Ohio State Basketball

There is reportedly a new front-runner for the vacant head basketball coaching position at Ohio State.

On Thursday, Jeff Goodman of ESPN reported Butler's Chris Holtmann is the favorite to land the position, per sources. Gary Parrish of CBS Sports reported Friday that Holtmann is in negotiations with Ohio State and the deal is "still not 100 [percent] done." However, he noted an agreement could be finalized Friday.

Previous coach Thad Matta announced his resignation Monday.

This is the latest development in what has been a fast-moving coaching search highlighted by a number of potential candidates seemingly pulling out of the running.

Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg said, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, "Anytime your name is associated with [a] great job, it's an honor. But I'm head coach of the Bulls/have no intention of leaving."

What's more, Creighton coach Greg McDermott and Xavier coach Chris Mack appeared to put an end to any rumors by professing their love of their schools on Twitter:

Elsewhere, Arizona president Dr. Robert Robbins said of any chance the Buckeyes could lure Wildcats coach Sean Miller, "They will have to come over me to get him, as the saying goes, over my dead body," via Anne Ryman of the Arizona Republic.

If Ohio State did hire Holtmann, it wouldn't be the first time it landed an old Butler coach. Matta received his first Division I head coaching job in 2000-01 with the Bulldogs before he took the Xavier position.

Holtmann sports a 70-31 record in three seasons with Butler and led the program to the NCAA tournament all three years. He reached the Sweet 16 in the 2017 Big Dance before losing to the eventual national champion North Carolina Tar Heels.

He coached at Gardner-Webb before taking the Butler position.

Holtmann will have a rebuilding job ahead of him if he takes the Buckeyes job. While Ohio State is a historically great program that is sixth all-time with 11 Final Fours, it missed the last two NCAA tournaments and didn't secure a commitment from a single top-50 prospect in 2017 or 2016, per Scout.

As the Ohio State Buckeyes continue to search for a new head basketball coach, Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown has emerged as a candidate. 

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Brown is on Ohio State's radar, but the school has not contacted him at this point. 

Ohio State announced Monday that Thad Matta would no longer be its head men's basketball coach. Matta later explained in a press conference that his health had been deteriorating to the point he couldn't do normal, everyday tasks. 

"I went through a year where I couldn't walk," he said, via Nicole Auerbach of USA Today. "Couldn't take my shoes off after a game."

ESPN's Jeff Goodman reported Wednesday that Ohio State offered Creighton head coach Greg McDermott the job after the two sides met earlier in the day. On Thursday, McDermott tweeted he was "blessed and honored" to have his current job. 

Brown spent eight years as a head coach in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. He also served as Golden State's acting head coach for 11 games this postseason when Steve Kerr had to take a leave due to back issues. 

With rumors abound regarding Greg McDermott being a candidate to take over as Ohio State's head basketball coach, he issued a response Thursday on Twitter. 

McDermott, who has been the head coach at Creighton since 2010, had this to say about the rumblings:

Ohio State announced in an official release Monday that Thad Matta, who has been with the program since 2004, would "no longer be the men's head basketball coach."

During his press conference about the decision, Matta explained his health was the primary factor for the move, per USA Today's Nicole Auerbach.

ESPN's Jeff Goodman reported Wednesday that Ohio State offered McDermott the head coaching job after the two sides met earlier in the day.

McDermott has a 165-81 record in seven seasons at Creighton, with six 20-win campaigns and four NCAA tournament appearances.  

Ohio State has reportedly offered its vacant head coaching position to Creighton head coach Greg McDermott, per Jeff Goodman of ESPN.

However, Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch noted McDermott didn't accompany Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith back to Columbus.

Smith told Jardy that he has a list of candidates and is not done with his search.

Goodman reported an initial meeting with Ohio State on Wednesday to discuss the opening after Thad Matta's departure.

McDermott, 52, has spent the last seven seasons at Creighton. The Bluejays have gone to four NCAA tournaments in that span, reaching the second round on three occasions.

Ohio State is conducting an unorthodox June coaching search after parting ways with Matta this week after 13 seasons. The Buckeyes went to two Finals Fours under Matta and one Elite Eight but had fallen off in recent seasons. They failed to make the NCAA tournament each of the last two years, a first under Matta.

"We weren't winning the battles in recruiting that I thought we might have a chance to win, as he did," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said, per Mitch Stacy of the Associated Press (h/t ABC News). "We started talking about that on Friday [and] the flow of the conversation took me to the reality."

Given that McDermott is actually three years older than Matta, his hiring would be a bit of an odd choice. McDermott previously struggled to bring Iowa State to national prominence in his first go-around with a Power Five team and has never made it past the second round in March.

While the resources afforded to him at Ohio State would give him a better chance, McDermott seems like he should be more of a fall-back option than first choice. Gary Parrish of CBS Sports reported the Buckeyes have targeted Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg, who makes a lot more sense in a multitude of ways.

Still, McDermott's willingness to meet with Ohio State brass says a lot about his interest in upgrading from a mid-major.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are reportedly eyeing the NBA ranks as they look to fill their vacant head basketball coach position. 

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports cited a source Wednesday saying Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg is a "real candidate" for the position after Thad Matta announced his resignation Monday.

The Bulls coach didn't seem eager to leave in his comments Wednesday, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:

Hoiberg may seem like an outside-the-box candidate considering he hasn't exactly impressed in his two seasons with the Bulls, but he does have experience at the college level with Iowa State. He is 83-81 in two years in the Windy City and yet to win a playoff series but led the Cyclones to four NCAA tournament appearances and two Big 12 tournament titles in five years.

Hoiberg also had Iowa State inside the Top 10 of the Associated Press poll in his final two seasons before accepting the job with the Bulls.

The Cyclones were known for their ability to spread the floor, knock down threes and dictate the tempo of games on the offensive side during Hoiberg's tenure. They finished in the top 10 of Ken Pomeroy's pace-adjusted offensive efficiency numbers in 2013 and 2014.

Something like that would be a welcome change for the Buckeyes considering they were a middling 60th in 2016-17, per Pomeroy.

Hoiberg, or any other candidate, would face a difficult challenge at Ohio State even though it is typically considered a top-level job. The Buckeyes' entire highly regarded 2015 recruiting class left the program after two seasons, and they didn't land a single top-50 prospect in 2017 or 2016, per Scout.

The Buckeyes aren't far removed from Matta leading them to Final Fours in 2012 and 2007, but the next coach will face an uphill challenge after they missed the NCAA tournament the last two years. Hoiberg already proved he can win at the college level once and may be tasked with doing so again if Wednesday's report proves true.

Thad Matta's tenure as head coach of Ohio State basketball came to an end Monday, and health concerns played a major role.

The team announced the move in a release, via Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, saying simply he "will no longer be the men's head basketball coach." However, Matta explained in a press conference that his health is the primary issue.

"I went through a year where I couldn't walk," the 49-year-old said, via Nicole Auerbach of USA Today. "Couldn't take my shoes off after a game."

When asked if he would still be with the Buckeyes if he were healthy, he responded, "Yeah, probably," via Rob Dauster of NBC Sports.

On the plus side, he could potentially return to coaching if he were able to get over his back and foot problems.

"Never say never," Matta said, per Joe Danneman of Fox19. "My whole focus now is trying to get healthy."

Although the timing of this move is bizarre, Ohio State is coming off a disappointing season where the squad failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament or the NIT. The 17-15 record was the worst in Matta's 13 years with the program.

Still, the former Butler and Xavier coach led the Buckeyes to a 337-123 record with four Big Ten tournament titles and two Final Four appearances.

Ohio State basketball head coach Thad Matta announced his resignation from the program effective immediately, via a program release.

Matta spoke about his decision to step down, citing health issues, revealing to reporters that he "went through a year where I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t take my shoes off after a game, my pants off after a game."

However, Matta did not rule out a return to coaching, saying "never say never."

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told reporters there is no timeline for naming Matta's replacement.

Matta, 49, has gone 337-123 in 13 seasons with Ohio State, leading the team to five Big Ten regular-season titles, four conference tournament titles and Final Four appearances in 2006 and 2012.

But Matta and the Buckeyes have had their struggles in recent years, as Steve Helwagen of 247Sports.com noted:

"Matta has dealt with health issues in recent years after undergoing back surgery. His last two teams failed to reach the NCAA Tournament and this past year's team was his first to not reach the 20-win plateau at 17-15."

"OSU then sought several transfers and late signing high school seniors but was unable to land any of them. The Buckeyes will apparently go into the season with just nine scholarship athletes after JaQuan Lyle quit the team late in the winter semester."

Despite speculation that health concerns might cause him to step down from his post, Matta previously denied that would be the case.

"I'd like to know who said it. In all seriousness, like who said that?" Matta asked during a press conference in early March, per Bill Landis of Cleveland.com. "Or where did it come from I guess would be my question. I'll be honest, I feel really good. I've shed a few pounds, but I feel pretty good."

In the past three months, however, Matta reportedly has changed his tune.

In his coaching career, Matta also spent a season as Butler's head coach (24-8) and three seasons at the helm for Xavier (78-23).

Former Ohio State University guard JaQuan Lyle was arrested Saturday morning and charged with three misdemeanor counts, including public intoxication.

Pat Hickey of the Evansville Courier & Press passed along details of the arrest from the Vanderburgh County (Ind.) Sheriff's Office. Lyle was also charged with criminal mischief to a vehicle and disorderly conduct before being released on $150 bond later Saturday.

Sheriff's Office records show off-duty officers witnessed Lyle punch the front door of a local bar and then a police vehicle after being removed from the establishment. He was then placed under arrest, according to the Evansville Courier & Press report.

Lyle confirmed his intention to return to Ohio State for his junior season in March, but a spokesman told Tim Shoemaker of 11 Warriors that Lyle quit the basketball team on April 11. 

The 6'5'', 210-pound guard averaged 11.4 points, 4.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds, while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three-point range during the 2016-17 campaign.

Ohio State Buckeyes center Trevor Thompson will make himself eligible for the 2017 NBA draft, ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman reported Tuesday.

Thompson averaged 10.6 points and 9.2 rebounds as a junior in the 2016-17 season.

According to Goodman, Thompson will forgo his final season of college eligibility, which seemingly confirms he's fully committed to this year's draft. He declared for the 2016 draft but didn't hire an agent, which allowed him to return to Ohio State last spring.

Thompson may want to weigh all of his options before making his final decision. ESPN.com's Chad Ford didn't list the 7-footer among the top 100 players in the 2017 class. Thompson made a nice jump from his sophomore to junior years, and a strong senior year would almost certainly bolster his NBA draft prospects even further.

Losing Thompson would be a big blow to the Buckeyes after they missed out on the NCAA tournament for the second season in a row and won fewer than 20 games for the first time under head coach Thad Matta.

Marc Loving is the only senior on the roster, so Ohio State still has a lot of talent coming back next year, but Matta will likely have counted on Thompson anchoring the frontcourt in 2017-18.

His potential departure makes the commitment of 6'9" center Kaleb Wesson, the No. 76 player in the 2017 recruiting class, per Scout, even more important for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State men's basketball head coach Thad Matta revealed to reporters Tuesday that another school told a player he was recruiting that Matta was dying, according to Kyle Boone of CBS Sports:

"Somebody told a recruit I was dying," Matta said Tuesday. "Swear to god. Not that my foot didn't lift, but that I was going to die. It's a tough business I'm in here."

That's a new level of negative recruiting. Apparently, Matta said, the recruit's father told him about that pitch from an opposing school because the player was going to hold a press conference which they chose to delay because of Matta's health.

Matta insisted Tuesday that he's feeling good, and that a negative recruiting pitch from other schools about his health has been used against him "for the last eight years."

You can see Matta's full comments below:

Gaining a recruiting edge by claiming an opposing coach's death is imminent is hardly a new tactic, unfortunately. In 2013, Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy—who has early-stage Parkinson's disease—spoke out against the practice after guard Alex Robinson revealed opposing coaches had told him Kennedy might not make it through his four years at the school.

"It angers me when people tell recruits I may not coach much longer because it's coming from people who don't really know me," Kennedy said at the time, per Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports. "... I learned a long time ago all is fair in love, war and recruiting, so I'm not surprised people would bring up something about my health. There are some insecure assistants in high-profile programs that do whatever they have to do to get a player. But that's not the norm. I don't think most people are that way."

In 2012, former college basketball coach Steve Lavin said schools used his recovery from prostate cancer against him during recruiting as well.

As for Matta, the Buckeyes head coach has dealt with lingering back issues throughout his tenure at Ohio State, per Boone, though they're seemingly not life-threatening. After reaching the NCAA tournament for seven straight seasons under Matta, however, the team is in danger of missing March Madness for the second consecutive year.

At this point, that seems to be a bigger concern for the Ohio State program than Matta's back issues.