Ohio State Basketball Official Thread

• Heretic

  

  At the least, he should be able to help with shooting, because guys being able to consistently hit mid-to-long-range jumpers has not been really happening so much recently.
• Terry_Tate

  

  Based on a Mark Titus tweet earlier too it seems like Jent might be Matta's replacement too. I know it's hard for Matta coaching with his back issues so would make it easy for Jent to take over in a year or two.
• se-alum

  

  As expected, Andre Wesson committed to the Bucks today.
  
  
  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
• wildcats20

  

  Giddens has signed with Alabama.
• se-alum

  

  Happened a while a ago, but didn't see it posted...Grandstaff has already left OU for Depaul.
  
  
  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
• Heretic

  

  se-alum;1801315 wrote:Happened a while a ago, but didn't see it posted...Grandstaff has already left OU for Depaul.
  
  
  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  In other words, "Daddy and I are gonna keep moving until we find a school where I'm good enough to see the floor!"
• vball10set

  se-alum;1801315 wrote:Happened a while a ago, but didn't see it posted...Grandstaff has already left OU for Depaul.
  
  
  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  Heretic;1801321 wrote:In other words, "Daddy and I are gonna keep moving until we find a school where I'm good enough to see the floor!"

  yup
• vball10set

  [video][/video]
• FatHobbit

  

  Sounds like Matta was a little frustrated last year.
  
  http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Bolt/Watch-Matta-straightforward-about-basketball-transfers-46250466
  
  "The second thing is, some of you are going to transfer. You don't know it yet, but whatever you do, don't come see me. Just shoot me a text, because I'm tired of looking at you."
• Heretic

  

  FatHobbit;1803352 wrote:Sounds like Matta was a little frustrated last year.
  
  http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Bolt/Watch-Matta-straightforward-about-basketball-transfers-46250466
  
  "The second thing is, some of you are going to transfer. You don't know it yet, but whatever you do, don't come see me. Just shoot me a text, because I'm tired of looking at you."

  Lol, read it and laughed. It does bring up the question of what he was thinking recruiting these guys, though. Just looking at star-ratings or just thinking that he's a good coach and everything would work out seamlessly. Because of that freshman class, Lyle was the only one who showed much of an aptitude on offense (inconsistently, having some great games and some games where he was invisible) and the other guys never progressed throughout the year. Harris was a speedy guy without a shot, Giddens was a foul-prone big with no offensive game, Mitchell was a good passer with no offensive game and Grandstaff (in his brief stint) was a three-point specialist with absolutely no value if that shot wasn't falling (which it usually wasn't). Usually, you see some sort of improvement or maturation as a season progresses, but all of those guys were basically the same player at the end of the year as they were when they first took the court.
• FatHobbit

  

  Heretic;1803526 wrote: but all of those guys were basically the same player at the end of the year as they were when they first took the court.

  To me that kind of speaks to D'angelo Russell's complaint. Some guys were not willing to work to get better.
  
  Obviously they were not there at the same time, but it sounds like changes need to be made to motivate or get motivated players.
• Heretic

  

  FatHobbit;1803540 wrote:To me that kind of speaks to D'angelo Russell's complaint. Some guys were not willing to work to get better.
  
  Obviously they were not there at the same time, but it sounds like changes need to be made to motivate or get motivated players.

  Yeah, I can't speak as to what motivated the other three to leave (although all four wound up as lesser schools as far as basketball goes), but Grandstaff and his dad came off to me as overly entitled, where they thought he'd step on campus and immediately be junior/senior Diebler or something like that and when he wasn't hitting his shots and, therefore, not getting PT because hitting shots was literally the only thing he was capable of doing, they immediately bailed. No "let's make this work" or "I need to improve all facets of my game"; just "we're looking into a better fit for him" stuff.
  
  And really, from what they showed last year, all of the other three needed to dramatically improve aspects of their game if they wanted to get more PT this year because they all really weren't more than limited role players due to their general lack of offense, foul trouble or a combination of both. If they weren't willing to put in the work, I'd want them gone, too, if I was the coach, as you don't need those attitudes around the guys who obviously are working to improve their game.
• Azubuike24

  

  Maybe Thad Matta just isn't a very good coach? Since 2011, he's gotten worse every season. The recruiting has gone down every season. There really hasn't been any player improvement after the down recruiting. He gets a bit of a pass in Columbus because OSU is a football school, and who are they going to get that people like and is any better?
  
  He's basically what Rick Barnes was at Texas. Look how that worked out? And look what happened when they finally realized they have resources and clout to be a top 20 basketball school just on size and money alone, and went out and got one of the best young coaches available.
• FatHobbit

  

  Azubuike24;1803616 wrote:Maybe Thad Matta just isn't a very good coach? Since 2011, he's gotten worse every season. The recruiting has gone down every season. There really hasn't been any player improvement after the down recruiting. He gets a bit of a pass in Columbus because OSU is a football school, and who are they going to get that people like and is any better?
  
  He's basically what Rick Barnes was at Texas. Look how that worked out? And look what happened when they finally realized they have resources and clout to be a top 20 basketball school just on size and money alone, and went out and got one of the best young coaches available.

  This seems like crazy talk to me. Last year was bad. They still won 20 games. Thad consistently makes the tournament and he's had several deep runs, elite 8s, final 4s and a runner up. There's no way I don't give him more time. I remember the Jim O'brien (when I was content to make the tournament on a good year because at least we weren't dirty...) and Randy Ayers years and this is a huge improvement.
  
  Edit, I just looked at Texas record under their new coach. I realize it's only his first year but he was 20-13 and lost in the first round of the tournament. Unless I'm missing something that doesn't seem like an improvement over Matta
• Azubuike24

  

  You're crazy if you don't think Shaka Smart is an upgrade over Barnes.
  
  OSU fans, if you could have Shaka right now, would you do it?
  
  Winning 20 games now is a joke. OSU usually plays 10-11 absolute cupcakes in the non-conference, ends up whipping on the bottom feeders of the Big Ten (there are more of them with 14 teams now) and adds another against such a team in the Big Ten Tournament. Look at the make-up of that "20 wins" last year and tell me which ones were actually good. Probably 2 of them (they had 2 top 50 wins). A shitty team can win 20 games when you're playing up to 40 in a season.
• SportsAndLady

  

  FatHobbit;1803617 wrote:This seems like crazy talk to me. Last year was bad. They still won 20 games. Thad consistently makes the tournament and he's had several deep runs, elite 8s, final 4s and a runner up. There's no way I don't give him more time. I remember the Jim O'brien (when I was content to make the tournament on a good year because at least we weren't dirty...) and Randy Ayers years and this is a huge improvement.
  
  Edit, I just looked at Texas record under their new coach. I realize it's only his first year but he was 20-13 and lost in the first round of the tournament. Unless I'm missing something that doesn't seem like an improvement over Matta

  Shaka Smart is a much better coach than Barnes lol
• Laley23

  

  1. Shaka will have Texas as a top school soon.
  2. Matta can coach. Come on now Az. But I've always bought he really struggled to develop talent.
  3. No coach in college can look good without players. Matta can't recruit in person because of his back, and it's killing his rosters.
  4. I'd personally look to move on, while OSU still looks like a solid love for another coach. Because I don't see Matta having much more success wih his bad health (not even sure how much longer he lasts)
  5. If I was an OSU alum, or someone in power, I'd keep him until he wanted to retire (again, not sure it will be too much longer)
• Midstate01

  

  Matta to me is a great head coach, but he needs the right assistants around him. He runs the ship but needs the right people around him. Dickerson has been mattas biggest problem. He can't make big men better, hell they might get worse. That's why I'm really thankful to see Alan Major and Chris Jent back. I also belive Mattas health has played a big part in things too. I'd guess another mediocre season and Matta is out. I LOVE Matta and hate the osu fans who want him out, but imo him having a meeting with gene Smith where he was told to get things right, tells me he's on a leash that's getting shorter.
  
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• Terry_Tate

  

  Laley23;1803650 wrote:1. Shaka will have Texas as a top school soon.
  2. Matta can coach. Come on now Az. But I've always bought he really struggled to develop talent.
  3. No coach in college can look good without players. Matta can't recruit in person because of his back, and it's killing his rosters.
  4. I'd personally look to move on, while OSU still looks like a solid love for another coach. Because I don't see Matta having much more success wih his bad health (not even sure how much longer he lasts)
  5. If I was an OSU alum, or someone in power, I'd keep him until he wanted to retire (again, not sure it will be too much longer)

  All of these are right on the money. Mattas health is a huge barrier between him and the other top schools, and I'll be surprised if he's still the coach in 5 years. He's deserved a few more years with what he has turned Ohio State into, but it feels like Chris Jent was brought back with the very real possibility he becomes the head coach sooner rather than later. I think with Jent and Alan Major back Ohio State will get back to a consistent top 25 school. Matta can absolutely coach though, lol. Player development hasn't been very good but you can only do so much with the talent he's had. It's also hard to have your players improve when they don't seem to have any desire to improve (2015 Senior class).
• FatHobbit

  

  Azubuike24;1803636 wrote:You're crazy if you don't think Shaka Smart is an upgrade over Barnes.

  SportsAndLady;1803640 wrote:Shaka Smart is a much better coach than Barnes lol

  I never said Shaka Smart was not an upgrade for Texas. I honestly have no clue about Texas. But Azu was saying OSU should emulate Texas and hire a hot young coach. I don't think what Texas did last year would be an upgrade over what Matta is doing.
• SportsAndLady

  

  FatHobbit;1803654 wrote:I never said Shaka Smart was not an upgrade for Texas. I honestly have no clue about Texas. But Azu was saying OSU should emulate Texas and hire a hot young coach. I don't think what Texas did last year would be an upgrade over what Matta is doing.

  It was his first season, Hobbit.
• wildcats20

  

  SportsAndLady;1803658 wrote:It was his first season, Hobbit.

  Right?
  
  Honestly, I'd take Shaka over Thad everyday and twice on Sundays.
• wildcats20

  

  wildcats20;1803659 wrote:Right?
  
  Honestly, I'd take Shaka over Thad everyday and twice on Sundays.

  I should add...
  
  And everything that Shaka will be doing at Texas in the coming years before he leaves for Chapel Hill [emoji6]
• wildcats20

  

  Also, I don't think OSU will make a change(unless a major falloff). It's going to be up to Thad when he leaves, IMO.
• Azubuike24

  

  Okay, so what I read is...
  
  Matta isn't a bad coach, as I prefaced. Of course, this is a very subjective term. I'd argue that Matta WAS a good coach, but is he anything more than average now? It seems there is agreement that his health is a barrier and that it's affecting his coaching. Obviously, which is noted that he's gradually gotten worse since the 2011-12 Final Four. His recruiting has declined. His player development has disappeared. Right now, what more does he have to offer than being a decent high-major program.
  
  IMO, Ohio State can be more than that. Much more. And if it's a consensus that his health is having a big impact, unless you're saying those health issues will just go away, might as well replace him now and move forward sooner rather than later. Now, that might not be practical from a respect perspective to Matta, but that isn't what we're debating.
  
  We're talking on the court results.