Thad Matta is Dale Brown

[LCDutchman]

Watching the free for all against the Badgers last night I thought that Thad Matta reminded me of Dale Brown or perhaps Guy Lewis.  Master recruiters but terrible coaches.  Matta's team looked pathetic on offense and defense.  Stayed in the game because of athletic talent not basketball talent.  Looked like an AAU game. 

[bartmiller#1]

I think Matta is a great coach.  Last night's game was a tough one for his squad, but it's nearly impossible to win at Madison.

Check the background on Matta, he's succeeded at every stop and he did not have the benefit of great athletes with many of the teams he coached.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thad_Matta

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Dale Brown reached the Final Four with probably the least talented team of the last 25 years. He was a very good coach.

[MarquetteDano]

not as it relates to coaching ability.  I prefer the comparison as it relates to integrity, which both of them lack.

[NYWarrior]

Dale Brown reached the Final Four with probably the least talented team of the last 25 years. He was a very good coach.

As was Guy Lewis --probably even much better than Brown.  The man made it to three straight Final Fours in the 1980s -- built great teams around Elvin Hayes 15 years prior.  He had quite a run -- save the tourney's greatest miracle finish ever, nobody would question his coaching ability. 

[NavinRJohnson]

You're crazy. The guy has been nothing but succesful. OSU is a very young team, and UW makes an awful lot of teams look pathetic on offense and defense. One in particular I can think of from a game I was at earlier this year.

[Harrison]

To those that say Matta is a terrible coach...you know very little he is actually an outstanding coach.  He won at both Butler and Xavier playing very different styles.  Wisonsin is a team of 4th and 5th year seniors playing against a team of primarily Freshman. 
I bristle when I hear announcers continue to call Crean a great young coach that has built a great program.  Sorry, but I leave those types of compliments for a guy like Matta.

[bartmiller#1]

not as it relates to coaching ability.  I prefer the comparison as it relates to integrity, which both of them lack.

How does Thad Matta lack integrity?  To my knowledge he's never been suspected of cheating. 

Is it just because he's good?

[ToddPacker]

How does Thad Matta lack integrity?  To my knowledge he's never been suspected of cheating. 

Is it just because he's good?

Yup.  Of course if you go to the Badger board they'll tell you all types of double secret probation type stuff about OSU in general. 

[Harrison]

exactly, The Crean apologists label everyone as unethical.  Thad Matta has run nothing but good clean programs.  "Dirty" guys dont get hired at Butler or Xavier.   Thad is a great young coach.  The label is tarnishing for Crean with 3 tourneys in 7 years and only 2 good recruiting classes in 8.  And the coaching?, well that speaks for itself.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Dale Brown reached the Final Four with probably the least talented team of the last 25 years. He was a very good coach.

Very true. He also couldn't get past the Sweet 16 with Chris Jackson and Shaq on the same team.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Watching the free for all against the Badgers last night I thought that Thad Matta reminded me of Dale Brown or perhaps Guy Lewis.  Master recruiters but terrible coaches.  Matta's team looked pathetic on offense and defense.  Stayed in the game because of athletic talent not basketball talent.  Looked like an AAU game. 

I'd disagree.  Matta's team starts freshmen and sophomores mostly (a lot like us).  He was solid at Butler and Xavier.  Good coach.

[ChicosBailBonds]

To those that say Matta is a terrible coach...you know very little he is actually an outstanding coach.  He won at both Butler and Xavier playing very different styles.  Wisonsin is a team of 4th and 5th year seniors playing against a team of primarily Freshman. 
I bristle when I hear announcers continue to call Crean a great young coach that has built a great program.  Sorry, but I leave those types of compliments for a guy like Matta.

That's because you don't like Crean.  The difference, if you weren't so biased, is that Crean has built this program from the depths of a losing season and Krunti Hester as your recruiting class.

Thad Matta, a very good coach, took over from Jim O'Brien's squad with the cupboard hardly bare. 

So in the truest sense of the word, one has built something up while the other has maintained an already good thing.

That is the difference.  Doesn't make Mattas accomplishments any less spectacular but his springboard was much better than anything Crean had to work with.   Let's also not forget this is Matta's 3rd or 4th head coaching job.  Crean is on his first. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

exactly, The Crean apologists label everyone as unethical.  Thad Matta has run nothing but good clean programs.  "Dirty" guys dont get hired at Butler or Xavier.   Thad is a great young coach.  The label is tarnishing for Crean with 3 tourneys in 7 years and only 2 good recruiting classes in 8.  And the coaching?, well that speaks for itself.

Interesting...I haven't seen any.  In fact the only people I see saying Matta is unethical are Wisconsin fans like ButchBadger and a few others that imply there is a payroll over at OSU (then again O'Brien did get caught for that very issue).

I'm curious, define "GOOD recruiting classes".  You're wonderful at hyperbole, how about putting some definitions behind them.  Top 25 classes?  top 40 classes?  Exactly what makes your definition?

Secondly, it's strange when we beat teams like Duke, Texas Tech, Wisconsin, Indiana, UConn, etc that you are strangely quiet...perhaps the "coaching speaks for itself" then too?  Or is it clear to everyone here that no matter what happens, the bug up your ass for Crean is never going away no matter what?  He's here for the next 10 years so you're going to be a miserable guy.  Better go purchase some St. John's Wort or something to get you through.

[Harrison]

Sorry chicos the cupboard was pretty bare and the program was on probation nice try though.  let's use classes that panned out and showed a ssemblance of high D1 talent ...it's still 2.  I do nto consider classes like Mason's ( gone) or Novaks with 1 high major player and 3-4-5 NAIA players as good.  And lastly I have never said Crean was good coach, i have actually said we needed to have better talent than our opposition to make up for the coaching.