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Thad Matta adding two former Ohio State stars to Butler basketball staff
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Two former Ohio State standouts are joining Thad Matta’s staff at Butler.
The Indianapolis Star reported on Tuesday that Greg Oden and Jon Deibler — both of whom played under Matta at Ohio State — are joining the Bulldogs staff. It’s unclear what the roles will be for the former Buckeyes.
Oden was a graduate assistant at Ohio State last season under Chris Holtmann. Diebler was playing in the European basketball leagues, recently retiring.
Oden spent just one season at Ohio State, averaging 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game. He helped lead the Buckeyes to an appearance in the national championship game in 2007.
After an outstanding season in Columbus, Oden was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2007 NBA Draft, taken No. 1 overall. He was in the NBA until 2014, playing for Portland and the Miami Heat.
Diebler spent all four years at Ohio State and was a 3-point specialist for Matta’s squads. He made 374 career shots from behind the 3-point line from 2007-11 and converted at a 41.6% clip.
Matta spent last season working at Indiana University before taking the job at Butler. He was previously the head coach at Ohio State from 2004-17.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB