Chris Jent, Coach Matta's Biggest Recruit?

One of my first memories of Ohio State basketball was back in the early 90's  (1992 to be exact) when Chris Jent and Jim Jackson led the Buckeyes to the Elite 8 before falling to Michigan.  I loved watching Chris Jent because he was never afraid to dive after a ball and make a hustle play.  If I were to compare him to someone on the current team I would say Aaron Craft. 

Jent will join Thad Matta's staff as an assistant coach after Brandon Miller left the team for family reasons on June 16.  Jent was a volunteer on Ohio State's staff in 2005-2006 and has since been an assistant in the NBA.  Most NBA fans know him for helping the development of Lebron James as a Cavs assistant. 

Everyone knows that Thad Matta is a beast of a recruiter.  He has called this, "the biggest recruit I have gone after."  Only Thad Matta could convince a happy NBA coach to comeback and be an assistant coach in college.  While there are many reasons to love this hire, to me it is great to see a former Buckeye player on the coaching staff.  You look at Duke assistants and you see former players.  It's easy to sell a recruit if you played at the school (not that Matta has any trouble selling a recruit). 

Chris Jent will be a fantastic addition to the Ohio State coaching staff.  It's ironic, Ohio State basketball fans have suffered from seeing players leave early for the NBA, and this year it's about a assistant that leaves the NBA for college and a star freshman who stays in college instead of head to the league.