Athletic director Gene Smith repeatedly called recruiting the “lifeblood” of the Ohio State men's basketball program during Thad Matta's final press conference last week. But to be completely honest, it's the lifeblood of every program.
Misses on the recruiting trail can lead to the dismissal of the winningest head coach in school history, while unparalleled success can assist in a meteoric rise up the coaching ranks.
Matta understood that, and accepted his fate once in-state four-star forward Darius Bazley decommitted from the Buckeyes a little over two months ago. The same goes for new head coach Chris Holtmann, who just four years ago sat at the end of the bench at tiny Gardner-Webb.