NCAA Basketball: Top 10 impact head coaching hires from the year 2004

By Joey Loose | Jun 3, 2021

CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 09: Head coach Lon Kruger of the Oklahoma Sooners signals to his players in the first half during a college basketball game against the Xavier Musketeers on December 9, 2020 at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

11 of 11

NCAA Basketball Thad Matta of the Ohio State Buckeyes (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. Thad Matta (Ohio State)

By 2004, the full fallout of the scandal under Jim O’Brien came to a head, leaving Ohio State looked for a new head coach and a new direction. This was a talented program with a rich history but one that desperately needed new leadership to get them back on track. What the Buckeyes basically did was hiring one of the best young mid-major coaches in the country.

Thad Matta was already starting to make a name for himself and was certainly on the radar already. A former assistant for several Midwest schools, he had spent a season leading Butler to an NCAA Tournament victory and had just taken Xavier to a surprise Elite Eight run. Winner of more than 100 total games in his first four seasons as a head coach, Matta was ready for a bigger challenge.

Ohio State was in the national championship game by Matta’s third season with the program. In addition to an NIT title, he led the Buckeyes to nine total NCAA Tournament bids, including another Final Four in 2012. The Buckeyes became one of the Big Ten’s best programs, winning five regular-season titles during his tenure. Health reasons forced him aside by 2017, but his mark was already made and felt in Columbus.

. dark. Next

We have completed our look at the best coaching hires from 2004; but which of these hires do you think made the biggest impact on their programs some seventeen years ago?

Home/NCAA Basketball News