[I]t's hard not to see that expecting OSU to be an elite program in its current state is asking too...

[I]t's hard not to see that expecting OSU to be an elite program in its current state is asking too much. I recall a Buckeye fan saying to me toward the end of the season that [Thad] Matta should [head basketball coach for Ohio State Buckeyes. - BN Ed.] have better players than he does, because he was a "universal recruiter."

Is he really? And, in his defense, is any college coach? Maybe for a certain rumored-to-be-dirty, newly hired richest coach in college basketball who seems to be able to pull All-Americans from his ass, but besides him, there are schools that have universal appeal; places like North Carolina, Duke, UCLA - where great coaches reside, but where kids attend for reputation and tradition as much as anything.

UWeekly.com covering OSU community

7 months ago Nestor 1 comment 0 recs |

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Thad's a sorry coach.

I’m sorry but just the simplest basketball strategy would have beaten Siena. Ohio State had that game won at least twice. They were up by 3 at the end of regulation with about 45 or so seconds left. The Buckeyes also had a similar situation at the end of the first overtime. I’ve never coached basketball – heck I’ve never played organized basketball at any level – but I’ve watched a ton and I would think the strategy in that context would be to work the clock down and work towards a high-percentage shot. If you’re up by 4 or more with under 30 seconds to go you have about a 99% chance of winning as opposed to being within one basket with any time on the clock. Thad Motta’s a doofus, he left the door open for Siena and they took that win with very opportunistic shooting.

by Seanny Rotten on Apr 20, 2009 6:19 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs