Ohio State Basketball: Why Billy Donovan won’t replace Thad Matta as head coach

Thad Matta is out at Ohio State, and many are calling for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Billy Donovan to take his place. That’s likely not going to happen.

The Ohio State Buckeyes “mutually” parted ways with Head Coach Thad Matta, and the circus that is the college basketball hiring process has officially begun in Columbus.

If you don’t believe me about the craziness of it all, just look at the list of coaches that “an OSU insider” apparently wants:

This Tweet is worth checking out, as it elicited a handful of hilarious responses, including our own:

However, one name on that exaggerated list has started to gain some traction, Billy Donovan.

Donovan is currently the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder after making the jump from the Florida Gators to the NBA. OKC made it to the 2017 NBA Playoffs but were unable to defeat the Houston Rockets in the first round.

Some believe that Donovan’s seat may already be hot, as he boasts one of the best players in the NBA, Russell Westbrook, and wasn’t able to advance in the playoffs.

While this idea seems crazy, the NBA and NBA fans are relatively ruthless when it comes to head coaches and their timelines for success. Some Oklahoma City fans want him out now, and many college fans believe that he would be better suited back in the NCAAs.

However, Donovan will not be the next coach of Ohio State, and here’s why:

Oklahoma City is far more patient of a city other NBA cities. Donovan was working with limited pieces with the Thunder. Westbrook is a basketball god, but Donovan came to the Thunder with the expectation that he wouldn’t be getting only Westbrook and have to coach up a bunch of nobodies and Steven Adams.

Victor Oladipo and Doug McDermott came to the team relatively late on, Domantis Sabonis was too young to make much of an impact, and Enes Kanter plays defense as well as the Los Angeles Clippers win titles.

Donovan will be given time to develop his team and assert his system onto this changing squad. Next season, half of this team could be completely different. The Thunder and their fans are smart basketball fans who understand this – and Donovan will still feel secure in his relatively new position.

Plus, if we’re talking NBA coaches, Fred Hoiberg is far more likely to take the step back down to the collegiate level. Bulls’ fans have been calling for his head all season long, and he has recruited Big Ten areas well in the past.

Next: Potential replacements for Thad Matta

Would Donovan make a great coach at Ohio State? Of course he would. But Donovan isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and I think it’s far more likely we see Tom Crean or one of the Big East coaches head to the Buckeyes for the near future.