Final Four’s Matta Recruits, Chews Gum at Same Time.

The NCAA Tournament’s Final Four will play this Saturday, pitting four of the best college basketball coaches in the nation against one another.  Ben Howland of UCLA will try to take revenge on Billy Donovan of Florida, while John Thompson III of Georgetown will try to step out from his father’s shadow by defeating Thad Matta of Ohio State.   
 

Of the final remaining coaches, perhaps none will get more attention than Thad Matta.  The Buckeyes’ head coach has been to the Elite Eight before with Xavier, and has plenty of experience winning in the Tournament.  Known for his great recruiting, Matta has assembled the so-called “Thad Five,” a freshman class that includes Wooden Award finalist Greg Oden, as well as Mike Conley, David Lighty, Daequan Cook and Othello Hunter.
 

What people will focus on more than anything is Matta’s superstitions.  Most prominent among his routines is his systematic and particular tradition of chewing gum during games.  Obviously he never had ninth grade P.E. with Coach Pultony of Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California, because he would have learned, right then and there, that “chewing gum and dress shoes are never allowed in the basketball gymnasium!”
 

If you would like to make a routine of getting great NCAA Tournament tickets, then you ought to obsessively refresh the pages at StubHub.com, your source for doublemint fun.    

Posted in General on March 29, 2007

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