By Jordan Long
Ohio State University made a surprising firing, letting go of Men’s Basketball Coach Thad Matta. He had been the coach for 13 years. According to ESPN, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith said, “I felt comfortable after the season when I sat down with Thad that we had a plan. [But] recruiting is a major part of it, and we weren’t winning the recruiting battles. As we started talking about it Friday, the flow of the conversation took me to the realization as I said to him, ‘This might be the time to make a leadership change,’ and he agreed.”
Matta was hired by Ohio State prior to the 2004 season. He coached at Xavier where he had an outstanding record of 78-23 and led them to 3 NCAA tournaments. Ohio State wouldn’t make the NCAA Tournament until the 2006 season. In his 13 years, the Buckeyes made the NCAA Tournament 9 times and even went to the Final Four in 2007. That year they were knocked off by Florida in the National Title Game 84-75, the best finish in Matta’s career.
The last two years have been letdowns in the eyes of Ohio State. They failed to reach the tournament. This past season Ohio State finished with 17 wins, the lowest win total that Matta ever had. Ohio State felt it was time to move on and will conduct a search for a new head coach. Matta finishes with an overall record 337-123 with the Buckeyes.
This was not the right decision for Ohio State. They had two down years but Matta should’ve had one more year to try to coach this team into the NCAA Tournament. This is a case of “what have you done for me lately?” Lately Matta didn’t coach them to the tournament the last two seasons and it cost him his job.
Matta is an excellent coach. He has an overall record of 439-154, an impressive winning percentage of .740. There is a school out there that will need a head coach. Matta will be the right person to turn that program around. Hopefully he will have the opportunity soon.
What do you think of Ohio State letting go of Thad Matta?
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