BOWEN HARDMAN LED TO OHIO STATE BY “EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT” TO CHRIS HOLTMANN WHO REMINDS HIM OF HIS LATE FATHER
The words that poured out of Chris Holtmann’s mouth on Wednesday evening, Bowen Hardman had heard before from another man’s voice.
Holtmann, speaking on a Zoom conference call that began at 6 p.m. and ended an hour later with Hardman committing to Ohio State, harped on how much he believes in the Princeton High School sophomore’s game translating to the Big Ten. He told Hardman he thinks Hardman can help the Buckeyes win games. Yet Holtmann also said Hardman nothing in the Big Ten would come easy. He referenced the inevitable up-and-down moments all freshmen have, saying he needs to continue to get stronger both physically and mentally. He said he wants to coach guys who “work their butts off.”
While not sugarcoating anything, Holtmann challenged him. He wanted to find out, while prodding the three-star 2022 shooting guard, whether Hardman fit that mold.
“It's not going to be easy,” Holtmann told him.
Hardman had heard it before because similar messages came constantly from his father.
“That's what my dad always used to say,” Hardman told
Eleven Warriors on Thursday morning. “The stuff that coach Holtmann preaches every day, whether it was the Zoom calls or on campus, whether it's his players, coaches, just fit that. No matter what, we're going to go in as a team and we're going to get the job done. There's not going to be a ‘me’ or ‘I.’ It just clicked.”
Hardman’s dad, David, died on March 5, 2019 after a year-long battle with multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer. Four years younger than Holtmann, David spent most of his adult life coaching high school basketball around Cincinnati, leading teams at Aiken, Walnut Hills, Gamble Montessori, and Western Hills.
In Holtmann, Hardman saw much of what made his father special to him. Tough, loving, up-front, demanding, family-oriented.
The words that poured out of Chris Holtmann’s mouth on Wednesday evening, Bowen Hardman had heard before from another man’s voice.
Holtmann, speaking on a Zoom conference call that began at 6 p.m. and ended an hour later with Hardman committing to Ohio State, harped on how much he believes in the Princeton High School sophomore’s game translating to the Big Ten. He told Hardman he thinks Hardman can help the Buckeyes win games. Yet Holtmann also said Hardman nothing in the Big Ten would come easy. He referenced the inevitable up-and-down moments all freshmen have, saying he needs to continue to get stronger both physically and mentally. He said he wants to coach guys who “work their butts off.”
While not sugarcoating anything, Holtmann challenged him. He wanted to find out, while prodding the three-star 2022 shooting guard, whether Hardman fit that mold.
“It's not going to be easy,” Holtmann told him.
Hardman had heard it before because similar messages came constantly from his father.
“That's what my dad always used to say,” Hardman told
Eleven Warriors on Thursday morning. “The stuff that coach Holtmann preaches every day, whether it was the Zoom calls or on campus, whether it's his players, coaches, just fit that. No matter what, we're going to go in as a team and we're going to get the job done. There's not going to be a ‘me’ or ‘I.’ It just clicked.”
Hardman’s dad, David, died on March 5, 2019 after a year-long battle with multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer. Four years younger than Holtmann, David spent most of his adult life coaching high school basketball around Cincinnati, leading teams at Aiken, Walnut Hills, Gamble Montessori, and Western Hills.
In Holtmann, Hardman saw much of what made his father special to him. Tough, loving, up-front, demanding, family-oriented.
Entire article:
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...nded-him-of-his-late-father-led-him-to-commit
Really good article. He sounds like a fine young man.
