Ohio State somehow got a better coach than the one it wanted
Ohio State set its sights on Greg McDermott as it looked to replace 13-year coach Thad Matta. Miraculously, the school came away Friday with a better one in Chris Holtmann.
The Buckeyes ended their coaching search by agreeing to an eight-year deal with Butler's Holtmann, approximately 36 hours after reports emerged that athletic director Gene Smith had offered the position to Creighton's McDermott.
We'll never know how McDermott would've fared in Columbus, but it's hard to understand how he was the Buckeyes' Plan A ahead of the now-former Bulldogs bench boss. A simple comparison between the two coaches since they joined the Big East shows one is clearly superior.
(For what it's worth, the two coaches have split their head-to-head record at three apiece.)
| Holtmann (3 years) | McDermott (4 years) | |
|---|---|---|
| Win % | 69.3 | 62.3 |
| NCAA tournaments | 3/3 | 2/4 |
| Best result | Sweet 16 | Round of 32 |
| 4-star recruits (ESPN) | 6 | 5 |
There's also the fact that Holtmann is seven years younger than McDermott and doesn't have a failed stint at a Power 5 program on his resume, unlike the latter, who failed to record a winning season in four campaigns at Iowa State.
Time will tell if Ohio State hit one of those "home runs" people like to talk about whenever a coach is hired, but at the very least, the Buckeyes got a better hitter in Holtmann after McDermott reportedly turned the job down.