago, Bill (Carmody) at Northwestern and Bo (Ryan) was playing pretty slow at Wisconsin, and after the first year I was screaming to lower the shot clock,” Matta said. “I think the 30-second shot clock is going to be a good thing. It may take a little bit of getting used to at the beginning, but I think it’s going to speed the game up and I think people want to watch a faster-paced game so we’ll see how it goes.”
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continued

Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...-in-favor-of-proposed-rule-changes-in-college
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it is not in this article but he is not in favor of the rule change or he will lose a timeout @Jake
 
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