Watch Chris Holtmann's Press Conference at Big Ten Media Days

Ohio State's basketball coach spoke with the media for about 10 minutes at the podium to preview the upcoming season.

There are high expectations for the Ohio State Buckeyes again in 2021, especially with so many talented guys returning to their roster. With returning players like E.J. Liddell, Kyle Young, Justice Sueing and Justin Ahrens and considering the Buckeyes consistently won road games in the league against Top-25 programs, Ohio State fans are excited to see what this season brings.

Chris Holtmann enters his fifth season in Columbus. Holtmann's team is coming off a bitterly disappointing loss in the opening round of the NCAA tournament after they pieced together a fabulous run through the Big Ten tournament. The Buckeyes finished the 2020-21 season with a 21-10 record and a conference runner-up finish.

Considering the typically negative connotation around all of the challenges that COVID presented teams around the country, I had a chance to ask Holtmann how everything that his program went through last year made him a better coach and how it made his program stronger.

"You know what I think it did as much as anything, it made you as much as possible be more aware of the health of your players, not just the physical health," Holtmann said. "You could really see guys who were struggling with whatever it was. Just the grind of the season, not playing in front of fans, the daily testing. College kids don't always love to get up and get a test at 7:30 in the morning every day. Not one of their favorite things. When you do that six days a week, it can take a toll. It was important, I'm glad our league did it. 

"As much as anything, it just made you aware in some cases your kids go through a lot of things that maybe you can be oblivious to. I think we really tried to be as a staff in touch as much as possible with what they were going through."

Here's what Holtmann had to say at Big Ten Media Day in the formal interview setting. 

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