Chris Holtmann clearly outperformed Archie Miller, who many once believed would succeed Thad Matta in Ohio

Chris Holtmann clearly outperformed Archie Miller, who many once believed would succeed Thad Matta in Ohio

by

Ohio State fans made a decision on March 20, 2014.

The Dayton Flyers, with their 35-year-old head coach, had just upset Aaron Craft and the Buckeyes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on a Vee Sanford last-second tray. Dayton would reach Elite Eight, and continued with three more appearances in the NCAA Tournament over the next three years.

Ohio State, meanwhile, achieved Big Dance the following year, but were left out in 2015-16 and 2016-17. It was obvious that Thad Matta was not the same coach as before, but it looked like Ohio State was willing to give him another chance in 2017-18.

Miller, of course, knew Ohio well. Before eliminating them from the tournament in 2014, he was Matta’s assistant from 2007-2009. But he couldn’t wait forever, and he finally decided to take the job in Indiana. He was hired about a week after Tom Crean was fired in March 2017, much to the chagrin of some Ohio State fans, who felt the school waited too long to take a step in a struggling Matta.

Some felt that Ohio state work was more suitable for Miller, compared to Indiana work. In addition to his previous ties to the school, some, including Stadium analyst Jeff Goodman, believed that work in Indiana could be too big for Miller, and his personality might be more suited to a school like Ohio, where the basketball will always be the second most popular sport.

“[Ohio State] type of adjustments [Archie] a little bit more, ”Goodman said recently on a podcast. “In Indiana, you’re in that aquarium, and that’s not Archie. He prefers to be the second violin and just the coach. ”

Now, what if Indiana had hired Holtmann? There was no indication that he was even considered for the job, and Holtmann himself said he never spoke to anyone in Indiana about the job. But should the Hoosiers have looked more closely? Almost an hour north of Bloomington, Holtmann was destroying everything in Butler, Indianapolis, leading the Bulldogs to three consecutive tournament appearances after taking over from Brandon Miller.

In retrospect, what’s amazing is that there was more support for Crean to finish in Columbus than Holtmann to finish in Bloomington.

Of course, this was never close to happening, and after research that basically revolved around Holtmann and Greg McDermott, the state of Ohio officially announced the hiring on June 9, 2017.

Since then, the numbers are impressive.

Chris Holtmann vs. Archie Miller

HOLTMANN

MILLER

GAINING%

0.683

0.559

b1G WINNING%

0.611

.451

head to head

6-1

1-6

NCAA tournament appearances

two *

0 *

Of course, both Ohio State and Indiana probably would have made the tournament in 2020 if the event hadn’t been canceled due to COVID-19, but that doesn’t make it much better for Miller. He was surpassed by Holtmann in all categories, despite Indiana having higher rated recruitment classes in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The state of Ohio has not yet hired a five-star recruit under Holtmann, while Miller has signed two during the same period.

The numbers never lie. And Holtmann has the best in all categories on the court.

Holtmann apparently outperformed all seasons in Columbus:

  • 2017-18: He took a group left by Matta and went from 17-15 to 25-9, despite his reserve bench with a former shipowner and 17-year-old Musa Jallow.
  • 2018-19: Ten Player of the Year, Keita Bates-Diop, leaves with Jae’Sean Tate. CJ Jackson and Keyshawn Woods are the only veterans, Holtmann beat Miller in the Big Ten Tournament to “win” a spot in the NCAA Tournament, Buckeyes defeated Iowa State in the first round and finished 20-15.
  • 2019-20: With only one senior (Andre Wesson) and highly praised point guard DJ Carton leaving the team for mental health reasons, the Buckeyes end the season ranked as team # 19 before the NCAA tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
  • 2020-21: Ohio State is currently ranked as the No. 4 team, Holtmann just beat Miller again and the Buckeyes are a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

RELATED Ohio State projected as # 1 seed in NCAA March Madness support view

It was the opposite for Miller.

  • 2017-18: The Hoosiers lost at home to Indiana State in their first game and finished 16-15 after losing their last three games, including one to the state of Ohio and one to the last placed Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament.
  • 19 2018: Despite having Juwan Morgan and Romeo Langford in the squad, Indiana ended with an 8-12 conference record, lost to the state of Ohio in the Big Ten Tournament and lost in the NIT quarterfinals.
  • 2019-20: With a possible participation in the tournament denied by COVID-19, the Hoosiers finished 9-11 at the conference and were not classified.
  • 2020-21: The Hoosiers are currently 11-9 and in the NCAA tournament bubble again after Miller’s most recent loss to Holtmann.

So here we are, almost four full seasons later, with Ohio State leading the way in all possible metrics. Retrospective is retrospective, but perhaps it worked better than Matta left in June, instead of March.

Source