• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Chris Holtmann (ex-tOSU Bball coach, HC at DePaul)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
NFBuck said:
I've been pretty big on preaching that the peak Matta years (2005-13 ish) are not a fair or reasonable bar for tOSU basketball. Is it possible to reach those heights again? Sure, but it isn't and shouldn't be the standard given our history. That said, what 6 years of Chris Holtmann have yielded isn't good enough.

Over half a decade on and he's yet to win a title of any kind (and barring a miracle, isn't getting one this year), hasn't sniffed the Sweet-16 and suffered the embarrassing Oral Roberts loss in round 1. I don't have the data and I'm not looking for it right now, but it feels like these January/February swoons have been a common theme under CH. Take away his first year and he's 45-42 in the B1G. That isn't gonna cut it.

An upset loss on the road in January against a B1G foe isn't a big deal in and of itself, but compounded by several other lackluster efforts, it's a big red flag. I don't think there's a very good chance of cutting ties given his recent extension, but something needs to change. Given tOSU's AD weight, I'm sure they could swing a buyout, but I don't know that the "give a shit" factor is as high as it would be for football. I think we're stuck with him for the time being and just have to hope it gets worked out somehow. There's too much talent to be this bad. It feels like we're right back at the dying days of the Matta-era, except the recruiting is a bit better.
Click to expand...

Agreed on mostly every point. Matta took us to unprecedented heights for a long stretch. I guess somewhere in between those years and what CH is doing is probably what would be a reasonable expectation. After 6-ish years of very good recruiting, the lack of leadership and discipline is really concerning. We're getting talent here and not developing it, or talent succeeds on its own despite that (see Branham and now Brice).

To your point, an upset loss in the B1G wouldn't worry me at all. Shit happens. But combining the recent backslide with the apathetic attitude of both players and coaching, along with losing to inferior teams and the lazy turnovers, I'm at the point where we have to look for someone else. It's systemic what is happening now and without a tourney run to speak of, there's a legit reason for the lack of optimism.

I really like CH as a person, but I think his time here is numbered whether it's this year or next. I won't pretend to know the ins and outs of his contract, so maybe there is a compelling reason to keep him throughout the rest of the season. And who knows, maybe we find a lucky streak somehow and get into the tourney for a run to redeem this horrible period. But even if we do, I still think we need to be looking because that would be an exception, not the rule. As you said, what we have in results is not enough and definitely substandard in terms of conference results. I'm hoping we find a way to get some momentum while we find an exit strategy. Unfortunately I think we might be beyond broken beyond the point of repair for this season though.
 
Upvote 0
Even as one of the most ardent Holtmann supporters, losing streaks such as this are very hard to handle.

I do think he can be successful here - I doubt he's getting fired 1 year after being extended - but at the same time there could be some credence to needing to hear a different voice in the room. I don't think Ohio State will pull the trigger yet though.

Ultimately I think there's a toughness and leadership factor that's definitely missing on this team. There's no EJ or a Wesson or KBD who can just take over games. I had hoped Sueing would fill that role but it's not in his personality. I think Thornton has that inside of him but he's a freshman and it might not be ready to take over yet.

Ultimately, I think it depends on how you view the program and where it "should be". Like @NFBuck said, I don't think the heights of the Matta era are or were really sustainable. Up until this streak and despite the March struggles, CH was winning 65% of his games and running a clean program. That's all well and good so long as its maintained. At this point, it hasn't been.
 
Upvote 0
OHSportsFan said:
This the day after he was carrying water for Holtmann. Hmm…(tells me Chris gives him some access if Jeff is defending his coaching, which has been indefensible lately)

Click to expand...

What Holtmann is doing is the equivalent of football going 9-4/5-4 every year. No, the standards aren't, and shouldn't be the same, but we are a middle of the pack B1G basketball program not even meeting that modest bar this year. Could it be worse? I mean, I suppose, but one thing's becoming clear, CH's ceiling isn't very high. After being a hardened supporter, that's become painfully clear to me now.
 
Upvote 0
OHSportsFan said:
Oh and now there’s this with ND job opening.

Goodman is pretty blah but typically a mouthpiece for a lot of coaches so it’s interesting he would bring up Holtmann’s name.



A chance for a happy split?
Click to expand...


I read Holtmann's contract has a $2 million buyout clause. Not a huge amount if someone really wants him, but it's something.
 
Upvote 0
Has he ever had less than 20 wins in a season? Beware what you all wish for.

Remember back to the beginning of the season when everyone basically said we were fucked. Then with a brutal fucking schedule to begin, the boys actually looked damn good. They don't have the same energy and focus that they had. Seems we're all remembering that they are mostly freshmen. It was going to be a rough year and now they've hit a bad stretch.

See if he can right the ship before everyone burns the program down.
 
Upvote 0
Bestbuck36 said:
Has he ever had less than 20 wins in a season? Beware what you all wish for.

Remember back to the beginning of the season when everyone basically said we were fucked. Then with a brutal fucking schedule to begin, the boys actually looked damn good. They don't have the same energy and focus that they had. Seems we're all remembering that they are mostly freshmen. It was going to be a rough year and now they've hit a bad stretch.

See if he can right the ship before everyone burns the program down.
Click to expand...

Agree. I'm hoping he rights the ship and get this team to the dance. But there are several tough road games coming and this team doesn't look capable of winning them.

If this season ends below .500, and outside the top ten in the B1G, he's a tough sell. That said, I don't think OSU would fire him. He'd get another year to bounce back.
 
Upvote 0
Bestbuck36 said:
Has he ever had less than 20 wins in a season? Beware what you all wish for.

Remember back to the beginning of the season when everyone basically said we were fucked. Then with a brutal fucking schedule to begin, the boys actually looked damn good. They don't have the same energy and focus that they had. Seems we're all remembering that they are mostly freshmen. It was going to be a rough year and now they've hit a bad stretch.

See if he can right the ship before everyone burns the program down.
Click to expand...

this! For this year they added 4 grad transfers to a group of freshmen. That on top of injuries and Sueing not playing well lately explains a lot. Want to see how they finish and how they look next year when we bring in another fantastic recruiting class. If they are in this same spot next year I think a buyout could be on the horizon....
 
Upvote 0
NFBuck said:
What Holtmann is doing is the equivalent of football going 9-4/5-4 every year. No, the standards aren't, and shouldn't be the same, but we are a middle of the pack B1G basketball program not even meeting that modest bar this year. Could it be worse? I mean, I suppose, but one thing's becoming clear, CH's ceiling isn't very high. After being a hardened supporter, that's become painfully clear to me now.
Click to expand...
I'm glad new shit has come to light.
 
Upvote 0
Bestbuck36 said:
Has he ever had less than 20 wins in a season? Beware what you all wish for.

Remember back to the beginning of the season when everyone basically said we were fucked. Then with a brutal fucking schedule to begin, the boys actually looked damn good. They don't have the same energy and focus that they had. Seems we're all remembering that they are mostly freshmen. It was going to be a rough year and now they've hit a bad stretch.

See if he can right the ship before everyone burns the program down.
Click to expand...
I was aboard the "be careful what you wish for" train up through last season. But that was me operating under the assumption CH was close to a breakthrough. Now, we're trending waaaay in the wrong direction. If his ceiling is 20 wins and an early tourney exit, how long is that acceptable? I don't think he gets fired after this season, but I do think there needs to be real progress shown next season; and by that I don't mean the old 20 wins and yay we made the tournament but lost in the first weekend.

We're not a blueblood in basketball, but CH has established a pretty low bar. Take away his first season, he's 46-43 vs. the B1G. That's the definition of mediocre. Could it get worse? Sure. But it should be better.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top