Musketeer Madness

My first post but i just wanted to share with XU fans my opinion of this article in the Plain Dealer today telling people not to forget about Matta's influence on this current team.


Doug,
I Just read your article about how not to forget the imprint of Thad Matta’s work with Xavier on this current crop of players. Although it is true that he did recruit Josh Duncan, and Stanley Burrell he has had absolutely no imprint as far as molding these kids for 4 years as Sean Miller has. Sean Miller was also the man under Matta that was handpicked to succeed him due in part to his talent in recruiting that Matta relied so heavily upon at Xavier. So, after digging for your one quote about why Stanley Burrell chose XU, why don’t you also continue to look at the relationship that Burrell has had with Miller for 4 years. One that changed him from a me-first player to a Bruce Bowen like defender at the college level.
There is one thing to keep in mind when you are ready to heap praise on a former coach who has had close to nothing to do with the team he ditched in the middle of the night for a football school. The three years Matta was at Xavier, two of them were lead by a guy named David West. West had a ‘so-so career’ at Xavier with three A-10 Player of the Year awards and a National Player of the Year Award his Senior Season. Matta’s third year he had the likes of Lionel Chalmers and Romain Sato leading the team to an Elite 8 finish. These three players I mentioned were all recruited by Skip Prosser. So by your logic Matta’s success at Xavier and subsequent job at Ohio State should be fully attributed to Skip Prosser’s groundwork of recruits that he left for Thad. I understand your role in reporting the angle of Ohio State into every walk of life but make sure you acknowledge that your logic doesn’t work as favorably for Matta as you might think. Is it therefore safe to say that ALL of Matta’s players that HE recruited at a ‘better’ program made the NIT this year? He went all in with Greg Oden and Mike Conley last year and because of a non-call on a flagrant foul and missed free throw he got his lucky sniff at the Title game. Now we will really see how good of a coach your golden child is, because any who watched that game last year will adamantly acknowledge who the better coach on the floor was in Lexinton. When it comes down to who we at Xavier would rather have it is a unanimous vote for Sean Miller.
So keep your Matta colored glasses off while covering the Musketeers, it doesn’t apply any more Doug. Start your year-round coverage for the football team since nobody even cares about Basketball in Columbus. Maybe that’s why I won’t be surprised to see an article down the road of Matta saying ‘I love it at OSU, I’ll never leave,’ and then take the IU job. Can’t wait to read your take on that.

You get the, "I just foot my boot in your arse" award. I hope you get a response ...maybe a letter to the editor might be appropriate.

Did that writer really call David West's career "so-so"? I'm still waiting for some Buckeye Booster to explain the 20% graduation rate for the black football players.

that was me actually just being sarcastic by callilng it 'so-so.' Doug, to his credit I guess, didn't resort to that level.

Here's the link to the entire article (actually, it's just 4 short paragraphs on different topics), and the specific portion referring to Xavier, which never mentions David West in any way.

http://www.cleveland.com/marchmadness/p ... xml&coll=2

"4. Thad Matta is preparing Ohio State for its next NIT game, a second-round home matchup with Cal on Monday at 7 p.m., but let's not forget Matta's contribution to Xavier's NCAA Tournament success. He recruited Musketeer seniors Josh Duncan and Stanley Burrell before leaving for Ohio State. Burrell said former assistant John Groce, now Matta's top assistant with the Buckeyes, is the reason he came to Xavier. And Matta and his staff also put in the early work that eventually led redshirt sophomore Derrick Brown to Xavier."



As you can see, the writer's comments weren't nearly as inflammatory or insulting to X as this thread would have you believe. It's more an X fan being super-sensitive once again.

i was not insinuating that he was insulting Xavier to the degree i feel you are describing. I was simply articulating a point that may seem to be of interest to a man employed at a major newspaper's sports section covering a basketball program currently in the NCAA tournament.

I feel if he can print a half researched and lazy comment about Matta's impact on our team i can simply send him a letter in contrast. One that won't be printed and read en masse. Only for folks like yourself to read.

mooky, my point is that your response is about 6 times longer than the actual piece, and makes a lot of inferences about the short piece that aren't in there. I just think that your response misread and misstated his one-paragraph piece. If you want to take issue with the guy, go ahead, but at least do it based on what he actually wrote and not what you read into his writings.

Great letter to the guy at the PD. I'd be interested to see his response because I feel like you made some valid points.

Mr. Neutral, I'm not sure if you live in Cleveland but the way the PD covers Ohio State, you would think the office is right on Lane Ave. in Columbus. I'd have to disagree with your oversensitive comment.

All of this being said...screw Ohio State. Our guys won a big game yesterday and have an opportunity to move on to the Sweet 16 tomorrow. Lets hope we come out of the gate with a killer instinct and knock these Big 10 clowns down. I want to be packing for Phoenix by 7.

Brent, I have no doubt that the P-D covers OSU heavily, and it's coverage is probably more favorable than not, and I'll concede (for the sake of this argument) that its coverage of Xavier is less than what it should be.

My point is that we should take the writer to task only for what he actually wrote, not for what we overly-sensitive, "we don't get enough respect" Xavier fans read into what he wrote.

If we're unwilling to do that, then we're showing the same kind of bias that we're complaining about.

I agree that "IF" Skip left the cupboard bare Matta success might not have happened. IF West doesn't stay Matta doesn't get the immediate success and some fans might have been jumping on him and X for hiring a guy from a lower league school. IF Chalmers doesn't blow up at GW (Matta did do it) the guys don't rally and go on the run. IF Matta take a TO against Duke and get Myles out of the game maybe that game is a win and Matta takes the team to the final four.

Hey if Matta doesn't get the guys that were already at Butler maybe he never sees X and he has to build a team that might not have won as quickly.


Like I said in another thread, we all can play the IF game.