Ohio state gets a new head coach in the name of Chris Holtmann, he is now the former coach of Butler, after he agreed to a multi-million dollar deal earlier today.
Holtmann's track record speaks for itself
Born and raised in Nicholasville, Kentucky, Holtmann played for Taylor University in his collegiate years after earning All-American Honors and reaching number one in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics rankings (also called NAIA). He then started his coaching stint in 1997 at Taylor University, a year later he became the assistant coach of Geneva College but subsequently went back to Taylor University in 1999 as an assistant coach.
In 2002 he then joined the staff of Gardener-Webb, he ended up spending five seasons there as an assistant coach, he also went to Ohio for two years but later on returned to Gardener-Webb as a head coach. During his stay in Gardener-Webb, he had an overall record of 44 wins and 54 losses, struggling in the first two seasons but then led the team in the right direction after getting a record of 21 wins and 13 losses in the 2012-2013 season. During that time he won the Big South Coach of the Year and was awarded the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 3 Coach of the Year. After leading them to its first division title, Holtmann then moved on to coach the Butler Bulldogs for the next three seasons.
Holtmann has been an integral part of the Bulldogs success for four seasons, known for his extraordinary basketball defensive tactics. Butler has reached the NCAA tournament in each of his three seasons as head coach, going 23 wins and 11 losses in his first year (tied 2nd in the NCAA 3rd round), 22 wins and 11 losses in the second year and winning 25 games (Tied 4th in the NCAA 2nd round) and advancing to the Sweet 16 last season.
He has a total of 70 wins and 31 losses (69% winning rate) in his coaching stint at Butler. With that track record, Ohio locals are hoping he could turn their lackluster basketball team to Division 1 elites.
Holtmann will be replacing Thad Matta in Ohio state
He has coached the Buckeyes for the past 13 years going way back to 2004, he led the Bucks to Big Ten Tournament titles in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2013, he also gave the Buckeyes two Final Four appearances in 2007 and 2012 and a NIT championship in 2008, but for the last two seasons, they missed the NCAA tournaments after going 21-14 in 2015 and 17-15 in 2016.
Ohio State parted ways with Matta earlier this week, Ohio State Basketball fans are hoping that Chris Holtmann and his defensive expertise could be the answer they have been looking for to make the Buckeyes relevant in the basketball world again. Everyone thinks he is capable of doing so and it will only be a matter of time until our questions are answered.
