|
 Thad
Matta has done what he is used to doing as a head
coach during his first two years in Columbus - win.
The 13th head coach in Ohio State history guided his
first edition of Buckeye basketball to a 20-12
campaign in 2004-05 and followed that effort with a
26-6 record and an outright Big Ten regular-season
championship in 2006. In six years as a collegiate
head coach, Matta has produced 20 or more victories
each year, which includes three years at Xavier and
one at Butler. His average record as a head coach is
25-8.
In two years as a Buckeye, Matta has more wins than
any previous Ohio State head coach after two seasons
on the job with a 46-18 record. Randy Ayers was
44-17 during his first two seasons (1990-91).
Matta's two-year winning percentage of .719 is a
close second to Ayers' .721 in his first two seasons
at Ohio State.
Matta is one of just two coaches nationally to post
20 or more wins in each of his first six seasons as
a head coach. The 2006 Big Ten Conference and USBWA
District V Coach of the Year, Matta tied an Ohio
State record for wins by a rookie coach (20) in
2004-05. Gary Williams, currently the head coach at
Maryland, posted a 20-13 record in 1986-87. Matta
(2005 and '06) and Williams (1987 and '88) are the
only two Ohio State coaches to record 20 or more
wins in each of their first two seasons in Columbus.
Matta, a finalist for the 2002-03 Naismith National
Coach of the Year Award, began his duties in
Columbus 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.
Matta, a native of Hoopeston, Ill., was 78-23 (.772)
in three years at Xavier and is 148-49 (.751) in six
years as a collegiate head coach. He coached one
season at Butler, his alma mater, before taking the
Xavier post. He led the Musketeers to the NCAA Elite
Eight in 2004, the best NCAA tournament run in
program history.
The Musketeers won 16 of their last 18 games in
2003-04. His Xavier teams were 19-4 in March from
2002-04.
Xavier compiled a 47-10 (.825) record against
Atlantic 10 competition under Matta, including a
39-9 (.813) record in the regular season and an 8-1
(.889) mark in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The
Musketeers captured two regular season championships
and two tournament titles with Matta at the helm.
Matta, the 2004 Columbus Dispatch Coach of the Year,
led Xavier to three-consecutive 26-win seasons,
back-to-back Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season
championships in 2002 and 2003 and a league
tournament title 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.
Matta is no stranger to conference championships. He
now has four regular-season league titles in three
NCAA Division I conferences in six years to go with
three conference tournament championships as a head
coach. He won regular-season conference
championships, conference tournament championships
and conference coach-of-the-year awards in each of
his first two seasons as a head coach. Matta won all
three in 2000-01 at Butler in the Midwestern
Collegiate Conference and duplicated that feat in
the 2001-02 season at Xavier in the Atlantic 10
Conference.
Matta was named 2000-01 Midwestern Collegiate
Conference Coach of the Year in his one season at
the helm at Butler after leading the Bulldogs to a
school record 24 wins, while also being named
National "Rookie Coach of the Year" by CBS
SportsLine.com and College Insider.com. Matta had
spent the previous three seasons as the top
assistant to Barry Collier, who left Butler after
the 1999-2000 season to take over as head coach at
Nebraska.
Butler was 24-8 under Matta's direction that year
with an 11-3 MCC record and a league 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,
including a 58-44 upset win at then 10th-ranked
Wisconsin and a 79-63 bashing of then 23rd-ranked
Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA
tournament. The win over Wake Forest was Butler's
first NCAA tournament win since 1962. Eventual NCAA
runner-up Arizona ended the Butler run in the second
round of the NCAA tournament.
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 (Ohio)
University 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'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.
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
NIT once.
A high school basketball standout at Hoopeston-East
Lynn in Hoopeston, Ill., Matta was a two-year
starter for the Butler Bulldogs in three seasons
after transferring from Southern Illinois as a
sophomore. He led Butler in assists (100) and
3-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 XU at the
Cincinnati Gardens March 2, 1989.
Thad Michael Matta was born July 11, 1967 in
Hoopeston. The 38-year-old coach and his wife,
Barbara, have two daughters, Ali and Emily. |
