Proud to be a Buckeye

[tiger#22]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=ap-ncaatournament-graduation&prov=ap&type=lgns

[TigerDL71]

you have to look at the time period for when they found these rates and look at the coaching staff and what was going on with the buckeyes basketball program during that time, i would be curious to see what the graduation rate is under Matta

[tiger#22]

you have to look at the time period for when they found these rates and look at the coaching staff and what was going on with the buckeyes basketball program during that time, i would be curious to see what the graduation rate is under Matta

So now that they are ranked #1 etc etc etc that is all ok now then right?

[TigerDL71]

So now that they are ranked #1 etc etc etc that is all ok now then right?

when in my post did i every say that? I am just saying that look when the time period for when they got the figures. I just think that Matta wouldn't put up with stuff like that and I am just curious to see what his graduation rate is

[ChronicTiger]

Am I supposed to be surprised by this?

[longtimefirsttime]

It's my opinion that Jim O'Brien nearly ran the Buckeyes program into the ground.

It's likely still too early in Matta's tenure at OSU to form conclusions about graduation rates. But....
http://www.indeonline.com/index.php?ID=6890
"“Look at the (Buckeye football players) who get drafted,” Matta said. “Look at his graduation rate and how he has changed that. It is truly a model for our basketball program.”

From an ABJ article 5/06:
"Matta said if it were up to Oden right now, he thinks the player would spend four years at Ohio State. That isn't likely, but Matta remembered when Oden came for his official visit ``all he was concerned about was what time he got to meet with the dean of the business school.''

OSU AD Gene Smith on Matta:
"It’s been great. I’ve watched those guys from afar. I watched Jim Foster at Vanderbilt and saw how well he performed there. I watched Thad [Matta] at Xavier and saw how well he performed there. So when Andy [Geiger] made those hires, I knew he’d made great hires. They’re just great people. They both share the philosophy of focusing on the whole student athlete. They’re not here to just keep them eligible and win basketball games, and I’m definitely not about that. They’re just good people and they do the job the right way. They’re easy to work with. When you have people who are on the same page when you walk in the door, it makes it a whole lot easier."


The Ohio State basketball program will always get top athletes, but not necessarily the top scholars. Is Oden supposed to stay at OSU for four years when he has the chance to make millions in the NBA? Would you? Some finish later, some don't.

I obviously realize there are big differences between Xavier and OSU. But Matta's players had the third highest graduation rate in the country, trailing only Duke and Bucknell. And he still managed to the Musketeers to the Elite 8 in 2004.

[CarlE]

This started way before O'Brien. Randy Ayers was the main culprit in this matter. He single-handedly brought this program to its knees and then made a covert escape before it all hit the fan. I would like to bring him back and have him face criminal charges for impersonating someone who molds young men into adulthood. Freaking LOSER.

[MTown]

I didn't click that link but I think it's the same story as the one posted on ESPN.com. If it is, the story has no relevance to Thad Matta's tenure at Ohio State. The data was from 96-99...Oden would have been in middle school during those years. Everyone knows O'Brien almost ruined this program and now he's gone.