Butler men’s basketball coach Thad Matta took a brief pause while thinking about the number 500.
One day before reaching the 500th win of his career with a 93-89 victory over Georgetown, Matta admitted that reaching the milestone was never something he thought about achieving. Matta said his record was never the reason he got into to coaching. He finds joys in the relationships he’s built with his players and watching them succeed.
“I’ve been blessed,” Matta said. “Coaching at Xavier, Ohio State and Butler, I’ve been at three great universities. More (important) to me is the numbers of the guys I’ve coached. That’s more important than wins and losses.”
Eighty-five of Matta’s 500 wins have come across two stints at Butler. Matta amassed 337 wins over 13 seasons at Ohio State and 78 over three seasons at Xavier.
Butler assistant coach and former Ohio State star Jon Diebler doesn’t know exactly how many of those 500 wins he’s been a part of as a player and coach, but he marvels at Matta’s longevity and consistent success. Diebler’s known Matta since he was a rising prep recruit in Ohio. He remembers Matta and his family sitting in the gym at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, during his recruitment. The coach who Diebler dreamed of playing for as an Ohio kid is the same affable coach patrolling the sideline at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
“That’s a lot of wins,” Diebler said. “Winning is hard. … It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, when you’re playing, where you’re playing — winning is hard. For him to get to 500 is remarkable.
“Credit to him for wanting to do this for so long and credit to the teams that he’s coached. The players that he’s coached, the players he’s recruited and to the players he’s developed. He’s the best. Guys love playing for him. He cares about people. I’m sure he’ll tell you the wins are great but he cares more about the individual guys that he’s coached over all the years he’s been coaching. That’s what makes him special.”
Matta has developed the reputation as a program builder capable of developing a winning culture. He started his career with 16 consecutive 20-win seasons, with NCAA Tournament berths in 13 of the 16 seasons. He re-established Ohio State as a power with Indianapolis recruits Mike Conley Jr. and Greg Oden leading the way and maintained the success with the likes of Jared Sullinger, Diebler and Aaron Craft. Health issues ended his tenure in Columbus, but Matta’s passion for the game and his love for Butler is palpable three decades into a likely Hall of Fame career.
The ultimate players’ coach, Matta maintains strong relationships with his former athletes, from having Oden on his Butler staff previously, to letting Craft live with him in Indy during his medical residency.
“Coach is just an authentic, genuine guy,” Craft told the IndyStar in 2023. “And that extends to every aspect of my experiences with him as a basketball player. Everything he wanted to do and focus on was player focused. He put us first whether that was practice or film sessions, or that was off the court things.
“He wanted us to be in a position to get the most out of our experience at Ohio State and our education and outside connections we can make. He cared about those things, and he followed through.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Developing winning culture, strong bonds fueled Thad Matta’s 500 wins
Reporting by Akeem Glaspie, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
