Holtmann talks backcourt at media days
INDIANAPOLIS — Six practices do not a full season make. Thursday during Big Ten media day at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Ohio State men's basketball coach Chris Holtmann was quick to point that out.
And yet, those six practices provide a starting point for an Ohio State team that, despite having a number of unanswered questions, was picked fourth in the preseason media poll conducted by The Dispatch and The Athletic.
“Right now I'm not ready to say what our rotation's going to look like,” Holtmann said. “It's still very much a competitive challenge every day. Some guys have maybe established themselves through the first few practices, but we'll know more here in the next month and will want to keep it wide open for the first part of the season and not make any real determinations yet. There are certainly some guys that have earned some things, but there's a lot of positions still up for grabs.”
In his first public comments since the start of the preseason, Holtmann said the team's guards have shown some expected early issues.
“I think there's more things happening early in the season that would signify a younger, maybe more inexperienced backcourt than what we've had in the past,” the coach said. “We're turning the ball over a little bit more. There will be some things we'll have to work through that you work through when you have a new and inexperienced backcourt.”
By the end of the year, Holtmann believes the backcourt “has a potential to be good” in part because transfer Jamari Wheeler has helped settle some things. A two-time member of the Big Ten's alldefensive team while at Penn State, Wheeler has caused a fair share of those early practice turnovers and is a likely candidate to be an opening-day starter.
Cedric Russell, another transfer, is still acclimating to Ohio State after four years at Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference.
“The size, length and speed of this level is just a little bit different than what he consistently saw, but he's a really good player and he's gonna be fine,” Holtmann said. “We'll see his best basketball probably mid-year on. I could really see that with him.”
That's around the same time Seth Towns, a sixth-year forward who underwent back surgery in September, is expected to return. He's the only Ohio State player not currently practicing, Holtmann said, but the expectation is that Buckeyes fans will see him at full strength before the end of the year, despite the operation and the fact that he missed two previous seasons with knee problems.
Meechie Johnson will assume a much more significant role than last season, when he graduated high school early and joined the team in December. The Garfield Heights, Ohio, native will see time both at the point and off the ball.
So far, this has come with some growing pains as he's endeavored to push the ball up the court with Wheeler hounding him in workouts. He's not been alone in that: first-year player Malaki Branham, too, has had “some really good days” already but also some in which he's struggled, Holtmann said.
At this point, patience is a virtue. “I think we've got some answers there, but it's gonna take some time,” said Holtmann.