Coaching Carousel

[thetorch]

15 minutes ago, BilliesBy40 said:

Butler has always been delusional about their status in the college bball world. I have no sympathy for their struggles.

SLU would love to have their status.

They made a bad coaching hire.  They make a good one and be back.  Their recruiting is top notch.  Kids want to go there.  They have Hinkle, outside of MSG no better place to play ball.

You have to remember what Butler is though, which is St. Bona in a major city.

[brianstl]

46 minutes ago, BilliesBy40 said:

It’s pretty simple. ADs figured out a way to offload culpability for potential mistakes related to their number one responsibility. It’s similar to what many Corporate execs do, but much more effective.

Collier hired Stevens and Holtmann.  He isn’t looking to offload culpability.

[3star_recruit]

Butler hires guys from the Butler family tree.  They may be running out of branches.

[BilliesBy40]

8 hours ago, brianstl said:

Collier hired Stevens and Holtmann.  He isn’t looking to offload culpability.

True. That comment wasn’t intended to be specific to Butler, but it probably appeared that way.

[cheeseman]

10 hours ago, thetorch said:

SLU would love to have their status.

They made a bad coaching hire.  They make a good one and be back.  Their recruiting is top notch.  Kids want to go there.  They have Hinkle, outside of MSG no better place to play ball.

You have to remember what Butler is though, which is St. Bona in a major city.

From what has been posted their budget is not up to speed for the BE.  At some point they are going to have to pony up if only to be able to hire a coach who can in fact keep the program competitive.  If their recruiting was all that great they would not have had to fire their coach and how they did it was kind of low brow.  Coaches pay attention to this stuff.

[3star_recruit]

2 hours ago, cheeseman said:

From what has been posted their budget is not up to speed for the BE.  At some point they are going to have to pony up if only to be able to hire a coach who can in fact keep the program competitive.  If their recruiting was all that great they would not have had to fire their coach and how they did it was kind of low brow.  Coaches pay attention to this stuff.

Good point.  Dayton and VCU have been recruiting at a higher level than Butler for a couple of years now.

[wgstl]

Butler hired Thad matta. That is an amazing hire, will be in the top 5 with that hire 

[BilliesBy40]

17 minutes ago, wgstl said:

Butler hired Thad matta. That is an amazing hire, will be in the top 5 with that hire 

Home run hire if he can assemble a staff that will hit the ground running in recruiting. Matta is only 54 too.

[thetorch]

IF Matta is healthy.  He stopped recruiting at Ohio St because of his health.  

[HoosierPal]

40 minutes ago, wgstl said:

Butler hired Thad Matta. That is an amazing hire, will be in the top 5 with that hire 

Of the Nation?  Or the Big East?  Or the state of Indiana?

[brianstl]

This is why the delay occurred in Jordan’s firing.  Collier was waiting to get a clean bill of health back on Matta.  If Matta wasn’t healthy, Jordan would have got a chance to turn it around next season.  David Woods is an idiot.

[3star_recruit]

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/butler/2022/04/03/butler-basketball-hires-thad-matta-head-coach-replace-lavall-jordan/7262368001/

He lives across the street from athletic director Barry Collier, who once hired Matta as a Butler assistant coach. And Matta brought a 23-year-old Brad Stevens to Butler, hiring him as director of basketball operations.

Matta coined the phrase, “The Butler Way.”

-----------------------

I wonder how long Collier had to beg his neighbor from across the street to save the program Matta clearly adores?  Because Butler was headed for nowhere fast without Matta stepping up.

[HoosierPal]

2 hours ago, brianstl said:

This is why the delay occurred in Jordan’s firing.  Collier was waiting to get a clean bill of health back on Matta.  If Matta wasn’t healthy, Jordan would have got a chance to turn it around next season.  David Woods is an idiot.

Are you Thad Matta's doctor?

No. The buyout for Jordan went down significantly April 1. That was the reason Butler held off firing Jordan.  Butler did not have a Bill Laurie type booster to buy out Jordan.  Not until the amount went down. Butler has the smallest basketball budget in the Big East at $5.85 million. 

The health issues were caused by a back surgery in 2007, Matta said when he stepped down at Ohio State, resulting in a condition known as drop foot. It caused his foot to drag on the ground when he walked.  Matta had to wear a brace to hold his foot in a normal position so he could stand and walk.
 

Collier and Matta are neighbors. They know each other.  Collier and Matta at the curb, rolling their recycling bins into position, Butler basketball falling off a cliff under LaVall Jordan. You think this job was discussed? You don't think Collier would have seen Matta limping around if he still had the issue?

[brianstl]

2 hours ago, HoosierPal said:

Are you Thad Matta's doctor?

No. The buyout for Jordan went down significantly April 1. That was the reason Butler held off firing Jordan.  Butler did not have a Bill Laurie type booster to buy out Jordan.  Not until the amount went down. Butler has the smallest basketball budget in the Big East at $5.85 million. 

The health issues were caused by a back surgery in 2007, Matta said when he stepped down at Ohio State, resulting in a condition known as drop foot. It caused his foot to drag on the ground when he walked.  Matta had to wear a brace to hold his foot in a normal position so he could stand and walk.
 

Collier and Matta are neighbors. They know each other.  Collier and Matta at the curb, rolling their recycling bins into position, Butler basketball falling off a cliff under LaVall Jordan. You think this job was discussed? You don't think Collier would have seen Matta limping around if he still had the issue?

I think any smart AD wants a full medical write up on a guy that has a history of health problems and looked 70 while still in his 40’s.  
 

woods has proven himself to be an idiot multiple times throughout this process.

[thatskablamo]

4 hours ago, brianstl said:

I think any smart AD wants a full medical write up on a guy that has a history of health problems and looked 70 while still in his 40’s.  
 

woods has proven himself to be an idiot multiple times throughout this process.

Didn’t Matta recruit a very similar person in Greg Oden?

[Old guy]

Why is it that you cannot hire a limping HC? I know this is a stupid question but I am curious.

[HoosierPal]

8 hours ago, Old guy said:

Why is it that you cannot hire a limping HC? I know this is a stupid question but I am curious.

From the Indy Star

“I went through a year where I couldn’t walk." Matta said in a Sporting News article from 2017. "I couldn’t take my shoes off after a game. I couldn’t take my pants off after a game. The stuff I had to go through in terms of being serviceable … but, maybe to a fault, I always fought.”

At the time, Matta said he'd have remained the coach at Ohio State if hadn't had the medical issues, which also effected his energy levels.  “I don’t think anybody can truly comprehend what this job, coaching, does to you.”

[Old guy]

Hoosier, the issues described by Matta in your post above are from the past when he was at Ohio State. If he has recovered enough to be able to walk with a limp, he would be markedly improved from the state he was at that time. It is clear he could do very little at that time and had to resign. The question remains how is he now? Is a limp all that he has at this point, and could he be a HC if all he has is a limp?

I read somewhere he had residual foot drop, but this is relatively easy to fix with a shoe orthotic. He will not be able to run and he will limp with it but that is all, assuming the back pain is gone. Can he coach with a foot orthotic? What is your opinion in this regard?

 

[HoosierPal]

25 minutes ago, Old guy said:

Hoosier, the issues described by Matta in your post above are from the past when he was at Ohio State. If he has recovered enough to be able to walk with a limp, he would be markedly improved from the state he was at that time. It is clear he could do very little at that time and had to resign. The question remains how is he now? Is a limp all that he has at this point, and could he be a HC if all he has is a limp?

I read somewhere he had residual foot drop, but this is relatively easy to fix with a shoe orthotic. He will not be able to run and he will limp with it but that is all, assuming the back pain is gone. Can he coach with a foot orthotic? What is your opinion in this regard?

 

Again, from the Indy Star

If Matta is healthy enough for the rigors of the job — and insiders say he is — there is reason to believe he can do the job. And, at 54, he is young enough to coach at Butler for “10, 15 more years, if he wants to be,” as Butler alum Darnell Archey put it.

Supposedly, Butler is not bringing him in as a short-term solution so he can succeed Barry Collier as athletic director. There is no package deal bringing in Ronald Nored as coach-in-waiting. If Nored wants to leave the Indiana Pacers to become a Butler assistant coach, fine. 

[Old guy]

Thank you HoosierPal

[Box and Won]

Oldest 54-year-old ever.

[someoneelse]

4 minutes ago, Box and Won said:

Oldest 54-year-old ever.

Don Knotts as Ralph Furley gives Matta a run for the money as oldest looking 54 year old.  He was 55 when he started on Three's Company.  

[ACE]

Will Bailey following Frank Martin to UMass.

[Pistol]

5 hours ago, Box and Won said:

Oldest 54-year-old ever.

My jaw dropped at this news. Before reading any articles, I asked my wife why they would hire someone his age at this point. She's familiar with him as a Xavier fan and completely agreed with me.

Then we found out he was 15 or so years younger than we thought.

[Matty Light]

6 hours ago, someoneelse said:

Don Knotts as Ralph Furley gives Matta a run for the money as oldest looking 54 year old.  He was 55 when he started on Three's Company.  

Anne Ramsey was 56 when she played Ma Fratelli in the Goonies.