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

[Jake]

Honestly, even those who feel this way are changing their mind at this point. I think tgey can see that whatever it is that they're waiting for...aint happening.

I remember people calling for Matta's head as far back as 2011-12, and I was one of the people who told them they were nuts. I've been a "Thad guy" until now. When I looked back and noticed an obvious trend downward - that is heading for his worst ever season this year - I changed my tune. One down year is an isolated event. What we have is a five-year trend and I don't see blue-chip prospects declaring for Ohio State, so how is it going to magically change?

Why has this happened? I don't know. But Thad is being paid as a top 10 coach, and the results are becoming increasingly far from it. It is what it is, unfortunately.

 

[DaytonBuck]

I think the downfall of Thad is his assistants. He started off with guys like Groce, Archie, Brandon Miller, Alan Major, etc. who were up & comers in the profession

Even at Xavier he had Sean Miller& was the guy who hired there when he took the job.

Assistant coaches are your point men in recruiting with ties to AAU programs/regions & do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to evaluating talent.

Dickerson had some ties to Mississippi & the Deep South but the some total of that as far as I can tell is LaQuinton Ross.

Paulus isn't ready for this level

A good deal of the blame on last years recruiting class disaster falls on their shoulders.

Last class & this one there are players that have no business being here on the team or signed.

Sticking with those guys & not bring in one or two coaches with strong recruiting ties or ability is inexcusable.

I'm not gonna fault him for losing Kennard or Bragg. No realistic fan is asking berating him for losing a recruiting battle to K or not signing multiple Burger Boys every year.

What bothers is me is that a class like the AJ Harris one are the talent & character evaluations were so off. Going back to Scott/Thompson/Amir class there have been whispers about work ethic & buying into the program.

The scary thing is I don't think there's an easy fix for this. Hire Archie Miller or whoever but the number of programs around us who are up is sucking the oxygen out of the room recruiting wise is unprecedented. Louisville, Kentucky & West Virginia all have Hall of Fame coaches. State has Izzo. Crean & Painter are successful enough that the Indiana pipeline is dead. We're bordered by a lot programs peaking or running at high levels that there's only so much talent to go around.

Thrown in the fact it doesn't look like Ohio has a McDonald's AA or top 20 talent through the 2019 class at least makes this more daunting. I'd love it if Ohio St could grab McDonald's All Americans out of California or Texas but the closer proximity to Columbus the better odds.

 

[Systems_id]

I think the downfall of Thad is his assistants. He started off with guys like Groce, Archie, Brandon Miller, Alan Major, etc. who were up & comers in the profession

Even at Xavier he had Sean Miller& was the guy who hired there when he took the job.

Assistant coaches are your point men in recruiting with ties to AAU programs/regions & do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to evaluating talent.

Dickerson had some ties to Mississippi & the Deep South but the some total of that as far as I can tell is LaQuinton Ross.

Paulus isn't ready for this level

A good deal of the blame on last years recruiting class disaster falls on their shoulders.

Last class & this one there are players that have no business being here on the team or signed.

Sticking with those guys & not bring in one or two coaches with strong recruiting ties or ability is inexcusable.

I'm not gonna fault him for losing Kennard or Bragg. No realistic fan is asking berating him for losing a recruiting battle to K or not signing multiple Burger Boys every year.

What bothers is me is that a class like the AJ Harris one are the talent & character evaluations were so off. Going back to Scott/Thompson/Amir class there have been whispers about work ethic & buying into the program.

The scary thing is I don't think there's an easy fix for this. Hire Archie Miller or whoever but the number of programs around us who are up is sucking the oxygen out of the room recruiting wise is unprecedented. Louisville, Kentucky & West Virginia all have Hall of Fame coaches. State has Izzo. Crean & Painter are successful enough that the Indiana pipeline is dead. We're bordered by a lot programs peaking or running at high levels that there's only so much talent to go around.

Thrown in the fact it doesn't look like Ohio has a McDonald's AA or top 20 talent through the 2019 class at least makes this more daunting. I'd love it if Ohio St could grab McDonald's All Americans out of California or Texas but the closer proximity to Columbus the better odds.

Excellent post. Unless the ship is righted quickly, I do think Thad should at least be given the option to clean house as far as assistants go and hire some fresh blood. If that doesn't happen then yeah, time to find a new coach. You do bring up a good point about talent though. It's going to be hard to pull top talent in like the mid-to-late 2000s with all the resurgent midwestern programs. The new coach would have his work cut out for him.

 

[LitlBuck]

Thrown in the fact it doesn't look like Ohio has a McDonald's AA or top 20 talent through the 2019 class at least makes this more daunting. I'd love it if Ohio St could grab McDonald's All Americans out of California or Texas but the closer proximity to Columbus the better odds.

Dane Goodwin might take exception to this statement.

 

[ArmyVet83]

Everybody has valid points about what's going on with the team and coaches. I see a lot wrong with the team. Recruiting is the major part of it. However, this team does not have an identity. Here is the list:
1. No true leader on the floor. No Mike Conley, Aaron Craft, Evan Turner, etc.
2. Lack of chemistry. This team does not play together and there is no cohesiveness on his team. Part recruiting, players, and coaching.
3. Fundamentals. Best example are the free throws. How can coaches not find guys that can shoot at this level?
4. Development. Best example is the Scott/Thompson/Williams recruiting class. These guys did show any improvement from their freshman to senior years. This is mostly player motivation to improve but the lack of coaching was evident.
5. Attitude. With the current group, Loving is the best example. The lone senior should lead by example but regularly disappears in games. Simply using Loving as the example.
6. The players last year that transferred. I think this may have been the crossroads for this program. In my lifetime (52 years), I have never seen, almost, the entire class leave a program. In this instance, the program was having issues. Bring in players with some entitlement / talent issues and that sends the program even further into a tailspin. While I do not have an issue with Ohio kids going else where, I will not insult some of these kids intelligence either. Maybe the state of the team and coaches turned some of these student/athletes off. Just saying it is possible.

Remedy? It's time to clean house. Looks to me that Thad has burned out and he is not going to gut his entire staff to attempt and resurrect this program. This program needs a transfusion. It needs some new blood. Just my two cents.

 

[wigmon]

Dane Goodwin might take exception to this statement.

He might take exception to it, but its going to be a true statement. The composite recruiting rankings have him ranked 5th in the state and 163 nationally. He is a good all around basketball player and I've got no issues with the offer (though we should not have taken both he and Aherns), but he's very average athletically for a 6'4" DI guard prospect.

 

[HabaneroBuck]

He is a good all around basketball player and I've got no issues with the offer (though we should not have taken both he and Aherns), but he's very average athletically for a 6'4" DI guard prospect.

Just for the record, Ahrens has a different game than Goodwin. More athletic, and more versatile. I almost think Ahrens could be a tall point, from what I've seen. Goodwin is going to be a shooter, for the most part.

As far as Matta is concerned, I echo ArmyVet....the fact that the entire top-ranked class was sent away, EXCEPT for Lyle, puzzles me. Lyle is a solid player, but he obviously is not taking any coaching very well, relying on his natural gifts more than anything else. There was some potential for Lyle to turn into the Evan Turner-type of floor leader, and the primary hope this season had beforehand was that development, along with a general maturation of the more experienced players. Didn't happen. Matta just feels like a roll-the-ball-out-there coach who needs players to mesh more than a moulder of his own destiny. Always has felt that way to me. I didn't see him corral Daequan; I didn't see him harness much of anything from BJ Mullens; William Buford had a solid career, but he never got any better; the last four years speak for themselves....

 

[Bestbuck36]

The knock that I've always had with Thad is his refusal to sub more or to change the philosophy to the strength of his players. He just forces his system all the way through. Typically I'm fine with that because it works with the right personnel but guys haven't developed to be the right personnel.

Why? And now that has become the next knock on him.

Guys who haven't progressed or seem like they aren't putting forth the effort that they should. He still doesnt work them out of the lineup.

This is going to be totally brutal if they fire the winningest coach in history.

 

[Systems_id]

The knock that I've always had with Thad is his refusal to sub more or to change the philosophy to the strength of his players. He just forces his system all the way through. Typically I'm fine with that because it works with the right personnel but guys haven't developed to be the right personnel.

Why? And now that has become the next knock on him.

Guys who haven't progressed or seem like they aren't putting forth the effort that they should. He still doesnt work them out of the lineup.

This is going to be totally brutal if they fire the winningest coach in history.

I think Matta would step down before that happened but not a good situation to be in at all in either case. It's also not like OSU basketball sells itself unlike the football program. I really wish Thad would just completely clean house save for Jent and start fresh but I don't see that happening.

 

[LitlBuck]

For those of you who care, Thad wore a tie for the Michigan State game because one of his daughters asked him to for her 18th birthday

 

[LitlBuck]

People who think Thad is going anywhere are just wrong… Sorry.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith gave me a "c'mon, you know better than to ask me that," when I tailed him out of the arena after the win and asked for what he thought of Matta. But he stopped.

"Thad is an outstanding coach. We wouldn't be where we are today without his help," Smith said. "Great job today. Proud of him."

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo brought up criticism of Matta on his own in his postgame remarks, while also noting he couldn't believe some of the 3-pointers the Buckeyes made.

"I shouldn't say this, but I'm happy for him," Izzo said in defeat, in a way that allowed you to totally understand how a losing coach could say that about a friend he's competed against for 13 seasons. "From the standpoint of the way people treat him around here, I'm happy for him. He's won a lot of games here and he and I have played in a lot of championships here."

more at Gene Smith, Tom Izzo defend Thad Matta, Ohio State plays like old days: Doug Lesmerises

 

[ArmyVet83]

People who think Thad is going anywhere are just wrong… Sorry.

more at Gene Smith, Tom Izzo defend Thad Matta, Ohio State plays like old days: Doug Lesmerises

First off, great win yesterday for Thad and the Buckeyes.

With that said and speaking for myself, I do not think Thad is going anywhere for a while. Gene and Tom are correct with their comments they made. Gene is Thad's boss and of course he will publically make those comments he made. Tom is Thad's friend and peer, why would he come out and say Ohio State needs a new coach? Thad has been great for this basketball program, no denying that whatsoever. But there are many issues with the program right now.

The last 4-5 years this team has progressively gotten worse and as I have stated before, it's a multitude of problems. Recruiting, player development, and coaching are the most prevalent. This team has survived early departures to the NBA and transfers, however, most recently Thomas, LQR, Russell leaving for the NBA (only one got drafted that's in the NBA right now), it was very noticeable without them on the floor, this team was not good and it became more apparent after those players left that the remainder of the team was simply bad. That one superstar, whether it was Thomas, Ross, or Russell, were good enough to cover up the shortcomings of the remainder of the team. The problems are still there.

I think Thad is a great HC but is he going to pull a Jim Tressel and stay loyal to subpar assistants, if that is the case (he has already done it with players) or is he going to go Urban Meyer and urge sub-par coaches it might be a good idea for them to move on and hire some gritty up and comers? Can Thad right the ship? I hope so. Yesterday was a good starting point. But until this team can play consistently, I'm not buying it. True, I have no say in the matter as does any of us on any message board. But many of us have seen how this team was when Thad first arrived to where they are now. There is a lot of work to be done.

GO BUCKEYES!!

 

[ScriptOhio]

OHIO STATE COACH THAD MATTA TRIES TO TUNE OUT CRITICS; TOM IZZO OFFERS A PASSIONATE DEFENSE

The critics are out there.

Ohio State head coach Thad Matta insists he doesn't hear them.

"My thing is this on people’s opinions: I’m not real big, I don’t have a lot of opinions because I can’t remember why I have them," Matta said Sunday following his team's 72–67 win over Michigan State. "It’s hard enough to remember my opinions, so why I have them I can’t remember that so I don’t think a whole lot about it.”

As Matta's team started this Big Ten season 0–4 prior to Sunday's win over the Spartans, the noise from outsiders once again became loud. It's the second-straight season the Buckeyes appear to be in danger of missing the NCAA tournament and many fans believe a change at the top may be necessary to help get Ohio State basketball back to where it once was just a few short years ago.

Nobody forgets what Matta did for this program — he's the winningest coach in school history with multiple Big Ten championships and Final Four appearances — but many feel it might be best for both sides if a change were to occur.

Through all of the noise, though, Matta, his staff and his players continued to keep the blinders on in an attempt to get the season turned around.

“We just keep working and I tell the players, I tell the coaches to just keep playing," he said. "We got dealt a blow here a couple weeks ago losing Keita [Bates-Diop]. We’ve had a tough go. Maybe there’s a couple teams that wouldn’t be 0–4 going into [Sunday's] game but there’s probably some that would be.

"I was 10–9 at Xavier [in 2003–04] and four weeks later we were playing in the Elite Eight to go to the Final Four. Just keep fighting, man. Just keep fighting.”

Matta and Co. hope Sunday's win over the Spartans can jumpstart the turnaround Ohio State needs. But even if it doesn't, Matta had a supporter on the opposite bench Sunday.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo did not hold back in his postgame press conference when he was asked about the current state of the Buckeyes and the way Matta is viewed in Columbus.

“I shouldn’t say this, but hell, I’m happy for him," Izzo said after the loss. "From the standpoint of the way people treat him around here, I’m happy for him. He’s won a lot of games here."

Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...-critics-tom-izzo-offers-a-passionate-defense

 

[wigmon]

People who think Thad is going anywhere are just wrong… Sorry.

more at Gene Smith, Tom Izzo defend Thad Matta, Ohio State plays like old days: Doug Lesmerises

If you take that quote by Gene to mean that Thads job is safe for as long as he wants it, you are naive. What else is the AD to say about his current coach? He is going to say that until the day he refuses to extend Thads contract or holds a press conference to say we are parting ways.

I don't know whether a coaching change will be made this year or not, but its not going to happen during the season unless the players quit. As stated before, Thad has 2 more years left on his contract after this one and if you don't hear of an extension offered this off season, then you will know where he stands. I think Gene would love to let Mattas contract play out to the end, but he isn't going to sacrifice the program for it. If we aren't close to making the NCAA tourney again this year, I think the coaching search begins.

 

[Jake]

People who think Thad is going anywhere are just wrong… Sorry.

more at Gene Smith, Tom Izzo defend Thad Matta, Ohio State plays like old days: Doug Lesmerises

Whether I think he's going anywhere or not is irrelevant. The issue for me is if I think he can turn around what has been a 5 year decline, going on 6 even after yesterday's win. I'm not confident that he can at this point, but as long as he's the coach I'll be rooting for him to do so. Losing in this sport doesn't get you a higher draft pick, it only hurts recruiting. Ohio State's basketball program needs to reverse this downward trend no matter who is the coach, so I'm pulling for Thad as long as it is him.

As for Smith's comments, what else is he going to say to a reporter? "Yes, Thad is lucky we won today. I was thinking of firing him if he didn't get it done." He's never going to say anything like that, regardless of circumstances. Let's see if the Bucks can make it two in a row Wednesday night. I hope they can. It's more fun than losing.