2023-2024 Men's Basketball Discussion

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"PLAY THE FRESHMEN." Ohio State men's basketball had an... interesting season. The Basketbucks started 10-3 with wins over Texas Tech, Rutgers and Northwestern, and they had close losses to San Diego State, North Carolina and Duke. But then the Buckeyes lost 14 of their next 15 contests. They hit rock bottom.

At that point, Gene Smith needed to have a conversation with Chris Holtmann. However, it wasn't the conversation one would probably expect an athletic director to have with a head coach in the middle of one of the worst stretches in program history.

From Dana O'Neil of The Athletic:

As the losses piled up, starting in early January and continuing with just one game of respite until the end of February, Gene Smith called Chris Holtmann into his office for a meeting. In constant contact throughout the season via text, the Ohio State athletic director thought it was time to chat a little more formally with his men’s basketball coach. He’d already offered a public vote of confidence but knows plenty of folks read those more like a kiss from Judas, especially as the external heat piled on Holtmann amid the Buckeyes’ disastrous skid.

The thing is, he meant it. He always meant it. If Holtmann was on an external hot seat, it never burned in the AD’s office. Smith knew what other people didn’t: What the Buckeyes were going through, it was all part of a very intentional plan that Smith and Holtmann laid out at the beginning of the season. “Play the freshmen,” Smith told his coach. Holtmann understandably raised an eyebrow, double-checking that his boss understood what he was asking. Young is not the way to go in college basketball — not the successful route, at least. The transfer portal has allowed everyone to put their rosters in a near time machine, aging young teams with a few phone calls. Going young with intent is not merely going retro; it’s going rogue.

“It was difficult, really difficult,” Holtmann said. “Maybe the most difficult year of my career. But Gene told me he wanted me to build a foundation. He didn’t want me to take a lot of transfers. I just said, ‘Are you sure?’”

“I was,” Smith told The Athletic. “I knew we might take some lumps and there would be some heat. But this is the right way to go. If you have young guys and you’re not giving them playing time, why would they stay? We want to build something, and to do that you need talented people who are going to be with us for a while.”

Holtmann followed through on those orders. They ended up working well. Like, really well. As Ohio State wrapped up its regular season in late February and early March, the Buckeyes looked better in every way, winning two of their final three games.

At the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State was expected to be a one-and-done team as the No. 13 seed – the program's lowest seeding in history. But then they took down Wisconsin... and then Iowa... and then Michigan State. They even hung in with top-seeded Purdue, now a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

They accomplished all of that by playing the freshmen. In the final seven games of the year, Holtmann's future became clear as Bruce Thornton, Felix Okpara and Roddy Gayle – my goodness, Roddy Gayle – broke out for the Buckeyes, each in their own unique ways.

With all three expected to return (and maybe even Brice Sensabaugh will, too, who knows?) and Ohio State set to add Taison Chatman, Scotty Middleton, Devin Royal and Austin Parks next season, the Buckeyes are all but guaranteed to improve next season. Given what O'Neil wrote in her article, we may just have Gene Smith to thank for that.

 

Hello offseason.

The #Buckeyes have a list of questions to answer as they close the book on 2022-23 and look to 2023-24. Here are four of the big ones and what we know so far:https://t.co/RRD5jKIUPP

— Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) March 13, 2023

 

Holtmann calls Devin Royal an "outstanding combo wing," says Scotty Middleton can defend multiple positions and Taison Chatman can "really do a lot of things at the combo guard position."

Holtmann says Austin Parks has a "really strong, physical body" and provides "great size."

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) March 13, 2023

 

Holtmann on OSU's late-season turnaround: "Obviously we wish we could've found it earlier. There's no question about that. But it was fun to see."

Holtmann says the turnaround was "player-driven."

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) March 13, 2023

 

A “player-driven” decision to turn the corner allowed Ohio State to gain steam late in the season, and Chris Holtmann believes it will boost the Buckeye program into the offseason. https://t.co/BYGMgxsf1l

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 14, 2023

 

Chris Holtmann thinks the three-second rule in college basketball "needs to be evaluated" after Ohio State's matchup with Zach Edey and Purdue: "It’s not a rule that is enforced." https://t.co/LYx6vtF0yX

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 13, 2023

 

Despite a disappointing season for OSU, Matt Painter thinks its struggles will soon “come to a screeching halt” and Roddy Gayle says “the sky is the limit" for its young nucleus. https://t.co/KzNDwUmbfU

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 13, 2023

 

What’s next? Three keys to the Buckeyes offseasonhttps://t.co/giEQnTCbrY

— Lettermen Row (@LettermenRow) March 14, 2023

 

Which potential transfers has Ohio State been linked with? https://t.co/D857qHKDe3

— BuckeyeXtra.com (@BuckeyeXtra) March 15, 2023

 

With the 2022-23 season now over, we discuss what Chris Holtmann must accomplish next year and what his roster could look like on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays. https://t.co/G8zPXbo9cs

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 15, 2023

 

Ohio State won't need to start four true freshmen again next season, but the Buckeyes' sixth-ranked national recruiting class could still prove vital for OSU's success in 2023-24. https://t.co/qtUow06NnZ pic.twitter.com/yXVBwh5O1R

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 19, 2023

 

The versatility, guard play and shooting #OhioState showed late in the season could make the #Buckeyes a dangerous #B1G come next year's #MarchMadness (FREE via @_Pat_Murphy)https://t.co/dcrSNsfN3M pic.twitter.com/u6nThiP2xw

— Bucknuts (@Bucknuts247) March 20, 2023

 

With Chris Holtmann facing his first NCAA Tournament miss at Ohio State, @GriffinStrom3 examines how each of the past five OSU coaches fared after failing to reach the Big Dance. https://t.co/f7ImqMLU6v

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 21, 2023

 

College basketball transfer portal: Ball State's Payton Sparks hears from Arkansas, Ohio State among 15 teams https://t.co/Gk3QIktIFs

— OSUBasketballJunkie (@ScarletBuckeye2) March 22, 2023

 

Are you keeping up with the #Buckeyes men's basketball transfer tracker? Good page to bookmark and check as I keep adding names as they surface.

We're up to 15 names now: https://t.co/uPqQ2N2gRd

— Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) March 22, 2023

 

Towson guard Nick Timberlake, Minnesota forward Jamison Battle and Harvard forward Chris Ledlum are among the top transfer portal prospects Ohio State has shown interest in. https://t.co/NRGde9vUH9

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 29, 2023

 

If Brice Sensabaugh stays in the NBA Draft, Ohio State has to find a way to replace its leading scorer. But Sensabaugh's replacement isn't obvious. FREE on @Bucknuts247https://t.co/8Ub7isbT5F pic.twitter.com/WQCtZTMn1S

— Patrick Murphy (@_Pat_Murphy) March 30, 2023

 

What Eugene Brown III hitting the transfer portal means for the Buckeyeshttps://t.co/xmezrUZbDb

— Lettermen Row (@LettermenRow) March 31, 2023