Holtmann shoots for ‘continual success’ at DePaul

Mar 18, 2024, 03:26 PM ET

CHICAGO– Chris Holtmann considered sitting out at least a year and working in media after Ohio State fired him last month.The chance to restore a once-proud program as DePaul’s new coach was one he could not pass up, nevertheless. And he insisted he is all set for the challenge.”We’ve got a terrific chance,”Holtmann said.”We came here as a family due to the fact that we actually do think in what this location can be. We actually do.” The 52-year-old Holtmann was introduced Monday at a news conference at Wintrust Arena after being worked with recently, a month after Ohio State fired him. He comes with a 251-171 record and 7 NCAA competition appearances in 13 seasons at Gardner-Webb, Butler and Ohio State.Holtmann led the Bulldogs to the tourney in each of his 3 years there and was extensively deemed a rising star in the training ranks when he took the task at Ohio State in 2017 after Thad Matta stepped down because of health factors. Holtmann led the Buckeyes to a 137-86 record and 4 NCAA appearances.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated He was Coach of the Year in the Big East and the Big Ten. However he’s taking on a huge task.DePaul hasn’t made the NCAA competition in 20 years and just ended up one of the worst seasons in Big East history. The Blue Demons went 3-29 total and ended up being the first string to go 0-20 in league play. Tony Stubblefield was fired as coach in January after two-plus seasons.DePaul has lost 34 of 35 Big East games, counting the conference competition. Stubblefield was 28-54 overall and 9-38 in the league.Athletic director DeWayne Peevy stated he had his eyes on Holtmann when he worked in Kentucky’s athletic department prior to

getting hired by DePaul in August 2020. One of five finalists, Holtmann is the 2nd males’s basketball coach worked with by Peevy.”I don’t feel any pressure any

more than what I place on myself and the opportunity to build a program,” Peevy stated.”I came here from Kentucky to win. You take the advances, you learn lessons and you push forward. I believe if you wish to be a true leader, you have to get people

around you that can help you accomplish something huge.” Peevy joked that “Ohio State just saved me a buyout” by shooting Holtmann.”When he was let go, I wasn’t looking at it as a deterrent for me,”Peevy said.”OK, this got a lot much easier. I provided him some time. I didn’t reach out to him right now, wish to be respectful. But I did contact his agent to inform him that this doesn’t matter to me, that I’m extremely interested.” Heaven Demons have not played in the NCAA competition because 2004. They have ended up with a losing record in Big East play in all but one season since going into the league in 2005 and ended up last in the conference for the 12th time in 16 years.It’s a far cry from the days when the”Little School Under the L”made annual NCAA looks and ruled winters in Chicago under Hall of Popularity coach Ray Meyer and his child Joey.Holtmann got a bird’s -eye view of the obstacles DePaul dealt with when he was at Butler. But the circumstance isn’t the same.DePaul has gone from dipping into Allstate Arena in rural Rosemont, Illinois, to a shimmering home at Wintrust Arena in Chicago’s South Loop, 7 miles from the school’s main campus. A brand-new practice center for the men’s and women’s basketball groups remains in the works. And there’s a fertile recruiting ground right

in the school’s yard. “I constantly felt like it could be a program that could have genuine sustained success,”Holtmann said.”And I would ask individuals maybe who knew the scenario better than me, ‘Hey, describe this to me.’ I understand there are some challenges. … However I think it’s in a place today, given their commitments to a practice facility, what they have actually finished with this place, and I believe just the passion and the hunger today– I believe it’s the correct time for our family to be here.”