Ohio State Basketball: Coach Holtmann landed another ‘big’ recruit
When Chris Holtmann took over as head coach of the Ohio State basketball team he had a depleted roster. Now it’s loaded and he’s looking to the future.
The things Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann has accomplished on the recruiting trail in his short time in Columbus has been amazing. When he took the job there weren’t enough scholarship players to hold a scrimmage.
Now he has a loaded roster and is landing top recruits building for the future. The latest commit is a guy who can play in the paint which has been a point of emphasis lately for the Buckeye head coach.
Zed Key is a 6 ft. 7, 215 pound power forward from Long Island, NY. He is ranked as the 31st best player at his position and the No. 158 overall player in the country.
As usual 247Sports 247Sports do a great job covering new recruits and it was a nice piece once again by Steve Helwagen on Key. One quote attributed to the latest commit in Mr. Helwagen’s article shows why coach Holtmann wanted this player.
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"“They said I would play the four and the five,” Key said. “They said eventually I may even play the three if I can continue to develop my shooting. My freshman year, they want me to come in and work really hard and earn minutes. I just have to keep improving my game. They want me to be a big post presence with my back to the basket.”"
Coach Holtmann has recruited plenty of talent so far but most are guards or swing players. His only recruits who have been effective in the paint are Kyle Young, who followed Holtmann from Butler, and Kaleb Wesson who was a member of Thad Matta’s last class.
After two years of going through a Big Ten schedule he realized he had to have more guys who could play down low. It appears he has taken care of that situation.
In this year’s class the head coach has three players who can play in the paint, and two were top 50 recruits. Eric Liddell was the No. 8 power forward, and even though Alonzo Gaffney is ranked the No. 12 small forward I’m sure at 6 ft. 9 he can give the Buckeyes some minutes down low.
Then there is center Ibrahima Diallo. He may be a work in progress but the 7 footer could be an asset when Wesson needs a breather.
Next. Buckeye secondary proving to be one of the best. dark
Coach Holtmann now has a balanced roster with players who can play on the perimeter as well as those who will be effective in the paint. With the addition of Key in the 2020 class, you can tell he wants to make sure he wants to keep that balance going forward.