By SEAN BOCK & ADAM ZAGORIA
Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta has turned down the Georgia job, he told ESPN Wednesday.
Matta met with Georgia officials on Monday and was offered the position before he left campus.
“It was the most difficult decision because Georgia is a tremendous opportunity for a coach to build a great program,” Matta said. “Unfortunately, I just don’t feel that I am completely ready at this point to give Greg McGarity and Georgia what they deserve.”
Matta coached for 13 seasons at Ohio State and went 337-123 before leaving the program after the 2016-’17 season. Matta’s teams appeared in a Final Four, two Elite Eights and a pair of Sweet 16’s.
Matta also spent three seasons at Xavier and a year at Butler.
TCU’S DAVID PATRICK TO UC-RIVERSIDE
TCU associate head coach David Patrick has agreed to become the next coach at UC-Riverside, a source confirmed to ZAGSBLOG.
Patrick, the Godfather of Philadelphia 76ers’ rookie Ben Simmons, is in his second season as assistant head coach at TCU.
UC-Riverside men’s basketball Dennis Cutts in January, and associate head coach Justin Bell had served as the interim.
A native of Bermuda who grew up in Melbourne, Australia, Patrick came to Fort Worth following a tenure at LSU where he helped the Tigers land the nation’s No. 5 and No. 3 ranked recruiting classes in 2013 and 2015, including Simmons in 2015.
LSU’s most recent class in 2015 included Simmons, No. 15 Antonio Blakeney and No. 39 Brandon Sampson. Simmons was the consensus National Freshman of the Year this past season, a multiple All-America honoree and is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
In 2013, Patrick helped the Tigers land the nation’s No. 5 ranked class when they signed McDonald’s All-America honorees Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey. Martin was a first-round draft pick of the Memphis Grizzlies last summer and Mickey was taken in the second round by the Boston Celtics. Both earned all-conference accolades under Patrick’s watch.
During his four years in Baton Rouge, Patrick helped LSU rejuvenate its program and average 20 wins a season, which culminated into a 2015 NCAA Tournament appearance. The Tigers recorded a total of 80 wins in his tenure, while sending Johnny O’Bryant III, Martin and Mickey to the NBA. He also helped with the Tigers attract such players as Keith Hornsby, Josh Gray, Jalyn Patterson and Aaron Epps.
