Ohio State men's basketball coach Thad Matta is leading the No. 1 team in the nation. Despite being the busy man that he is, he still found time to answer our 10 questions.
1. What's the best thing about coaching at Ohio State?
Being a Buckeye, I think, just the power and the feeling you get anytime you are
involved with Ohio State and how much these people love the Buckeyes. The No. 1 thing for me is
just being a part of something that is so special.
2. What kind of pressure does being No. 1 bring?
It is funny because I don't feel the pressure of being No. 1. I feel more the
pressure of trying to get our team to play the best basketball they can. I do not look to far
outside of the box, it is more of what we have to do and I think there is more talk on the outside
than there is on the inside of being No. 1.
3. What do you like most about your current team?
I think who they are as kids and the camaraderie that they have and without
question the work ethic they have every day they come into the Schottenstein Center.
4. You played collegiately at Butler. Best game memory?
We were down six points at Dayton my sophomore year with 1:50 to go in the game and
I ended up scoring the last eight points (including) a last-second shot and we won the game.
I think I finished with 8 points for the game.
5. Who's your hero?
I would have to say my father and the reason, growing up he was an educator and I
felt like both he and my mother sacrificed a lot to give the kids in the family just a lot of
opportunities and they definitely put us before them. I know this I would not be sitting in the
situation I am without the guidance of my father and my mother.
6. What's your idea of a dream vacation?
On a beach with nobody around.
7. If you weren't coaching basketball, you'd be doing what?
I would say if I wasn't coaching basketball I would probably be in education. I
would be a teacher. That was what my degree was in. That's what I always wanted to do was
teach.
8. Favorite movie?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
9. Best late night snack?
I hate to say this but its cookie dough, but don't tell my wife because she is
always wondering where it goes in the middle of the night but that is definitely me with a cold
glass of milk.
10. In high school, you played for the Hoopeston-East Lynn Cornjerkers. What is a
Cornjerker?
A Cornjerker is a very powerful warrior type person who back in the days before
they had combines and things, kids would walk the fields and jerk the corn off the stalks and throw
it into a trailer so therefore it became the Cornjerkers.
On Sunday, Matta's Buckeyes travel to Minneapolis to take on the dangerous Golden Gophers. Watch 10TV News and Wall to Wall Sports for highlights as we get ready for the Big Ten and NCAA men's basketball tournaments on 10TV.
