Ohio State basketball: Thad Matta is back in the game

The former Ohio State basketball coach is back in college basketball after he was hired to be the Associate Athletic Director for Indiana University.

Thad Matta is the winningest coach in Ohio State basketball history. He has been out of college basketball for four seasons now. He has interviewed for other positions and other programs have asked about his availability. Despite all of this, Matta had remained out of the game.

That is, until now. Matta has now been hired by IU has the Associate AD for Basketball Administration. Basically, he will help new Head Coach Mike Woodson put together a staff and will help him with basketball decisions down the line.

This is an extremely interesting hire for a multitude of reasons. First of all, he had been rumored to be wanted by IU for their coaching job. I know that he was never hired for a fact. He was also approached by Penn State about their head coaching vacancy.

It’s clear by now that a coaching opportunity would have to be absolutely perfect for Matta to get back into that part of the game. Personally, I believe he would only come back for the Butler job. But a hire like this allows him to stay in Indiana while being involved in basketball decisions.

This might be the kind of thing that allows Matta to get that competitive itch scratched while avoiding the high stress that a head coaching job would bring along with it. This position also doesn’t hinder Matta’s health any since he shouldn’t be on his feet.

I’m very interested to see how this works out for both Matta and IU. IU is clearly trying to build some goodwill with a fanbase that is at its wit’s end. Matta is a recognizable name that gives AD Scott Dolson some sort of credibility for choosing Woodson as the head man.

There’s a new layer to IU-Ohio State basketball games from now on.