Browns’ Josh Gordon will make $790,000 as Exclusive Rights Free Agent in 2018
February 27, 2018
A crash course on Ohio State basketball and the Big Ten tournament – The Nail in the Coffin, Episode 110
February 28, 2018To say that the Ohio State Buckeyes have exceeded expectations on the hardwood this season would be an understatement. Projected to finish 11th (out of 14) teams in the Big Ten by the conference’s media members prior to the season, the Buckeyes earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. While the players have produced on the court, head coach Chris Holtmann’s role can’t go unnoticed. Luckily, it hasn’t.
For the incredible regular season the Buckeyes have had while being led by Holtmann, he was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by both Big Ten media members and coaches Monday night.
“It’s been really a remarkable experience for all of us to go through this Big Ten regular season,” Holtmann said on the Big Ten Network’s award show. “Really unexpected to be honest.”
Two seasons ago, the Buckeyes finished 21-14 and missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007-08. Last season, they were a dismal 17-15 and it became apparent changes needed to be made. Although it was tough to see Thad Matta leave, it was (obviously) a change that was needed in Columbus. With that said, Holtmann was put in a very tough spot.
Due to Matta being let go so late into the offseason, Holtmann wasn’t named Ohio State’s new head coach until the second week of June. He not only had to go his team together, but he had to (somehow) start recruiting from the moment he stepped foot on campus. He did just that, and it paid off. In early July, the scarlet and gray finished with the best recruiting class in the Big Ten.
Prior to the season, the Buckeyes weren’t expected to make the NIT, let alone the NCAA Tournament at season’s end. Fast forward to late February, Ohio State finished the season 24-7 (15-3) and are one of the best teams in the Big Ten. The regular season’s best moments came when the Buckeyes upset Purdue in West Lafayette and dominated Michigan State at home, both of which are two of the best teams in the country. Due to their impressive regular season, no matter how they perform in the Big Ten Tournament this weekend, the Buckeyes have secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
He has turned a thin roster into one of the best teams in the country. He doesn’t (and didn’t) make excuses for the lack of depth or anything else, he has just done the best he can with what he was given while giving plenty of credit to Matta long the way. The head coach not only knows how to get the best out of his players, but Holtmann knows the right lineups, rotations, and strategies to use in order to put his team in the best possible position to win as well. With a roster that isn’t very deep, his ability to maximize his players is key. So far, he has done just that (and then some).
This is the ninth time in program history that an Ohio State head coach has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.1 It’s the first time since Matta shared the award with Purdue’s Matt Painter in 2010. This is the third time Holtmann has taken home a conference coach of the year award.2
Along with being named the conference’s top coach this year, Holtmann was also named one of 10 semifinalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Award. Not bad for a first-year head coach that many expected to have to rebuild the Ohio State program.
Whether the Buckeyes do well in March or not, this season will be one that many Ohio State fans will never forget. It’s been a special one, Holtmann’s Buckeyes just hope it becomes even more special in March (and April). With the Big Ten Coach of the Year leading the way, anything is possible at this point.
