NCAA Basketball: Best head coaching hire from each of last 25 seasons

By Joey Loose | Apr 23, 2023

HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 03: (L-R) Head coach Dan Hurley of the Connecticut Huskies shakes hands with head coach Brian Dutcher of the San Diego State Aztecs prior to the game during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament National Championship game at NRG Stadium on April 03, 2023 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Basketball Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /

2004: Thad Matta (Ohio State)

There were a few interesting hires this time around, but 2004 pales in comparison to the changes made the year before. We’re not going to talk too much about Sean Miller at Xavier or Lon Kruger arriving at UNLV, instead saving our energy for Matta’s turnaround at Ohio State.

Matta graduated from Butler in the early 90’s and spent multiple stints on the Bulldog’s coaching staff while also working at a few other schools. As previously mentioned, his head coaching career began at Butler in 2000, though he was off to Xavier after just one season. Fresh off leading the Musketeers to the Elite Eight, he was brought to Ohio State in 2004, inheriting a program that Jim O’Brien had left in relative ruin after a myriad of NCAA violations.

Matta got straight to work and engineered an impressive turnaround, leading the Buckeyes to the national title game in just his third season in Columbus. He won five Big Ten regular season titles and had Ohio State in the Final Four again in 2012. Health issues affected him near the tail end of his time with the Buckeyes, but it’s clear that he made a big splash with this program. Ohio State was among the nation’s most successful programs in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s and the program hasn’t advanced beyond the opening weekend of the Big Dance since Matta took them to the Elite Eight in 2013.

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