COLUMBUS Matta right man to lead Buckeyes, other coaches say

Thad Matta will be introduced at a news conference today.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Even though Thad Matta is only moving 100 miles up the road, he'll be facing a new world of pressures and problems at Ohio State.
After winning 78 games in three seasons at Xavier, Matta will be expected to guide the Buckeyes through possible NCAA sanctions and inject some life into a program in decline.
"We are bringing in a wonderful teacher of the game and a tireless worker whose enthusiasm will elevate Ohio State basketball," Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger said in a statement Thursday.
Warm welcome
Matta will be introduced as the Buckeyes' coach at a news conference at the team's practice court this afternoon. It will likely be a celebration after a summer in which head coach Jim O'Brien was fired for giving money to a recruit and the NCAA came on campus to investigate payments to another player, among other alleged infractions.
Ohio State revealed Matta was given a seven-year contract with a first-year salary of $760,000, a signing bonus of $300,000 and deferred compensation of $2 million over the term of the contract.
Those annual figures do not include supplemental contracts for TV and radio shows and his cut of Ohio State's shoe contract.
O'Brien's last contract with Ohio State paid him an additional $350,000 a year for "media, promotions and public relations," $75,000 for summer camps and more than $233,300 under the university's contract with Nike.
Matta will receive a huge bump in pay from the estimated $800,000 total annual package he made at Xavier, a small, private, Jesuit-affiliated university in Cincinnati.
In addition, Ohio State must buy out the remaining nine years of Matta's Xavier contract. Some media reports estimate the buy-out at $2 million.
Investigation
The lengthy contract was a security blanket for Matta, who may well take over a team hit by NCAA sanctions. O'Brien admitted to Geiger on April 24 that he had given $6,000 to a recruit in 1999. Six weeks later, on June 8, Geiger dismissed O'Brien.
The NCAA and Ohio State also are investigating allegations that a Columbus woman housed, gave thousands of dollars to and did homework for Ohio State player Boban Savovic.
Matta was 102-31 as a head coach the past four years at Xavier and Butler, including 78-23 the past three seasons with the Musketeers. He has not been tainted by NCAA investigations and has graduated all of the seniors who played for him.
Around the country, the hiring of Matta was given glowing reviews by coaches.
"It's a tremendous opportunity, one he's obviously earned," said Butler coach Todd Lickliter, who succeeded Matta after serving as his assistant in 2000-01. "He's a terrific coach, a terrific guy. I think they'll love him."
UNLV coach Lon Kruger said Matta will have to establish his philosophies with the players he inherits.
"If you can inherit a good group of workers ... that's much better than a situation where they're not used to working very hard," Kruger said. "You establish what you want in practice, the style of play, the expectations in the classroom. It's all a natural process."
Matta left several players stunned by his departure.
"He was a players' coach. He was a guy you could relate to," said Dedrick Finn, a junior who was recruited to Xavier by Matta.
Finn tried to put Matta's leaving into perspective.
"It's a business, though," Finn said as he watched Xavier assistant Sean Miller elevated to head coach on Thursday.
Staff
Matta is expected to bring two of his Xavier assistants with him to Ohio State. Alan Major, who worked under Matta the past three years, wore a name tag that identified him as an Ohio State coach at a clinic and camp in Indianapolis on Thursday. Another Xavier assistant, John Groce, also is expected to join the staff.
Matta's hiring also was met with relief by several of O'Brien's incoming recruits. But there is still work to do with players from outside the state.
Levance Fields, a 5-foot-10 guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., had Ohio State as one of his college choices -- before O'Brien was fired.
"I have no idea who Thad Matta is," Fields said Wednesday in Indianapolis. "I've never heard of him."