BobcatAttack.com - For Fans of Ohio University Sports

Welcome Guest!
Create an Account

site search

about us

advertise with us

help

BobcatAttack.com Message Board

Ohio Basketball

Topic: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Topic: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Author

Message

Danny's Knee
General User

Member Since: 11/30/2005
Post Count: 605

Status: Offline

When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/28/2017 10:19:16 PM

As long as he stays around it's great for the BOBCATS and OUr recruiting of central OHIO ..

BANG !! .. Oh BABY what a BIG TIME nose !!

check out my avatar, it's "REALLY DO ORIGINAL" !!!!

cbus cat fan
General User

Member Since: 12/2/2011
Post Count: 1,169

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/28/2017 10:36:58 PM

That's a good question and even a better question is do we even compete with Ohio State for the same recruits? I have no idea. I do remember in 90s when Randy Ayres was at the helm for Ohio State we managed to get a plethora of good players that might have went to Columbus. However, I think the whole dynamic has changed.

The MAC doesn't seem to get the quality talent we did in that era and Ohio State seems to get recruits from outside Ohio more than they once did. Maybe someone could connect the dots. However besides other MAC schools, my guess is we compete with the likes of Dayton more than we do Ohio State. Although Dayton has been on quite a tournament run the last few years, and after the miraculous 2012 stretch we have not. We just need a diamond in the rough to slip between the cracks. Again, maybe one of our recruiting experts could weigh in with their thoughts.

Buckeye to Bobcat
General User

Member Since: 9/10/2013
Post Count: 1,811

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/28/2017 10:38:06 PM

I will say this, the type of kids they're after versus ours are two different caliber of player. The one I argue we got away with snagging from Ohio St. is maybe Dartis, but otherwise there is one other kid that could still end up a Buckeye. I don't think I need to mention his name here but does someone want to check into him graduating on time this year and being eligible to do so?

Also, I will say that Matta is re-committing to recruiting in state, idk if he will be able to see it thru though.

Last Edited: 1/28/2017 10:39:06 PM by Buckeye to Bobcat

BuddyLee
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 682

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/29/2017 1:32:46 PM

I have to imagine the pressure in Columbus is building and they have plenty of money to pay for him to leave after this year if an Urban Meyer type coach is available. Could they snag a Mark Few or Chris Mack?

Last Edited: 1/29/2017 1:34:58 PM by BuddyLee

brucecuth
General User

Member Since: 12/21/2004
Post Count: 1,837

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/29/2017 3:12:21 PM

Pressure in Columbus? Maybe, but I live in Cbus and I have not heard or seen it. What I have seen and heard is apathy. Example: Two weeks ago I was in a Frantz Road sports bar watching a weeknight OSU game. 35 screens (roughly) in the place, and the game was on 3 of them. No one was watching, no one was reacting. I may very well have been the only one paying attention.

Maybe there are some deep pocketed donors who care...

But a couple friends who do intently watch OSU games expect Thad will last at least 1 more year. They believe that after the season, AD Gene Smith will meet with Matta and will advise him of specific benchmarks he must meet next year.

Of course things could change, the Buckeyes could tank the rest of the way, and maybe Smith decides he has no choice. But as of now it does not look like he's under any pressure to do anything...

bobcatsquared
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 5,417

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/29/2017 3:28:49 PM

Lots of talk about Thad and his job on local radio - 97 The Fan.

Gallia Cat
General User

Member Since: 7/11/2010
Post Count: 938

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/29/2017 4:51:45 PM

I think it's kind of funny how OSU basketball is in a little bit of a struggle for attention with the all of a sudden hot and popular NHL Blue Jackets. You know the Blue Jackets having a big year is driving Ohio State a little crazy.

cbus cat fan
General User

Member Since: 12/2/2011
Post Count: 1,169

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/29/2017 7:27:08 PM

Think about it, in some ways before this season Thad Matta may have made the most amount of money with the least amount of stress involved in all of college basketball. In Columbus, Ohio State basketball is an afterthought. He may make a third of close to half the salary that Urban Meyer makes, yet he has about 1/20 the stress. He could lose in the first game of the NCAA tournament year in and year out and he wouldn't feel much heat. Yet, I have to believe he makes 3 to 5 times what a top notch MAC coach makes.

Last Edited: 1/29/2017 7:29:01 PM by cbus cat fan

brucecuth
General User

Member Since: 12/21/2004
Post Count: 1,837

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/29/2017 9:09:16 PM

Buckeye to Bobcat wrote:

Ohio State never offered a scholarship to Dartis, so we didn't shag him away from TOSU.

I assume you are talking about Simmons as the kid possibly graduating early. I have raised the question several times on this site. I have even texted Arkley to suggest he check his status. My own opinion is that if he does graduate early and decide to leave, he won't go to Ohio State. The team does not appear to have any better prospects next year. He would have a better chance at reaching the NCAA staying put. Arguably their second/third best player, center Trevor Thompson, is himself a possibility to graduate and leave...

It's not about just recruiting in state, it's about getting the right kids. Mark Loving was a Mr. Basketball at Toledo St. Johns, but he is a significant under achiever in Columbus. David Bell from Cleveland? He's not a Big 10 talent, certainly not on a team that would be expected to got deep into March.

What's really changed in the last 10 years, maybe the last 5, is that the really best kids, those ranked in the top 20-25 nationally who are also from Ohio, no longer consider Ohio State or most other schools other than the Blue Bloods. Wasn't so a decade ago with Sullenger, Mullens and the like...

Over the long term, they need to keep kids like Jeremiah Francis, who right now is a top 25 sophomore. Two years from now they have Dane Goodwin from Upper Arlington committed. He has let it be known, at least for now, that he's solid at OSU even if Matta is no longer there. I expect next year he will be a preseason top 30 kid. I have seen him play a dozen times or more the last two years, and in my opinion he would play meaningful minutes for OSU right now.

Matta is an extremely decent guy, from what I hear. Saw him in an airport once, flying Southwest (you think Urban Meyer flies Southwest?) and he was nice to everyone. For the most part, his kids haven't caused trouble.

I just wonder if the whole program hasn't gotten stale...and that only a change at the top will freshen it.

Casper71
General User

Member Since: 12/1/2006
Post Count: 3,090

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/29/2017 9:34:37 PM

Maybe he and Groce go at the same time?

bornacatfan
General User

Member Since: 8/3/2006
Post Count: 5,716

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/29/2017 10:00:24 PM

I am still smiling from a conversation a few weeks ago.

One of the Bucknut faithful intimated that they would have enough money to get rid of Matta and throw money at Holtmann to fill Matta's shoes.

That is the tO$U way it seems. Geoff was a good example of that.

Problem is .....what makes tO$U a better job than Butler and why would Chris leave a school where Hoops is king in a state where Basketball is king for a job where basketball is a second thought. I remember stopping in Dayton at a Jiffy Lube. Standing there with a fellow getting his Red over Grey Dodge truck serviced and hanging up the phone that had the Hang on Sloopy ringtone looking at his red and grey outfit complete with red shoes and grey shoestrings I made a remark about Coach Matta snagging a couple of Indiana 's best in Oden and Conley....his remark was "no one watches basketball around here".

Talking down as if Butler was still a mid major in the Horizon was laughable. They are a Big East school that is competing well against the current No 1 team in the country.... They are a rabid fanbase.

I am not sure who Matta's successor will be or where he will be from but I suspect it will not be Chris Mack or Holtmann. Lots of schools looking at Archie. Lots of schools looking at Cuonzo. I'm just not sure the fanbase at tO$U finds hoops important enough to demand a change just yet.

never argue with idiots, they bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Winter comes and asks how you spent your summer.....

The game loves and rewards those who love and reward the game

OU_Country
General User

Member Since: 12/6/2005
Location: On the road between Athens and Madison County
Post Count: 8,370

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/29/2017 11:34:36 PM

bornacatfan wrote:

I'm just hoping Archie doesn't end up at Ohio State, where most everyone admits that they are only interested in football.

Andrew Ruck
General User

Member Since: 12/22/2004
Location: Columbus, OH
Post Count: 5,214

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 9:45:55 AM

Agree with the comments on apathy. I live in Columbus and you never hear anyone talking about OSU basketball. Even when they were good a few years ago, the fan interest was very fickle and not very passionate. I went to the #1 vs #2 OSU vs Wisconsin years ago and the loudest the crowd got all game, by far, was when they introduced 2 new football recruits at half time.

For all they have going for their football fandom, their basketball support is terrible and trending downward. It'd be stupid for me to count out such an empire but I could easily see them fading into irrelevance.

Andrew Ruck
B.B.A. 2003

OUcats82
General User

Member Since: 1/9/2005
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Post Count: 1,881

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 10:07:51 AM

I do not follow Ohio State basketball closely nor its recruiting efforts but did they make a hard push for either Jarron Cumberland or Luke Kennard?

Cumberland is a star in the making for UC IMHO and certainly would contribute if he was instead in Columbus.

Because of Ohio State's status in the NCAA hoops pecking order maybe they were never even on Luke Kennard's list but he would likely be in their starting 5 too. I wonder how much spoken/unspoken expectations there are to hang on to Ohio's top prep talent?

As well as OSU does in getting the cream of the crop in football/whoever they want basically in state, basketball seems to be another story.

It would definitely be a think twice scenario if I were either an up and coming coach or a coach that is already at a major level program to come to Ohio State. They certainly do not lack from a facilities/resources standpoint from what I can tell but you will always be second to football. They have a solid overall history but will never be mistaken for Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina etc.

Matta may very well turn around and take a team on a deep March run next year. But leading only Rutgers in the B14 standings isn't going to keep you employed long term.

Ohio-The State University

OU_Country
General User

Member Since: 12/6/2005
Location: On the road between Athens and Madison County
Post Count: 8,370

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 10:11:13 AM

Andrew Ruck wrote:

You highlight a reason that I consider Columbus to be about as crappy of a sports town as there is. The bandwagon for OSU football has become so big, and so spoiled by success, that they forget that sometimes bad seasons happen in sports. No one in Cbus will support a team unless it's outstanding, the Clippers not included. It won't happen under Urban, but wait until OSU football goes 8-4 for a couple years, and see how many empty seats there are.

Their other problem is that they built the worst building in the Midwest for basketball, mostly because it's just too big. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely building, and the club areas are outstanding, but the atmosphere is still just okay.

Ted Thompson
Administrator

Member Since: 11/11/2004
Location: MAC Play
Post Count: 7,720

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 1:28:55 PM

OUcats82 wrote:

Kennard, yes. In fact, Kennard played QB his sophomore year and there was word that Urban Meyer was recruiting him. It came down to UK and Duke for him. Most thought he was a slam dunk for UK (either his dad or grandfather went there as word had it) so Duke was a little bit of a surprise.

Follow Ohio Football recruiting on the BobcatAttack.com football recruiting database.

cbus cat fan
General User

Member Since: 12/2/2011
Post Count: 1,169

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 2:14:52 PM

The Schottenstein Center aka Value City Arena is a big part of this discussion. It was built before Nationwide Arena and the Blue jackets came to town. The thinking was besides high school basketball it could be a big money maker vis a vis big time concerts. However, unlike the building of the Convo in the late 60s, which supplied big time bands to Athens in the 1970s and early 1980s, the music scene just isn't the same anymore. While lots of bands come through Columbus, there is competition with Nationwide Arena for money making "classic rock" type of bands. Most up and coming bands wouldn't dream of playing there, they have their sights set toward smaller venues on campus or in the Arena District.

As others have mentioned, for basketball the atmosphere is hardly raucous. As I mentioned earlier, truth be told, a lot of coaches don't mind making that type of money Thad Matta makes and not feeling even a morsel of the heat that Urban Meyer feels when things don't go right. By now, it would seem that a lot of folks in Columbus have come to grips with the fact that as far as popularity is concerned, basketball is always going to be miles behind Ohio State football, and increasing even behind the Blue Jackets.

Last Edited: 1/30/2017 2:16:32 PM by cbus cat fan

Ohio69
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 3,061

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 4:31:04 PM

bornacatfan wrote:

Problem is .....what makes tO$U a better job than Butler and why would Chris leave a school where Hoops is king in a state where Basketball is king for a job where basketball is a second thought.

I understand your points. But, here's why:

$15-$20 million over 5-6 years.

No brainer.

Last Edited: 1/30/2017 4:31:27 PM by Ohio69

Can somebody hit a pull up jumper for me?.....

BillyTheCat
General User

Member Since: 10/6/2012
Post Count: 10,399

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 6:56:39 PM

cbus cat fan wrote:

You do realize that the Schott has a concert or outside event about 2 a month and still host major acts. But whatever facts you'd like to believe, feel free.

bobcatsquared
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 5,417

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 7:37:58 PM

Not sure of exact details, but the Schott and Nationwide have joined together in hosting/bidding on/promoting concerts after competing against each other since both venues opened up. Has been a joint venture for a couple of years now.

Last Edited: 1/30/2017 7:38:46 PM by bobcatsquared

BillyTheCat
General User

Member Since: 10/6/2012
Post Count: 10,399

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 7:48:40 PM

bobcatsquared wrote:

Yes, and it's worked out very well for both venues.

MonroeClassmate
General User

Member Since: 8/31/2010
Post Count: 2,165

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 8:00:36 PM

Give the O$U basketball team a 4 year, Jerry Lucas, Clark Kellogg or Jimmy Jackson and the football > basketball would narrow.

cbus cat fan
General User

Member Since: 12/2/2011
Post Count: 1,169

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 8:44:42 PM

Billy the Cat stated:

"You do realize that the Schott has a concert or outside event about 2 a month and still host major acts. But whatever facts you'd like to believe, feel free."

Actually Billy the Cat, I believe the facts linked below. One from 17 years ago, one from about seven years ago, and one from last year. It seems it isn't living up to hopes.

http://thelantern.com/2000/10/schottenstein-center-where-... /
http://blog.cleveland.com/buckeye-banter/2010/01/was_buil...
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/06/07/...

Last Edited: 1/30/2017 8:44:57 PM by cbus cat fan

Buckeye to Bobcat
General User

Member Since: 9/10/2013
Post Count: 1,811

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 9:27:00 PM

BillyTheCat wrote:

bobcatsquared wrote:

Yes, and it's worked out very well for both venues.

That went down when I worked there.

The reason for that partnership was because of those venues bidding against each other for every act that came through, which in turn led to Columbus having one of the 5 most expensive concert tickets every year on average. Schottenstein Center personnel handle the booking for both buildings, which has helped keep ticket prices stable the last few years for major events.

As to topic, there could at least be 3 big ten jobs opening up this year if Indiana continues its pace along with Illinois and Ohio St.

cbus cat fan
General User

Member Since: 12/2/2011
Post Count: 1,169

Status: Offline

RE: When will Thad Matta be relieved of his duties ?

Posted: 1/30/2017 9:40:55 PM

Buckeye to Bobcat, if you're correct and all three head coaches (Ohio State, Indiana and Illinois) get fired, Ohio State would probably pay the most with the least amount of stress. The other schools see basketball as bigger than football on their campus. I am still hopeful Coach Groce survives.

Showing Replies:	1 - 25 of 34 Posts
Jump to Page:	1 \| 2 Next >

View Other 'Ohio Basketball' Topics

There are 283 Active Visitors on BobcatAttack.com

283 Guests
0 Registered Users

There are no other users looking at this page.