Ohio State's Chris Holtmann Hopes for NCAA Do-Over

Buckeyes head coach wants alternatives to cancellation pursued

Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann knows what the word, cancelled, means.

He's just hoping that as it applies to the NCAA Tournament, there can be a cancellation of the cancellation so that some sort of March Madness can occur in some month down the road.

"I';m all for ideas like that," Holtmann told Cleveland radio station WKRK-FM on Friday afternoon. "People who love this sport and love the unpredictability of March Madness, I would love for there to be ideas that are at least tossed around and considered.

"Yesterday, there was talk of, 'Do you shrink it to a 16-team field?' But then you'd be eliminating a school like Robert Morris, and I don't think any of us want that. That's not a conversation I've been a part of.

"Honestly, most of our conversations the last 24 hours have been about protecting our players, 'Where do they go now,' but I would love for it (to happen)."

Holtmann awoke Thursday in Indianapolis expecting to coach the Buckeyes against Purdue at 6:30 p.m. that night in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

He learned in an 11:30 a.m. phone call, 30 minutes before other conference tournament games were to be played, that the event had been postponed.

"We all saw what was coming," Holtmann said. "...I thought there was a chance when we woke up Thursday morning that there was a chance the NCAA Tournament would play. But I did feel like both Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament were in jeopardy at that point

"Overall I think it's the right and most responsible thing to do, but it's really hard. It's hard for every team, but a team like ourselves that had a really good last six weeks, and felt optimistic about what this next stretch could be, it's really hard on your seniors to have closure this abruptly."

OSU has two seniors, Andre Wesson and former walk-on Danny Hummer.

Wesson ended a career that saw him start for three seasons, and his brother, junior Kaleb Wesson, could also leave OSU as an early entry into the NBA Draft./

"I felt awful for him," Holtmann said of Andre Wesson. "You feel the weight of that. He was instrumental in us responding to a difficult January where we just weren't playing very well. You didn't want his season to end without him having the chance to write a nice final chapter."

Likewise, OSU athletic director Gene Smith said Thursday, "You have the faces...I have Andre Wesson's face (in my mind). I know what he's going through. Those faces pop up constantly."

That's why Holtmann said he was hoping the NCAA Tournament could be played, or might still be played.

"Yes, absolutely we were hoping that," he said. "As of late Wednesday night or maybe early Thursday morning...I got the sense they were changing some of the NCAA Tournament sites, given some of hot spots that were in effect around the country.

"I do think they were working toward trying to postpone. Whether logistically, they didn't feel it could happen, i think all of us as coaches...all of us who were firmly in the field, we all just wanted this thing to be postponed.

"But you take a step back and see that everything is being cancelled at this point, we understand it. Would we like for it to be like the NBA season, for it to be suspended for a month or so, that would certainly have been our preference."

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