Assistant Coach Chris Jent - ScarletBuckeye

PHATBUCK13 · 06-29-2011, 09:29 AM

Thad Matta announced this morning that the vacant assistant position on his staff has been filled by former Buckeye Chris Jent. Matta confirmed the hiring to Bob Baptist and called it a 'huge' addition to the staff.

Welcome home C.J.

PHATBUCK13 · 06-29-2011, 10:09 AM

Ohio State men's basketball: Sources say Jent to take assistant job
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 03:07 AM
By Bob Baptist

Chris Jent has accepted an offer to return to his alma mater and become an assistant coach on the Ohio State men's basketball team, two sources with knowledge of Jent's decision confirmed last night.

Pending university approval of his hiring, Jent, 41, will leave an assistant coaching position with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers to replace Brandon Miller, who resigned June 16.

Jent has been with the Cavaliers since 2006, when he graduated from Ohio State after returning to earn his degree following a career as a professional player and a brief stint as interim coach of the NBA's Orlando Magic.

Jent played at Ohio State from 1989 through 1992 and was a starter as a senior on a team that finished 26-6 and reached an NCAA regional final.

He was a volunteer on Ohio State coach Thad Matta's staff during the 2005-06 season while he completed his undergraduate degree.

Sources said Jent was offered the job by Matta last week. It became apparent he had accepted yesterday when former Butler and Iowa coach Todd Lickliter was hired as an assistant by Miami University. Lickliter was said to be Matta's second choice and was waiting on Jent's decision before deciding whether to take the Miami job.

bbaptist@dispatch.com

PHATBUCK13 · 06-29-2011, 01:47 PM

Last Buckeye to win that elusive NBA championship as a player? Chris Jent 1994-1995 Houston Rockets......WINNING

PHATBUCK13 · 06-29-2011, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHATBUCK13

Last Buckeye to win that elusive NBA championship as a player? Chris Jent 1994-1995 Houston Rockets......WINNING

PHATBUCK13 · 06-30-2011, 10:14 AM

Ohio State notebook: Jent drawn back to Columbus
Former Buckeye gives up Cavs job to sit next to Matta

BY BILL RABINOWITZ
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Chris Jent had a great job. He loved being an assistant coach with the Cavaliers, even as the LeBron James-less team spiraled toward the bottom of the NBA last season.
He wasn't looking to leave.
But when Thad Matta offered the former Ohio State player the assistant coaching job vacated by Brandon Miller, Jent found the pull of his alma mater too difficult to turn down.
"For me to leave, it could only have been this type of situation, where I'm basically going back home," Jent said after his hiring became official yesterday. "I'm from New Jersey, but I bleed scarlet and gray.
"Everyone I would talk to would say, 'Go with your gut.' I'd go to work during the day and be like, 'Man, this is fantastic. I'm an NBA coach.' Then I'd be on the drive home, and my stomach and my gut kept pulling me back to Columbus. I couldn't deny that."
The scrappy Jent played for the Buckeyes from 1988 to 1992 and played professionally for 10 seasons, including two in the NBA, where he was on the Houston Rockets' 1994 championship team.
He served as a volunteer assistant at Ohio State under Matta in 2006 while finishing his undergraduate degree in communications. Ever since, Matta has had his eye on hiring Jent.
"He's someone I've leaned on," Matta said. "When this job opened, he was the one guy I sought out to try to persuade to leave the NBA and come back to his alma mater. We couldn't be more excited today to have him here."
After Miller's unexpected resignation, Matta drove to Cleveland to gauge Jent's interest.
"I told him this could be the biggest recruit I've ever gone after," Matta said.
Matta has recruited a number of elite high-school players. Jent worked with one Ohio star whom Matta never had a chance to get - James, who went straight to the NBA a year before Matta arrived at OSU.
Jent's reputation for developing players was partly built with his work in helping James improve.
Jent doesn't expect it to be difficult adjusting from coaching the best players in the world to working with college players.
"I think you just have to take each individual for who they are and what they are as a player and person and go from there," Jent said. "I don't think that changes at any level."
Despite Jent's lack of experience in recruiting, he and Matta think that Jent will be a natural in selling the Buckeyes program.
"We are recruiting guys that want to be great basketball players and that value education," Matta said. "It's no secret Chris was one of best in the NBA at making players better. To have that on our staff I don't know if I could have gotten anyone better in the country than what he's going to bring to the table."

brabinowitz@dispatch.com

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