Thad Matta's reigning Big Ten champions open practice with the rest of the country on Friday, though the coach's disdain for "Midnight Madness" means no big kickoff for one of the top two recruiting classes in the country. With a 10-man roster that includes one walk-on and four freshmen, the Buckeyes will be short-handed again, especially while big-time big man Greg Oden recovers from right wrist surgery. Matta doesn't want to set a firm return date for the 7-foot freshman, but plans for early January and possible hopes for a bit earlier is a reasonable expectation.
Matta sat down last week for a quick look ahead.
How are you going to manage a small roster and all these young guys?
"I think if you crawl inside my mind right now, there's a huge question mark. There are so many unknowns with one starter returning, that I honestly don't know. And with Greg's situation, I don't have a road map, where last year I felt like I knew the guys well, I knew what they were capable of. This year, it's going to hopefully be trial and success, not trial and error, but in my mind going into this I know that there's a lot of areas that we need to be tested on early to sort of gauge where this team can go and how we can get there."
What's the latest with Greg Oden?
"He is doing well. The doctors are very pleased with his progress. As far as a timetable, there really isn't one. He's getting better, he's getting more movement, but we still don't know. I told Greg this - we're never going to put him at risk. But it's more of wait and see."
He's been on the court, just not using his right hand, is that correct?
"No contact. He can't get it pinned, he can't fall on it, but he's running and jumping. He put on 15 pounds of muscle this summer. He's up to 277."
What will it do for the other guys while Greg Oden is out?
"I think it's going to hold our feet to the fire a little bit more. Guys are going to have to rebound better, they're going to have to play better defense. And I like it from the standpoint of we've got to get better quickly. And I don't know how Greg is going to be when he comes back. How does he adjust to the college game and going against another 7-footer every night?"
Anything surprise you in the time you've had with them, working out two hours a week?
"I think we're athletic. The thing I like is we have a pretty decent feel on how to play offensively. But there are drastic times of, 'Boy, we're young.' And I think that's the biggest challenge we have to overcome."
Do you imagine Jamar Butler and Mike Conley Jr., both point guards, being on the floor together a lot?
"I think you could see that. Two of the better teams I ever coached, we played two point guards on the floor at all times. Watching Jamar progress from his freshman year to his sophomore year, when I think he was probably one of the most improved players in the country, you hope he continues to make that growth, whether it's playing a different position or whatever that may be."
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