Holtmann believes his process will get results
This is not the trajectory Chris Holtmann expected for his career. At a June 12 news conference introducing him as the newest Ohio State men’s basketball coach, Holtmann boasted six years’ worth of head-coaching experience split evenly between Butler and Gardner-Webb.
At 45, Holtmann is only four years younger than the man he replaced, Thad Matta. When he was hired in 2004 at age 37, Matta had four years of head-coaching experience but was coming off an Elite Eight appearance at Xavier.
Holtmann’s path took him from the Big South to the Big East to now the Big Ten. It’s the biggest move of his career and one that has come with an eight-year contract while he works to rebuild what is an admittedly thin Ohio State roster. It’s a challenge unlike any other Holtmann has faced, but it’s one he’s confident he can face with the same approach.
“I believe in the way we do things,” Holtmann said Friday morning. “I believe in our philosophy and how we go about things. I have a strong belief in that. But listen, when you’re at this level, you’ve got to prove it every day. We’re not going to shy away from that.”
To do so, Holtmann said daily improvement will be key. He often cites the same motto:
Given the reality of the roster situation at Ohio State, it’s probably a necessarily pragmatic approach with what will be some tough times in the immediate future.
“Anyone who says there won’t be times of self-doubt, they’re lying to you,” he said. “It’s about believing in the process and the plan that we have in place, but eventually we’re all going to have to prove that that plan is successful.”
The biggest test will arguably be on the recruiting trail, where Holtmann and his staff will be tested early and often. Ohio State has five available scholarships for next season, and more than half the team’s roster will almost certainly come from the next two recruiting classes.
Holtmann’s first two recruiting classes at Butler were ranked ninth and fifth by 247Sports.com, respectively, in the Big East. The class of 2017 was the highest-rated in school history until Massillon Jackson forward Kyle Young followed Holtmann to Ohio State last week. That moved the three-player recruiting class to No. 36 nationally, the highest mark for the Buckeyes since the ill-fated class of 2015 was ranked fifth.
The Ohio State job was one Holtmann said he had to heavily consider in large part because he would still be able to try to attract the same types of players that made him successful at Butler.
Whether it can translate from Butler to Ohio State will be played out in the coming weeks and months. Holtmann said the Buckeyes have a full week of visits ahead and pointed to July’s evaluation period as “really important” for the direction of the recruiting efforts.
“I see a lot of similarities,” he said. “The waters that we were recruiting in those last couple years were pretty deep and the guys that we were getting could play pretty much anywhere in the country. You look during Thad’s tenure, which is probably the tenure I’ve followed the closest, and you say, those are very similar to the kind of guys that I’ve coached and recruited in the past. Hopefully, we can continue to do that.”
His job — and the trajectory of the Ohio State program — likely depend on it.