Ohio State tried to beat Purdue -- and the clock -- Tuesday night in a critical Big Ten men's basketball game.
Terry Gilliam / Associated PressNo college coach has done a better job of immediately melding a collection of talent into a winning basketball team than Ohio State's Thad Matta, who seldom has the luxury of seeing his best players mature while still wearing the scarlet and gray. COLUMBUS -- The clock is always ticking for Thad Matta, the Ohio State basketball coach.
It was not just counting down the hours of the long day that preceded the 9 p.m. tipoff Tuesday night against Purdue, but the days left in this season. Twenty games down. Twenty, should the Buckeyes reach the Big Ten Tournament finals and then the national championship game, to go.
How many practices to force-feed Matta's system to a team that is mostly seniors or freshmen, innocence and experience? He is thankful he has great senior leaders, because good freshmen are always going to play at Ohio State. They have to learn on the run.
His top six players are from Ohio, giving the Buckeyes a cozy, home-bred feeling, as if team meals were held at Bob Evans. It recalls the all-Ohio starting five for the Buckeyes' only national championship team in 1960, the Jerry Lucas-John Havlicek-Bobby Knight team. All of those players got their degrees.
Things have changed now.
How long will Matta have prized recruit Jared Sullinger, the 6-8, 280-pound power forward/center who might be the nation's best player?
With time, Sullinger's game would flourish even more. Sullinger has such a smooth, soft stroke at the foul line, several of his makes using up most of the rim before falling in Saturday at Illinois, that he only has to refine the skill.
"We see it in practice. You'll see it next year when handling and shooting more farther from the basket, expanding his game," said Matta, smiling sadly.
The wistful smile was because Sullinger is almost sure to be OSU's fourth big man who is one, done and NBA-bound in the springtime. First, Greg Oden, next Kosta Koufos, then B.J. Mullens. Now Sullinger.
"Oden played with a cast on [his right wrist]," Matta said. "He couldn't extend his wrist all the way to the normal shooting position. The night of the national championship game, he couldn't bend it the way he would bend it to shoot a true jump shot. I don't think we ever saw the real Greg Oden at Ohio State."
The only thing basketball people saw of him that lasted was the fragility. The wounded big man took Ohio State to the last game of the season in 2006-07, where the Florida mini-dynasty barred the way. His NBA career has been wrecked by injuries.
Still, Matta chases the glamorous big men on the recruiting services' watch list.
"Size is obviously important. As far back as grade school, a team would look to the biggest kid," Matta said.
Matta, who grew up in the Illinois border town of Hoopeston, a 40-minute drive from the Purdue campus, knows geography is strength. "We've been blessed to have great players in the bread basket of recruiting," he said.
The other player in his rotation, freshman Deshaun Thomas, is from Indiana, as were Mike Conley and Oden -- who were the backbone of OSU's national runner-up team in 2006-07.
Such success has given Matta the pejorative tag of a "recruiter," not a coach. It is a lie, and Matta is proving it this season. He has become very good in end of game situations. Except for a blowout of Iowa last week, the Buckeyes' five previous Big Ten games had been decided by a total of 20 points.
Matta has a mid-major background (player and coach at Butler, then coach at Xavier), but wants to win big and that means he has to win now.
"There is a huge premium on making our players better in the off-season," Matta said. "It doesn't make for an enjoyable off-season [for the coaches], that's for sure."
He didn't even know what he had with Sullinger at the collegiate level until October practice began. Then he made Sullinger the focus of the offense. Some coaches have the luxury of less-coveted players who return to become upperclassmen. They can merely tweak their team's system. With Matta, it's more like a full body massage.
Tuesday, Matta sends Sullinger out to duel the multi-faceted Purdue junior JaJuan Johnson. Another freshman, point guard Aaron Craft, the first true point guard he has had since Conley, is also critical for OSU's success.
Matta will watch intently, his jaws likely pumping his trademark lucky stick of chewing gum, knowing the great season will end before Sullinger really begins, knowing glory is fleeting.
Follow Bill Livingston on Facebook