Chris Holtmann is Not Who I Thought He Was, So I Crowned Him Coach of the Year!

So as most you are aware, the Ohio State Buckeyes just kicked the shit out of the Maryland Terrapins in basketball. I am aware this isn’t a particularly great Maryland team and they have a weak bench. However, they are a good team. A great team should kick the shit out of them. I also understand bad games happen from great teams like Michigan State, and when a great team gets them on their home floor, they should kick the shit out of them, which is exactly what Ohio State did. It’s time to acknowledge that Ohio State is a great team this year.

To clarify what I mean by great team, Ohio State is a contender for the Big Ten regular season crown. Some years that probably means more than it does this season. Fine. I am not going to debate that here. What I am saying is Ohio State is a great team in regards to this season.

Ohio State looked like absolute dog crap the last few years. Thad Matta, who is a great coach, had back problems. I personally love Thad as a coach and was sad to see him go. However, when I look at the job that Chris Holtmann has done this season, I can only come up with two words. “HOLY FUCK”.

The team plays harder. The team rotates much better on defense. The team hits more shots. Those changes are because the players buy into the coaching. I don’t believe for a second that Thad Matta didn’t understand rotation on defense, nor do I believe he neglected to teach it. The players just didn’t bother to accept his coaching. For whatever reason these players accept it from Holtmann.

This late in the season, it isn’t a fluke game or hot shooting day. It’s a fact, this Ohio State team is vastly improved from lucky to get an NIT invite to B1G contender. The big change is the coach. For that reason, I already name Chris Holtmann my B1G coach of the year, and probable national coach of the year. I thought he was going to be good for Ohio State, he has turned out to be great.

Want to argue about it? I’ll go ahead and put a comments section in so you can vent. Want to tell me I am a genius and you agree 100%, it’s assumed, but you can leave a comment, too!