Most people point to the loss to Oral Roberts in the tourney as the beginning of the end for Coach Holtmann, but upon reflection I think that between the historically good 15 seed that OR was and the Kyle Young injury problems, that loss can reasonably be excused. It's what happened next that spelled doom: Dwayne Washington going pro.

First of all, next year's team with EJ Liddell, Washington, and Malaki Branham would have been Holtmann's best team and would have had Sweet Sixteen potential and beyond. Without Washington, that team had to rely on Branham for much of its scoring. I think it's safe to say if Washington had been around--a guy who definitely liked to have the ball--Branham would have not had enough floor time/ball time to go pro the next year. And the same thing happened the year after that. Without Branham, once again the team had to rely on a Freshman (Brice Sensabaugh) for much of its scoring. Result: another premature, or at least unforeseen, pro departure. Sensabaugh's defensive deficiencies aside, I don't think there is any question with his ability with his ability to light up the scoreboard that this year's team would have been better. Same goes for the year before had Branham been the featured scorer.

This is not an apology for Holtmann. The last two years saw a plodding offensive attack, glaring defensive deficiencies, and a tendency to tighten up in close games. But had things played out a little differently, I think he would still be around for better or worse.