Well, without looking real hard I found 21 different names:
Greg McDermott and Lamont Paris are among the top names to watch as Ohio State's search for a new basketball coach begins.
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GREG MCDERMOTT, CREIGHTON
A major candidate for Ohio State when it hired Holtmann seven years ago, McDermott has been a bastion of success at Creighton, which is currently ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll. He brought the Blue Jays from the Missouri Valley Conference into the Big East and won a regular season title in the major basketball conference in 2020. Creighton has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll at some point in five of the last seven seasons.
NATE OATS, ALABAMA
Oats has MAC ties, winning three championships in the conference while at Buffalo prior to taking the Alabama job. Since taking that job, he’s turned the Tide into one of the nation’s premier teams, winning both the SEC regular season and tournament titles in both 2021 and 2023. Alabama was No. 1 in the final AP Poll before the NCAA Tournament last season.
THAD MATTA, BUTLER
Ohio State’s last head coach saw his tenure end with his firing, but his track record winning five regular season and four tournament titles in the Big Ten to pair with two Final Four appearances was fantastic prior to back issues that may have impaired his coaching ability. Back to better health now, Matta went from a 14-18 record in his first year back at Butler to a 16-9 record with the Bulldogs this campaign.
ERIC MUSSELMAN, ARKANSAS
Musselman has been to four of the last five Sweet 16s in the NCAA Tournament, once with Nevada in 2018 and thrice with Arkansas in 2021, 2022 and 2023. His last two seasons have seen his record decline with the Razorbacks, however, going 22-14 prior to last year’s Sweet 16 run and standing at just 13-11 this season. Musselman was born in Ashland, Ohio and attended high school in Cleveland.
MICK CRONIN, UCLA
Ohio State just poached UCLA's head football coach to be its offensive coordinator and its head basketball coach could be on the Buckeyes' list of candidates to nab as well. Cronin grew up and went to both high school and college in Cincinnati, where he served as head coach from 2006-2019 before landing at UCLA. He made the Final Four with the Bruins in 2021 and won 31 games in 2022, but they are just 13-11 with a loss to the Buckeyes this year.
JAY WRIGHT, CBS SPORTS ANALYST
This is getting into true longshot territory, as Wright said this past November he's not interested in returning to coaching, but it would be one of the biggest of the big names Ohio State could swing at. The former Villanova coach has two Naismith Coach of the Years, two national championships, four Final Fours and 13 combined Big East regular season and tournament titles on his resume.
JAKE DIEBLER, OHIO STATE ASSISTANT
Ohio State isn’t likely to promote internally, but if it does Diebler would be the person to watch. Holtmann’s right-hand man since he was promoted to associate head coach in 2022, he’s the brother of famed former Buckeye sharpshooter Jon Diebler.
The Buckeyes are parting ways with Holtmann after bad conference run.
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Potential replacements for Chris Holtmann
Pat Kelsey, Charleston
Kelsey was on plenty of hiring replacement lists after he took Charleston on an unprecedented run last season. He stuck around this season, but the Cougars are tied atop their conference standings, and Kelsey could be a sought-after candidate again once April rolls around.
Wes Miller, Cincinnati
Yes, the Bearcats are part of a Power 5 conference now and are by definition a more sought-after job, but OSU is still a much bigger name — particularly in Ohio. Miller has smoothly led Cincy’s transition into a highly competitive Big XII in the 2023-24 season, and has plenty of local ties.
Lamont Paris, South Carolina
It might be a stretch to hire a head coach out of the SEC — especially out of an SEC program that is doing particularly well this season — but Paris was born and raised in Ohio, and played college ball at Wooster. He has spent time in the Big Ten as an assistant, and his record with the Gamecocks this year speaks for itself.
Dusty May, FAU
May was a big name in the 2023 offseason after leading the Owls to the Final Four, but he chose to stick around at FAU. However, that doesn’t mean that bigger-name programs won’t continue to attempt to recruit him. As an Indiana alum, he has Midwest and Big Ten ties.
Niko Medved, Colorado State
Medved’s Rams are legitimate contenders in a very good Mountain West this season. Medved has been with CSU since 2018, and in 2022, he led the program to its first tournament appearance since 2013.
Chris Mack, Free Agent
Mack has said recently he would be open to get back into coaching and despite his mixed results at Louisville, he’d be a strong candidate for Ohio State. Mack oversaw consistent tournament teams at Xavier, even making the Elite Eight in 2016-17. He’s got Ohio ties and this is a great platform for him to show he’s still one of the best coaches in the business.
Anthony Grant, Dayton
The Buckeyes don’t have to look far if they want to go after a rising mid-major candidate. Grant has bounced back nicely from his failed run at Alabama by making Dayton a consistent tournament threat. Even though the Flyers haven’t officially made the NCAA Tournament under Grant, they were 29-2 in the year the tournament got suspended. Grant could be a nice under-the-radar option if Ohio State’s top candidates back out.
Sean Miller, Xavier
The bond between Miller and Xavier is strong, and the Musketeers brought him back despite his controversies. However, it does feel like the coach is destined for something bigger than a mid-major school. Miller oversaw some talented teams at Arizona and turned that program into a blue blood. He would be a splash hire at Ohio State and has a track record for success.
The Ohio State Buckeyes plan to wait until the end of the season to make a decision on Chris Holtmann, but if he is let go they will have plenty of coaches to choose from.
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Will Wade
Current: McNeese State (20-3)
Record: 216-99 (Chattanooga, VCU, LSU, McNeese)
Wade comes with baggage. He was fired at LSU and served a 10-game suspension to start the 2023-24 season at McNeese, but he is undeniably a good basketball coach who has had success at every stop along the way.
Wade took VCU to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, led LSU to a remarkable 25-5 season and made three total appearances in the Big Dance. He has McNeese sitting pretty with a 20-3 record and dominating the Southland Conference.
Is there risk? Sure, but the upside is a young coach who has proven he can win at every level — and who will likely get scooped up by someone this offseason even with a two-year show-cause penalty that will extend through 2024-25.
Darian DeVries
Current: Drake (18-5)
Record: 140-53
Drake has been one of the best mid-major programs in the country over the past half decade in the Missouri Valley Conference, and Darian DeVries is going to be a hot commodity in the coaching carousel with his team off to a blistering hot start this season.
DeVries played at Northern Iowa and was an assistant at Creighton under both Dana Altman and Greg McDermott. His experience as a head coach and recruiter combined with his work with high level head coaches make him a safe choice to take this program over, and his youth could lead him to stay in Columbus for a long time.
A big hitch for DeVries is his son, Tucker, who is averaging 20.5 points per game playing for his dad at Drake. Would coach DeVries wait until his son, who is a junior, graduates? Or could it be a package deal for the Buckeyes, who could certainly use a player of Tucker’s caliber?
This still is an attractive job with the right coach. The Buckeyes won five Big Ten championships from 2006-12.
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Chris Collins, Northwestern coach
Collins has the Wildcats in position to make their third NCAA tournament appearance in 11 seasons. It's a remarkable track record, and he could do more with the resources at Ohio State. Collins, 49, is another coach who fits — but he also could just as easily be a lifer in the Chicago market for the Wildcats.
Josh Schertz, Indiana State coach
Don't get Schertz and May mixed up. Schertz was a student assistant at FAU and has worked up the coaching ranks. Schertz built a Division II powerhouse at Lincoln Memorial and has led a revival at Indiana State the last three seasons. The Sycamores are on pace for a tournament appearance, and they rank ninth in the country with 84.9 ppg. Schertz might not be a huge name in Columbus, but that does not mean he would not have success.
Buzz Williams, Texas A&M coach
There is a connection with new athletic director Ross Bjork, and Williams is closing in on a seventh 20-win season in the last nine years between stints with Virginia Tech and Texas A&M. Williams also had experience at Marquette – where he led an Elite Eight run in 2012-13. Williams, 51, would be the by-definition solid hire for the Buckeyes.
Scoonie Penn, Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach
Penn – the former director of player development at Ohio State – would be a popular choice. He played point guard on the Buckeyes' 1999 Final Four team, and he has been an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies since 2018.
Who should they hire?
