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The Indianapolis-to-Ohio State-to-Indianapolis connection continues for Butler basketball. Greg Oden and Jon Diebler, both former Ohio State players under coach Thad Matta, are joining Matta’s Butler staff, sources confirmed to IndyStar.
They’ve gone back to that well, hiring their own, for decades. From coaches Thad Matta to Todd Lickliter to Brad Stevens, Chris Holtmann and Jordan. Most have panned out. Brandon Miller and Jordan did not. Some might push for them to truly have a national search and hire the best available. However, if they choose to stay in the Butler family, it doesn’t get much better than Nored — who is seriously interested in the job, league sources told Fieldhouse Files.
The college basketball landscape changed Monday when Ohio State parted ways with head coach Thad Matta after 13 seasons on the Buckeyes’ bench. And it appears Ohio State’s wish list to replace Matta includes some big names.
Thad Matta thinks Oden would make a terrific coach, that the combination of his skills, knowledge and personality would translate well with players. Athletic trainer Vince O'Brien, who has known Oden since he arrived at Ohio State for the first time, says even though Oden's role is small, his impact on the Buckeyes is not. He pipes up with insight when he sees fit, careful not to overstep. "Ohio State needed Greg as much as we needed him,'' O'Brien says.
After Turner agreed to sign with the Blazers in July, Stevens received a phone call from the wing's college coach, Thad Matta, who shared the news. Turner says he tried to contact Stevens, too, but the Celtics boarded a plane to visit Al Horford in free agency around the same time. Maybe the phone call failed to connect. "He says he tried to call me when I was on the plane, but I don't believe him," Stevens said. "You guys believe everything he says, but believe it or not, I don't believe everything he says."
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Oden has resurfaced in recent weeks, on Ohio State’s campus, a 7-foot sophomore helping out Thad Matta’s staff as a student assistant on the side. At 28, he said last week that his playing days are over. He battled through a couple of stints in China last season but his injury-ravaged body never fully healed. Last summer, Oden called Conley; his body failing him and a child on the way, it was time to put basketball behind him. “He understood his body and he understands his situation,” Conley said. “I think having a child opened his eyes. It made him understand that his main thing was his family. I don’t think he wants to risk not being able to be with his children, get down on his knees to play with them, walk around and run with them. It was the right time for all this to happen. I told him, ‘Do what you believe is best.’ I’m with him regardless.”
Stevens graduated with a degree in economics, but when Thad Matta offered him a low-paying, part-time position in Butler's basketball program, Stevens jumped at the opportunity and resigned from his marketing job at Eli Lilly. He learned alongside Butler assistant Todd Lickliter, who quickly became a friend and mentor. It was Lickliter who stressed the value of a clear mind and fresh legs -- Butler's practices usually lasted no longer than an hour -- and the need to keep the game plan as simple as possible.
Chris Reichert: Chris Jent isn't staying with the Phoenix Suns' D-League affiliate. - RT: Steve Helwagen: OSU just made the Chris Jent re-hire official, huge boost for Thad Matta and his program after Jeff Boals departure.
Ohio State freshman D'Angelo Russell has decided to go pro, declaring for the NBA draft Wednesday. "This was a hard decision because I knew I could come back and play with my teammates who I love, and to be coached by coach Thad Matta again would have been awesome, but at the same time I wanted to pursue my dream of playing in the NBA," Russell told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "I know what I am capable of and the sky's the limit with effort. I know I have a lot to work on."
With Ohio State playing in the NCAA Tournament in Portland, it brought together two parts of Greg Oden's basketball map, and the revelation from Buckeyes coach Thad Matta that the former Buckeyes center has been working out at the school while contemplating another NBA comeback. While it again will come down to Oden's knees, the reality last season with the Heat was one of limited passion for the game from Oden, let alone mobility not nearly at NBA level. "There is a possibility he makes another run at it," Matta said. It will be interesting, in the wake of Oden's assault plea in December, whether interest from the NBA remains. It is highly doubtful, with the revelation that is Hassan Whiteside, that there would be any from the Heat. Remarkably, Oden is only 27.
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D'Angelo Russell is a pure playmaker. Buckeyes coach Thad Matta told me he wasn’t sure what position Russell would settle into entering the season; there isn’t much debate now. Though Russell shares the backcourt with Shannon Scott, he is the team’s most accomplished passer. He has a phenomenal ability to read defenses coming off a screen, and fires passes with impressive velocity. He is an assist-producing machine; one NBA executive told me Russell could become a consistent double-digit assist man at the next level. He can shoot it, too. NBA executives love to scrutinize shooting form, and by all accounts, Russell’s is solid. Some scouts suggested a few tweaks, but none thought any kind of overhaul was needed for a player who has made 41.5% of his threes this season. Is he athletic enough? This was likely the most consistent criticism. Russell has good size (6’5”) for an NBA point guard, but scouts wonder if he has enough athleticism to regularly defend playmakers that seem to become more dynamic by the year.
Ohio State coach Thad Matta says former Buckeyes star Greg Oden has been training on campus and could attempt another NBA comeback. Matta spoke Wednesday in Portland, where Ohio State is preparing to face Virginia Commonwealth in the NCAA Tournament's round of 64. This is the same city where the Trail Blazers selected Oden with the top pick in 2007, but the 7-foot center was constantly sidelined with knee injuries.
Bronny is already on the on the scouting radar for the Ohio State Buckeyes, catching the attention of the teams coach, Thad Matta. The coach has been asked if Bronny would be on a list of future college recruits and he says, “He will be.”
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