Krzyzewski, Wright show support for Chris Holtmann
Mike Krzyzewski was not a fan of Ohio State’s decision to move on from men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann.
On the latest episode of his Basketball & Beyond radio show through Sirius XM, the former Duke basketball coach discussed the Buckeyes’ move with former Villanova coach Jay Wright.
“After three years at Duke, I’d be fired,” Krzyzewsk said. “Part of building a culture is going through adversity. We were fortunate to be allowed to do that. Our schools were fortunate because we were allowed to build a culture. Our culture is still there at Duke. That’s what you want to keep going.”
Wright echoed Krzyzewski, saying Ohio State was pushing a “win now” mentality with Holtmann at the helm.
“It’s almost like everybody is a junior college coach now,” Wright said. “We’ve got to put a team together, and we’ve got to win right away because we might not get a chance late in the year. They might not be patient with us. That’s why I brought up Holtmann. Seventy percent of Ohio State’s points come from freshmen and sophomores. If those guys stay, whoever gets that job next year is going to have a hell of a team. No one is waiting on those young teams anymore.
It’s so different.”
In seven seasons with the Buckeyes, Holtmann had a 137-86 record, including 67 Big Ten wins. Holtmann took Ohio State to the NCAA Tournament four times, but never reached a Sweet 16.
At the time of Holtmann’s firing, Ohio State was 14-11 with a 4-10 record in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes had lost nine of their last 11 games.
Krzyzewski and Wright were not the only ones to show support for Holtmann.
According to 247Sports, Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo shared his thoughts on the Buckeyes’ personnel move.
“I don’t get into other people’s business, but I feel for Chris Holtmann and what’s gone on there,” Izzo said. “Again, I don’t know all the circumstances. I just know it was five years he was in the NCAA Tournament.
“Right now, we’re all going through a tough time as far as figuring out whether you want to take freshmen or whether you want to take transfers, and it’s really hard to navigate for all of us. That’s another thing that saddens me is that I think because of all this stuff, coaches are gonna lose their jobs, and I’ve always stuck up for coaches. I obviously am good friends with the AD down there, but I just don’t like what’s going on for coaches in general.”