Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski first interviewed Butler coach Thad Matta for the Musketeers' men's basketball coaching position on Saturday at the Omni Hotel in Indianapolis.

        The meeting was scheduled for two hours. It lasted five. Bobinski spent the first 30 minutes talking up Xavier's program; his enthusiasm was contagious.

        Matta went home and told his wife, Barbara: “Xavier's not a good job, it's a great job.”

        Bobinski called his wife, Sil, from his car and said, “We could be done right now.”

        “I was very impressed with my first visit with him,” Bobinski said Thursday, the day Matta was introduced as XU's new coach. “But I was also impressed with the other guys that I planned to visit with, and I thought: "You know what? The process deserves that; the program deserves that. But I feel great right now. I think we've got a great option right here.'”

        Bobinski spent four hours Sunday morning with UNC Greensboro coach Fran McCaffery, then went to Kansas City and spent three to four hours with Kansas assistant Neil Dougherty. Both were impressive.

        Bobinski came back to Cincinnati on Monday, collected his thoughts and felt Matta was his man. But, “I wanted to go back one more time and make sure that it wasn't a mirage, that I was thinking clearly on Saturday,” Bobinski said.

        So the athletic director called Matta and asked whether the two could meet again Monday night at the same Indy hotel. They spent roughly 90 minutes together before Bobinski drove back to Cincinnati.

        The next day, Bobinski met with Xavier's president, the Rev. Michael Graham; administrative vice president John Kucia; and Michael Conaton, chairman of the Board of Trustees. Bobinski talked about the process, his criteria, how he decided which three coaches to interview, what he learned in his meetings and his recommendation.

        The unanimous response: “How do we get him here?”

        Matta came to Xavier's campus with his wife early Wednesday. Before the day was over, he was offered the job and accepted it.

        Bobinski hired a football and men's basketball coach at Akron, and it was not lost on him how important a decision this would be.

        “It's a huge deal,” he said. “Basketball is such a big part of our program, the program that I'm responsible for. It's important to the university; it's important to the community; and it's important to our fans, alumni and students; and it's important to our players.”

        He heard from fans and boosters. He got phone calls and e-mails. Kansas coach Roy Williams, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, UCLA's Steve Lavin, Georgia's Jim Harrick and Memphis' John Calipari called to pitch candidates.

        “What really separated (Thad) to me was just this unbelievable feeling of "This guy's a winner,'” Bobinski said. “He just oozes success and winning. Everything he says is focused on making things better around him, making himself better.”

        Matta was making an impression before he even knew it.

        During the NCAA Tournament, Bobinski was in the same Kansas City restaurant as the Butler team and noted how the Bulldogs players carried themselves.

        “The whole thing was really impressive,” Bobinski said. “I thought, "That's a pretty good-looking operation over there.' The next day, I sat in the stands and watched them just take apart Wake Forest, play harder than you ought to be allowed to play. I filed that away.”

        Not that Bobinski needed a clincher, but this may have been it. He asked Matta: “When I bring you on campus, do you want to meet with the players?” Matta said: “I can't. My team is the 13 guys at Butler, and until I'm not their coach, I'm their coach. I can't stand in a locker room with another team.”

        “I've never gotten that answer from anybody else but him,” Bobinski said. “That tells you something.”

        It told Bobinski he had his man.

Xavier Stories

Matta's first-year goal: Sweet 16 West 'almost positive' he'll return Matta is always on job AD: Matta stood out from start DAUGHERTY: Coaches leave players in cold Matta may bring staff intact Youngest Division I head coaches

Dodgers 8, Reds 6
Bell to return from Triple-A
Boone shows support for Harnisch
Premium seats in new park go on sale
Padres-Reds Scouting Report
Reds, Jackie's daughter visit schools
Reds box, runs
Bengals' minicamp goal: increased aggression
SULLIVAN: Pitino lets others do his Derby work
Flying Pig hopes to keep growing
Flying Pig schedule of events
Where to watch the race
Marathoner offers practical tips
Sectional baseball preview
Sectional baseball schedule
New Richmond turns adversity into perfect season
Turpin's Hendricks back on track
Cincinnati high school highlights
Cincinnati baseball results
Cincinnati softball results
Cincinnati tennis results
Other Cincinnati results
Malony fills big footsteps
N.Ky. baseball results
N.Ky. softball results
N.Ky. tennis results

• Return to Xavier front page...