reclegend22;1425856 wrote:^. Dude, I was joking. Lol. It's not a big blow at all. Although, I do think he had a positive impact on the development of Aaron Craft, as many stories indicated during the tournament.

Down the road, I think he'll make an excellent coach.

lol, sorry, I misunderstood, and I definitely agree @ Craft

vball10set;1425899 wrote:lol, sorry, I misunderstood, and I definitely agree @ Craft

Haha yeah, I just wanted to see if anybody would comment on that. Paulus was essentially the cameraman lol.

On a tangentially related note, and this is just something I saw being discussed on another forum recently, do you think there is any desire for Matta to ever coach in the NBA? I see that as pretty much the only way he ever leaves Ohio State. Even if North Carolina came calling, Matta isn't leaving for that job. He's got arguably the best job in the country in terms of the balance of available resources -- no school outmatches Ohio State in that regard, except for maybe Kentucky -- and pressure to win championships. While OSU wants to win in basketball, it is first and foremost a football school. With the success he's achieved in basketball at a school dominated by another sport, Matta has it made.

^^^good question, and IMO, the answer is no. I have nothing substantial to base that on other than a gut feeling, and that hasn't always been the most accurate of measuring sticks of late... so I guess you could say it's anyone's guess.

reclegend22;1425909 wrote:With the success he's achieved in basketball at a school dominated by another sport, Matta has it made.

It's funny to me that there were rumblings of people being unhappy with him before they went on their run at the end of the season.

vball10set;1425921 wrote:^^^good question, and IMO, the answer is no. I have nothing substantial to base that on other than a gut feeling, and that hasn't always been the most accurate of measuring sticks of late... so I guess you could say it's anyone's guess.

I'd say you are right. If Matta keeps up this level of recruiting and pace of winning, he'll be in excellent position to eclipse Dean Smith's career wins mark. Then again, who isn't. Lol. (Calm down, those affected by that quip. I am joking.)

Matta is only 45, and he will probably coach into his late 60s. He could end in the 900, 950 area, maybe higher if he wins a championship or two and takes the program a level even higher.

FatHobbit;1425922 wrote:It's funny to me that there were rumblings of people being unhappy with him before they went on their run at the end of the season.

If he doesn't win a natty in the next decade, could that be enough you think to make the university make a move? I personally think Matta has the job until he no longer wants it, but I don't really know I guess.

reclegend22;1425934 wrote:If he doesn't win a natty in the next decade, could that be enough you think to make the university make a move? I personally think Matta has the job until he no longer wants it, but I don't really know I guess.

National titles aren't really expected at OSU basketball. The fact that we are as good as we are is awesome to me. I don't think he will ever win a national title, but I'm not sure how much better we can do then him

gport_tennis;1425937 wrote:National titles aren't really expected at OSU basketball. The fact that we are as good as we are is awesome to me.

I'm pretty content to win B1G titles,the B1G tournament and be in the mix for the NCAA tournament. If he continues his current success I think he's going to get a national title eventually.

reclegend22;1425934 wrote:If he doesn't win a natty in the next decade, could that be enough you think to make the university make a move? I personally think Matta has the job until he no longer wants it, but I don't really know I guess.

I don't know if he has the job forever, but I don't think a national title is necessary for him to keep it.

FatHobbit;1425922 wrote:It's funny to me that there were rumblings of people being unhappy with him before they went on their run at the end of the season.

Yeah. I was at my mom's yesterday and reading the Dispatch sports. The letters were all dedicated to blasting previous week letterwriters blasting Matta for losing in the NCAA tournament. A lot of good points were raised in talking about just how stupid the people ripping Matta are.

Yes, let's go back to fucking Eldon Miller ball and all of its wonderful 19-13 seasons. What a wonderful idea...

I don't think Matta will be around more than 3 more years. The talent pool in Indiana was raided by the Buckeyes in Matta's early years, but now with the emergence of IU and Butler the talent will stay in state. Combine that with Michigan up north reaching into the state along with MSU, Ohio State will have to cast a wider net for talent. I don't think they have the pedigree to attract it unfortunately for Buckeye fans.

swamisez;1426910 wrote:I don't think Matta will be around more than 3 more years. The talent pool in Indiana was raided by the Buckeyes in Matta's early years, but now with the emergence of IU and Butler the talent will stay in state. Combine that with Michigan up north reaching into the state along with MSU, Ohio State will have to cast a wider net for talent. I don't think they have the pedigree to attract it unfortunately for Buckeye fans.

Lol

swamisez;1426910 wrote:I don't think Matta will be around more than 3 more years. The talent pool in Indiana was raided by the Buckeyes in Matta's early years, but now with the emergence of IU and Butler the talent will stay in state. Combine that with Michigan up north reaching into the state along with MSU, Ohio State will have to cast a wider net for talent. I don't think they have the pedigree to attract it unfortunately for Buckeye fans.

I agree with everything you said. Except for Matta being gone.

The Bucks will definitely feel some pain with IU and Butler and UofM being back to good and keeping the best players in Indiana, but that doesnt mean Matta will be out (unless he leaves on his own, of course).

swamisez;1426910 wrote:I don't think Matta will be around more than 3 more years. The talent pool in Indiana was raided by the Buckeyes in Matta's early years, but now with the emergence of IU and Butler the talent will stay in state. Combine that with Michigan up north reaching into the state along with MSU, Ohio State will have to cast a wider net for talent. I don't think they have the pedigree to attract it unfortunately for Buckeye fans.

Laley23;1426957 wrote:The Bucks will definitely feel some pain with IU and Butler and UofM being back to good and keeping the best players in Indiana, but that doesnt mean Matta will be out (unless he leaves on his own, of course).

lol

vball10set;1427005 wrote:lol

You dont think that OSU will feel some recruiting pain with 3 schools who were bad when Matta took over are now top 20 teams?

Then, lol at you sir.

The recruiting pipeline to Indiana -- which at one time helped Matta land Mike Conley, Greg Oden and DeShaun Thomas -- is definitely going to dry up for the Buckeyes. Or at least not be as strong as it once was. But Matta is a good coach and proven recruiter, so I think he'll be able to adapt and continue to win at least at the level he already has. He'll just have to find another well to tap into. There's talent to be had.

reclegend22;1427026 wrote:The recruiting pipeline to Indiana -- which at one time helped Matta land Mike Conley, Greg Oden and DeShaun Thomas -- is definitely going to dry up for the Buckeyes. Or at least not be as strong as it once was. But Matta is a good coach and proven recruiter, so I think he'll be able to adapt and continue to win at least at the level he already has. He'll just have to find another well to tap into. There's talent to be had.

Exactly. Its the same reason Purdue got clue chip recruits for the first time in forever and until AJ Hammonds, that stopped. And Hammonds was in a class that featured about 10 top 100 players.

I've said it for 2-3 years now to my OSU friends/aquaintances. Matta's recruiting has "slipped." Now, he's still getting good players AND he's getting them to stay around for multiple years. However, all it takes is one guy (like Evan Turner, who blew up and bolted a year early) and not having a cupboard of a few top 25 guys to plug in, and it's trouble.

What will help Matta, like others have referenced in this thread, is expectations. If OSU has say a 22-win season, makes the NCAA's and goes out in round 2...their fans won't disown the coach. Now, they will expect him to improve on it (likely having some newer guys and not have guys bolt), but they won't get out of hand right away.

At UK, UNC, Duke...a year of having a season NOT realistically being a top 20 team, and it's freak out time, unless next year projects to back in the hunt for a natty title. He won't ever face that at OSU, but he might slowly slip a bit year by year because early on and the last 3-4 years, he's set the bar VERY high. The only logical next step to go anywhere but down, is cut down the nets.

I somewhat agree with what you guys are saying as I don't think Matta will consistently have top 5 or top 10 classes, but he has 5 commits as of now over the next 2 classes and 4 of the 5 are top 75 guys with the other being 103 in rivals. Still has a shot at Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor as well, though not sure how realistic it is. He's not going to always get the classes that UK, Duke, or UNC will get, but he'll get top 75 guys that will stay 3-4 years and be good players. They'll be a top 10 team next year, then should be top 10-15 the following year as well with Scott, Thompson, Amir as seniors unless Thompson blows up and leaves early(which goes into what Azu said), and then who knows from there. The classes of 3-4 top 30 guys are probably over, but nothing makes me think Indiana, Michigan, or Michigan State are set up for long term success over Matta and Ohio State. Indiana possibly due to the talent in the state and number of stars they'll get, but that's it.

Terry_Tate;1427120 wrote:. The classes of 3-4 top 30 guys are probably over, but nothing makes me think Indiana, Michigan, or Michigan State are set up for long term success over Matta and Ohio State. Indiana possibly due to the talent in the state and number of stars they'll get, but that's it.

This pretty much sums up my feelings as well. However, I'm not sold on Tom Crean, therefore imo they'll be no more of a contender than OSU, Michigan or MSU over the next decade.

I think we are all saying variations of the same thing here.

Basically, in Mattas heyday of recruiting he was on a tear with the top guys. It coincided with Indiana and Michigan being really bad and pretty bad. All he was going up against was Purdue (lol) and Michigan St. Now, it is Indiana, Michigan St, Michigan and Butler (since they will be Big East, I expect them to land top 100 guys consistently...not a whole class, but they will have a few on the roster each year).

He isnt going anywhere though cause he still recruits fine. In some ways top 100 kids may be better off if you can develope 1 into a stud (Turner, Oladipo, Payne, etc) because you will have them around and will know the team inside and out. But by the same token, it becomes much harder to win a National Title. But at OSU, they dont need it. So, in short, I think Mattas days of being a top recruiter are over, but he is still a very good one and OSU will be top 5 in the B1G consistently with Michigan, Michigan St, Indiana and Wisconsin imo.

Also, Ohio State will be the last place Matta coaches unless he retires and gets the itch to coach again. He'll never go to the NBA because of his back/foot as the travel would be awful, and I don't see him leaving for Duke/UK/UNC/Kansas as I think he likes being out of the spotlight at Ohio State. OSU may never do better than Matta so I hope he's there for 20 more years.

Agreed TT. I have to admit, the gigs at a place like OSU and Florida are pretty nice. I'd put Louisville kind of in that same category, with UK in the same state.

I dont expect matta do always get top players in indiana. But I think ita stupid to say he won't get any again. I think you guys forget matta is from Indiana and has very good connections there. Plus he has a pretty good track record with those players going to the league.

Also agree with TT. Matta to the nba is NEVER happening. He HATES being on the road. Its a reason osu hasnt played in maui or somewhere else far away. And why they dont make west coast trips.