Oller: Ohio State fires Chris Holtmann; what should fans expect from his replacement?
Ohio State is not a basketball school. There, I said it. But the Buckeyes should be better than what they are.
The question is how much better? We can agree that even if football is your calling card, losing 16 consecutive men’s basketball games on the road, which ties the school record, is a grim reminder that something is more than a little wrong on the roundball side of things.
The program feels like it is in freefall, which is why Ohio State pulled the plug on Chris Holtmann on Wednesday, firing the 52-year-old coach with six games remaining in the regular season. The Buckeyes, 14-11 overall and 4-10 in the Big Ten, have trended downward since the beginning of last season, when they finished 16-19 and 5-15. Holtmann ends his seven-year tenure with a record of 137-86, with four trips to the NCAA Tournament, but without ever advancing to the Sweet 16, something he was able to do at his previous job coaching Butler.
A glaring indictment: Ohio State is 9-25 in the Big Ten since the beginning of last season. Not acceptable. Even for a football school.
What is acceptable? Better phrased, what is realistic? To what standard of excellence should OSU’s next coach be held?
Let’s begin with this: Ohio State is known for football, which based on history and common sense automatically puts it at a disadvantage against basketball schools.
Why? What do traditional basketball powers have that Ohio State does not? The quick and easy answer is “better talent.” Given a choice, the nation’s best high school players will choose traditionally dominant programs such as Duke, North Carolina and Kansas.
It’s no different than the best high school football players gravitating to Ohio State, Alabama and Georgia instead of UCLA and UConn.
Ohio State is not Kentucky. The Scarlet and Gray are never going to be Big Blue. Demanding it to be otherwise is a “you” problem, not an OSU problem.
But that does not mean the Buckeyes should roll over and play dead. Holtmann’s predecessor, Thad Matta, showed that top-level success is attainable, if not guaranteed to be sustainable. The Buckeyes twice reached the Final Four under Matta, finishing national runners-up to Florida in the 2006-2007 season. They also won five Big Ten regular-season titles in his 13 years on the job.
Holtmann’s best season in Columbus was his first, when OSU finished 25-9. Evidence of decline followed, highlighted by an embarrassing loss to No. 15 seed Oral Roberts in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Then came last season, when the Buckeyes at one point lost 14 of 15, including nine in a row. This season couldn’t possibly be as bad, right? Uh …
Ohio State may not be North Carolina or Kansas, but neither is it Penn State, Nebraska, Rutgers and Northwestern, which have combined for 27 NCAA Tournament appearances – four fewer than the Buckeyes’ 31.
There is no reason OSU shouldn't finish in the top half of the conference eight of every 10 seasons, with the rare “oops” year happening only due to multiple players leaving for the NBA. Holtmann won 20 games each of his first five seasons, which is no gimme but also does not jump off the page of a coaching resume. In hindsight, the loss to Oral Roberts, which was only the 11th time a No. 2 seed lost to a No. 15, was the beginning of the end. After that, fans began looking for cracks in the foundation. And they were easy to spot. The offense too often bogged down in a back-and-forth of wasted energy that was too heavy on dribbling. The defense was more miss than hit and the inside game never put a scare into opponents.
Especially perplexing was Holtmann’s inability to attract players from the transfer portal who were anything more than average Joes. And too often less than average.
It’s a shame, really. Holtmann is a nice guy who runs a clean operation. It may be that he was too nice. You can never be too clean, unless your program begins with Kan and ends with zona. But you can be clean and still have a roster peppered with players who like to get their hands dirty, meaning guys who play with an edge and get after it like every game is the last one they will ever play.
Even then, however, Ohio State has a limited ceiling of success. Since 1960, when the Buckeyes won the NCAA title, only two other “football-first” schools have won national titles: Michigan in 1989 and Florida in 2006 and 2007. Three years out of 61. Additionally, only six schools that favor football - Ohio State, Michigan, Florida State, Oklahoma, Florida and Wisconsin - advanced to championship games during that span.
Clearly, it is difficult for football schools to make the necessary crossover to dominate in basketball.
And vice versa. Only three basketball-centric schools – Michigan State, Maryland and Syracuse – have finished atop the football rankings since the Associated Press poll began in 1936.
Of course, just because something does not often happen does not mean it cannot happen. No rule says a school cannot contend for titles in both sports. Florida won football and basketball championships in 2006. Still, the Gators are an anomaly.
Regardless, no one should be demanding that Ohio State consistently contend for national championships. Aim high, yes. Touch the heavens? Don’t think so. But it is not too much to ask for the Buckeyes to avoid loitering near the Big Ten basement.
Alabama is a football school. Six national titles since 2000. The Crimson Tide finished fifth in the Associated Press football rankings in 2023 and currently rank No. 15 in the AP basketball poll. Oklahoma ranks 25th in basketball after placing 15th in football. Tennessee is No. 8 in hoops after ending up 17th in football.
Ohio State can be in that group. Should be in that group. High-end resources are available, including state-of-the-art facilities, a respectable NIL war chest and at least more tradition than football factories such as Southern California, Georgia and Clemson.
True, Value City Arena too often feels like a convention center, but a competitive team can help mask a sterile environment. The 2006-07 Buckeyes featuring Greg Oden and Mike Conley attracted crowds that averaged 17,530. This season’s attendance averages 10,786. One more reason Holtmann is gone.
Where does Holtmann land? Maybe nowhere right away. His $12.8 million buyout allows him to wait patiently for the next opportunity to arise. Assistant Jake Diebler will serve out the season as interim coach.
Where will Ohio State land with its next hire? Names are already being tossed around, from Bruce Pearl (currently coaching at Auburn) to Sean Miller (Xavier) to Dusty May (Florida Atlantic).
My guess is retiring OSU athletic director Gene Smith, with a strong helping hand from incoming AD Ross Bjork, who will lead the coaching search, will look for a young coach who can sell recruits on bringing the Buckeyes back to Big Ten prominence. That’s the easy part. Harder is selling them on playing second fiddle to football.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State basketball fires Chris Holtmann. How big can next coach win
