Thad Matta

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Thad Matta (pronounced Mah-tuh) (born July 11, 1967 in Hoopeston, Illinois) is the current head coach of the Ohio State University men's basketball team. He was hired as head coach on July 7, 2004 after Ohio State had fired previous coach Jim O'Brien. Matta is the 13th head coach in Ohio State basketball history and guided his first edition of Buckeye basketball to a 20-12 campaign in 2004-05. He is one of just two coaches nationally to post 20 or more wins in each of his first five seasons as a head coach. Matta also tied an Ohio State record for wins by a rookie coach (20). Gary Williams, currently the head coach at the University of Maryland, posted a 20-13 record in 1986-87.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Early coaching years 3 Butler head coach 4 Xavier head coach 5 Ohio State head coach 6 External links

[edit] Playing career

A basketball standout at Hoopeston-East Lynn High School in Hoopeston, IL., Matta was a two-year starter for the Butler University Bulldogs in three seasons after transferring from Southern Illinois University as a sophomore. He led Butler in assists (100) and three-point field goal percentage (.433) in 1987-88 and in free throw percentage in 1988-89 (.872). He served as a team captain on Barry Collier's first team in 1989-90 and finished his career in sixth place on Butler's all-time list for free throw percentage (.800). He earned a B.S. degree from Butler in 1990. Matta enjoyed his Butler career high point total of 21 points against Xavier University at the Cincinnati Gardens March 2, 1989.

[edit] Early coaching years

In total, Matta spent six seasons as a full-time assistant coach at three different universities, helping his squads compile a composite 128-58 (.688) record and make six postseason tournament appearances. He was on the bench in five-consecutive conference tournament championship games and won four league tournament championship rings. He was in the NCAA tournament five times as an assistant under four different head coaches and in the postseason National Invitation Tournament once.

Matta began his coaching career at Indiana State University as a graduate assistant under head coach Tates Locke in 1990-91. Matta served as an academic coordinator and administrative assistant at Butler (1991-94) before moving into the full-time coaching ranks.

Matta took his first full-time assistant coaching position under Herb Sendek at Miami University (Ohio) in 1994-95 and helped Miami to a 23-7 record, a Mid-American Conference regular-season championship and a first-round win in the NCAA tournament.

The following year, Matta accepted a coaching position at Western Carolina University under Phil Hopkins and helped the Catamounts to a 17-13 record, the school's first winning record in 10 years. Western Carolina captured the Southern Conference regular season and tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Matta returned to Miami under new head coach Charlie Coles in 1996-97 and helped the RedHawks to a 21-9 record, the MAC regular season and tournament championships and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Matta rejoined Butler University's staff in 1997 and helped the Bulldogs to three-consecutive 20-win seasons. He established himself as one of the nation's best young coaching prospects during a six-year assistant coaching stint. In his three seasons as Barry Collier's top assistant, Butler compiled a 67-29 (.698) record, won two Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament championships and one MCC regular-season title, made two NCAA tournament appearances and earned one NIT berth. He served as Butler's primary recruiter.

[edit] Butler head coach

Matta took over as head coach of Butler when Barry Collier left after the 1999-2000 season to coach at the University of Nebraska. Matta was named 2000-01 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year in his first and only season as head coach at Butler, after leading the Bulldogs to a school record 24 wins. He was also named National "Rookie Coach of the Year" by CBS SportsLine.com and College Insider.com.

Butler was 24-8 under Matta's direction that year with an 11-3 record and an MCC regular season championship, a MCC tournament championship and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Butler won 13 of its last 15 games. Eventual NCAA runner-up Arizona ended the Butler run in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

[edit] Xavier head coach

At Xavier, Matta led the Musketeers to three-consecutive 26-win seasons, back-to-back Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championships in 2002 and 2003 and two league tournament titles in 2002 and 2004. Xavier advanced to three NCAA tournaments, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2004 following two second-round trips. The three season totals of 26 wins are tied for the second-highest single-season win total in Xavier history with the 1987-88 team and trails only the 28 win 1989-90 "Sweet 16" season.

Matta's 26 wins for the 2002-03 season marked the highest win total ever for a second-year XU head coach. He also broke the school record for most victories by a Xavier rookie head coach. Xavier's 26-6 record in the 2001-02 campaign set the record.

Matta was named 2002 Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year, while leading the Musketeers to the top regular season finish in the league at 14-2 and an Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament championship. In addition, Matta became the only first-year coach in conference history to ever win both the A-10 regular season and tourney championships.

[edit] Ohio State head coach

Matta, a finalist for the 2002-03 Naismith National Coach of the Year Award, began his duties in Columbus on July 7, 2004. No time was wasted preparing for his first season in Columbus, which culminated in a thrilling victory over undefeated and top-ranked Illinois in the regular-season finale at Value City Arena before a packed house and a national television audience. The 65-64 victory became an instant Buckeye Classic. The Buckeyes' final record for the 2004-2005 campaign was 20-12.

In the 2005-2006 season Matta lead the Buckeyes to an outright Big Ten Championship for the first time since 1992 finishing one game ahead of the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois. The Buckeyes season came to an end during the second round of the NCAA tournament when they lost to Georgetown University on March 19, 2006. Their final overall record was 26-6. The Buckeyes were thought to be a year away from competing for the league crown, as they will be adding a highly regarded recruiting class, led by center Greg Oden of Indianapolis for the 2006-2007 season.

[edit] External links

• Profile Page
• Dials leads No. 8 Buckeyes to outright Big Ten title

Preceded by: Barry Collier	Butler Bulldogs Head Men's Basketball Coach 2000 – 2001	Succeeded by: Todd Lickliter
Preceded by: Skip Prosser	Xavier Musketeers Head Men's Basketball Coach 2001 – 2004	Succeeded by: Sean Miller
Preceded by: Jim O'Brien	Ohio State Buckeyes Head Men's Basketball Coach 2004 –	Succeeded by: incumbent

Ohio State Buckeyes Head Basketball Coaches
Huddleson • Kibler • Raymond • St. John • Trautman • Olsen • Dye • Stahl • Taylor • Miller • Williams • Ayers • O'Brien • Matta