Thad Matta's had his fair share of outstanding players as the head coach of the Ohio State men's basketball team.
It's an obvious statement, sure, especially when you consider the list of names that donned the Scarlet and Gray for one, two or even sometimes five years.
Greg Oden; Mike Conley Jr.; Daequan Cook; David Lighty; Jon Diebler; Deshaun Thomas; Jared Sullinger; D'Angelo Russell. The list goes on and on.
A total of 11 seasons, a school record 299 wins, five regular season Big Ten Championships and two Final Fours later, Matta admits he's unsure if he's had a player quite like his last freshman superstar, Russell.
"I think he's maybe at the top," Matta said April 23, the day Russell made his decision to enter the NBA Draft official after telling ESPN of his intentions less than 24 hours before. "What I love about him, what people love about him, is he can do so many different things ... They love his size at the point guard position, they love his ability to make guys better, but with that size, he can also play off the basketball. I think that's what makes him dynamic."
Russell was about as dynamic as they come in college hoops last season, leading the Buckeyes with 19.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while being second on the team in assists with a 5.0 average per outing. The laurels came along with it, too, among them including Big Ten Freshman of Year and the inaugural Jerry West Award for the nation's best shooting guard.
The more everyone — including Matta — saw him play and dominate players in the Big Ten, some of which were three and four years his senior, the more it was apparent his time as a Buckeye was running short.
"It was probably our preseason scrimmage at West Virginia when he had 33 and he hit the game-winner. I kind of scratched my head and said, ‘Uh oh,’" Matta said, asked when he knew Russell would be a one-and-done. "This kid, he was doing things that we hadn’t even talked about yet in terms of drill work, it was a real early scrimmage."
And yet, the guy who leads the men's hoops program at a football school fresh off a national championship didn't try to push Russell out because he knew what was best for him. He didn't selfishly try to convince him to stay either, because that's not how Matta's wired.
"The one thing that I did and that we did as a staff is we just left him alone. The only thing I told him was, ‘I don't know how much longer you're going to be here, but please enjoy the rest of your college experience. There's nothing better than what's transpiring a block away over there,’" Matta said. "I wanted to let him make the decision."
He was true to his word, one of the main reasons it took Russell until three days before the NBA's deadline for early entries to decide he would turn pro.
Matta knew Russell enjoyed being a college kid, so he let him be a college kid.
Matta knew Russell is as close to his family as any player he's ever had in his college coaching career, so he let him discuss it with those most important to him.
Matta knew ultimately what the decision was going to be in the end, so he and his staff were proactive during the season to fill Russell's soon to be vacant scholarship with someone similar in size and style, JaQuan Lyle.
It's all those reasons that Russell was a Buckeye in the first place — not a Louisville Cardinal, Kentucky Wildcat, North Carolina Tar Heel or Duke Blue Devil. His connection with Matta was real.
"He built a great relationship with the assistant coach, but it made him feel more comfortable and relaxed knowing the head coach wants me just as the assistant coach. Once we made that bond and that connection, there was no other school."– Antonio Russell
"They’ve always been straightforward with me and the reason why we picked this school was he built a relationship with the head coach," Antonio Russell, D'Angelo's father, said. "He built a great relationship with the assistant coach, but it made him feel more comfortable and relaxed knowing the head coach wants me just as the assistant coach. Once we made that bond and that connection, there was no other school."
"From the standpoint, what Antonio did is kinda hard to explain because he let us coach his son. He never interfered," Matta said. "I think that speaks volumes in terms of what he was able to do as a player."
A trust from a father like that doesn't along every day.
Russell is one of two players Matta's said he'd like to see Ohio State erect a statue of before his tenure with the Buckeyes comes to a close, the other being Lighty. Not Oden. Not Conley. Not Cook. Not Sullinger. The five-year glue guy who did everything well, just like Russell did last season for Ohio State.
Matta knows talent when he sees it and how to form relationships with those people who possess it to often get them become Buckeyes.
No, bringing in said talent has not yet yielded a national title yet for Matta and Ohio State, but he has the program in the right place and is running it the right way. There haven't been any violations for improper benefits or recruiting infractions that have caused the Ohio State name to get dragged through the mud.
Things have been done right, and they look like they'll continue on that path.
That should be enough for anyone.
