Former Ohio State head coach Thad Matta is dipping into his Buckeye past to help fill out his new staff at Butler.
According to the Indianapolis Star, Matta is hiring Greg Oden and Jon Diebler, both of whom played for him at Ohio State. Matta has already named Mike Pegues, Kevin Kuwik and David Ragland his full-time assistants, so Oden and Diebler would be filling other roles.
Oden, 34, served as a graduate assistant under Chris Holtmann at OSU last season. The nation’s premier high school recruit in the class of 2006, Oden led Ohio State to the national championship game in his only season in Columbus before being picked No. 1 overall in the 2007 NBA Draft.
Unfortunately, injuries limited Oden’s promise as a pro, and he appeared in only 105 NBA games. The 7-footer stopped playing professionally for good in 2016.
Diebler, 33, played shooting guard for the Buckeyes from 2007-11 before becoming a second-round NBA Draft pick and enjoying a lengthy career playing overseas. He finished his college career with 374 made three-pointers.
Greg Oden is returning to Indianapolis. The former Mr. Basketball winner out of @lnwildcats will be part of Thad Matta’s @ButlerMBB staff.
via @DavidWoods007: https://t.co/CQxqJ4F8v9
— Matt Glenesk (@MattGlenesk) April 19, 2022
Matta stepped down as the head coach at Ohio State in June 2017 after 13 years due to health reasons. He spent the last five seasons away from coaching before taking the Butler job earlier this month.
The 54-year-old actually got his first taste as a Division I head coach at Butler during the 2000-01 season, going 24-8 and reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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