Ohio State Basketball: Chris Jent is the man to clean up the mess
Many names have surfaced as potential candidates to be the next Ohio State basketball head coach. The guy who should get the job is Chris Jent.
It was reported in the Columbus Dispatch Chris Jent will be interviewing for the Ohio State basketball head coaching position. That makes more sense to me than anything else I have heard the last couple of days concerning potential hires. The Buckeye assistant is the right man for the job, and right now.
Whoever is named as the Buckeye the head coach has a mess to clean up with recent transfers and players decommitting to the 2018 recruiting class. Any coach brought in from the outside will have to assess the overall situation before moving forward.
Jent is fully aware of the things that have transpired the last two years and can hit the ground running, especially on the recruiting trail. After all, he already knows the strengths, weaknesses and the potential of the players currently on the roster.
Therefore he knows the type of players to target to fill in the blanks. He also has been involved in the recruiting process and developed relationships with some of the top prospects in the 2018 class.
Who knows, possibly Justin Arens who decommitted from the ’18 class following Thad Matta’s removal will reconsider his position. Arens has left that door open.
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Now when it comes to credentials, I’ll put Jent’s up against most coaches who may be interested in the Ohio State head coaching job at the moment. First, he was an outstanding player for the Buckeyes, a career 1,000 point scorer who played on the 1992 team who made the “Elite Eight”. In two of Jent’s four years at Ohio State the Buckeyes were Big Ten champions as well.
Following graduation, Jent has spent most of his time playing or coaching basketball at some professional level. In one stop during his 10 year playing career, he was a member of the 1994 NBA Houston Rockets.
He contributed in some capacity for the Cleveland Cavaliers between 2006-2011 before becoming an assistant to Thad Matta for the first time. That stint lasted two years before Jent went back to the pros as an assistant coach of the Sacramento Kings. He rejoined Thad Matta’s coaching staff following the 2015-16 season.
Jent has experienced success, and failures, in his 25 years since he last played a game for the Buckeyes. Combine the resolve he has developed over that time, with his strong ties to the university and his knowledge of the current situation, and I think that makes Jent the ideal guy to right the ship.
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After his interview, I hope athletic director Gene Smith decides to hire Chris Jent as the next Ohio State basketball coach, and soon. It’s June 7th and the clock is ticking.