Thad Matta said Thursday he has never been to Storrs, Connecticut — the place of Ohio State's next game Saturday. The closest he has been came during his days coaching in the Atlantic 10 with stops at Rhode Island and the University of Massachusetts.
But that doesn’t mean the Buckeyes' head coach isn’t familiar with various things about the UConn basketball program. Matta said he has met Huskies head coach Kevin Ollie a handful of times, saying, “I have tremendous respect for him; he does an incredible job.”
And Matta will also see a familiar face when he looks out on the floor for Saturday’s game. Huskies point guard Sterling Gibbs, a fifth-year transfer from Seton Hall, chose to finish his career at UConn over Ohio State this summer. Gibbs officially visited the Buckeyes in May, but ultimately settled on the Huskies due to one overwhelming factor, according to Matta.
“We had a great relationship, a great visit; it couldn’t have gone any better,” Matta said. “But in the end, Mom wanted him close to home. … Distance from home was definitely a factor and just seeing his last go-round, seeing all the games.”
Gibbs would have certainly helped Ohio State this season. The benefits of a veteran point guard helping out a pair of freshmen seem obvious.
But perhaps the Buckeyes are better off in the long run Gibbs chose UConn. He’d obviously warrant a lot of playing time for this season and this season only, but how would he fit with Ohio State starting point guard JaQuan Lyle? Would Gibbs take minutes away from freshman backup A.J. Harris and thus hurt his development? If Gibbs and Lyle were to play together, how would that affect Kam Williams and Austin Grandstaff?
All of those are valid questions and show the Buckeyes could be better off down the road because they didn’t land Gibbs.
“Turned out to be a great choice,” Matta said. “He is getting what he was looking for, I think.”
Gibbs has started all eight games this season for UConn and is averaging 11.9 points per game. But when Matta watches film and scouts the Huskies in preparation for Saturday’s game, he doesn’t have any “What could have been?” thoughts in his mind.
“When you do this long enough, no; you don’t get everybody you want,” Matta said. “I think he’s doing a heck of a job for them, running the team.”
Matta obviously would love to have Gibbs on this year’s team; any coach always wants the best players that give his team the best chance to win games. But this Ohio State team, with so many young players, might be better off the way things are now. Allowing all of those inexperienced players to develop in what’s likely to be an up-and-down year could be crucial to long-term success.
As for Gibbs, Matta said he had a simple message for him when Gibbs decided he was going to be a Husky and not a Buckeye.
“As I told [Gibbs] when he said he was going to UConn: ‘I am going to be your biggest fan except for one day,’” Matta recalled. “That’s coming up Saturday.”
