Skull Session: The Bucks Are Still Hot, Chris Holtmann Heads to DePaul and Ohio State’s Framework 3.0 Details New Plans for St. John Arena

By Chase Brown on March 15, 2024 at 5:00 am
Ohio State hoops
Matt Krohn / USA TODAY Sports
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Ohio State's campus is beautiful.

Have a good Friday.

 DIEBLER FEVER. Folks, I have (Jake) Diebler Fever. You probably do, too.

Ohio State needed a W on Thursday.

The No. 10-seeded Buckeyes delivered with a 90-78 win over the No. 7-seeded Hawkeyes. The trio of Jamison Battle (23 points, nine rebounds), Bruce Thornton (14 points, nine assists) and Roddy Gayle Jr. (10 points, four assists) led the team to its 12-point victory.

Since Diebler took over as head coach, Ohio State is 6-1 with victories over then-No. 2 Purdue, Michigan State (an NCAA Tournament team), Nebraska (another NCAA Tournament team), Michigan (who stinks out loud), Rutgers and Iowa (a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament).

In other words, the Bucks are HOT.

You don't like it when the Bucks are HOT.

Beat Illinois.

 THE HOLT MAN. Chris Holtmann will be the next head coach at DePaul. According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Holtmann agreed to a six-year contract with the school and will lead the Blue Demons through the 2029-30 season.

My one-sentence reaction?

Good for Chris Holtmann.

My more-than-one-sentence reaction?

For the past 20 years, DePaul has been bad, bad, bad. For the past four years, the Blue Demons have been one of the worst teams in college basketball. In 2023-24, DePaul went 3-29 overall (0-20 Big East), which dropped its record to a combined 33-82 since the start of the 2020-21 season. It will take some serious work to rebuild the Blue Demons program.

I think – call me crazy – but I think (!) that Holtmann could turn it around.

Before Ohio State hired him, Holtmann had success at Gardner-Webb (2010-13) and Butler (2014-17). The Runnin' Bulldogs were an 8-21 team the year before Holtmann took over and a 21-13 team the year he left. Holtmann then led the Bulldogs (the non-running kind) to 23, 22 and 25 wins in three seasons and made three NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching one Sweet 16 in 2017.

Given his track record at those schools compared to Ohio State, Holtmann may be more comfortable at a lower-profile program. With the pressure turned off, Holtmann could lead DePaul back to being a respectable team. Or, in other words, he could lead the Blue Demons out of hell. Good luck to him.

 THE FUTURE OF ST. JOHN. Last summer, Gene Smith spoke with Braden Moles of Buckeye Sports Bulletin for the newspaper’s “Interview Issue.” One of the prominent topics Smith discussed with Moles was Ohio State’s plans for St. John Arena. Smith said the school had “no definitive plans” for the venue, now used as a workout facility for several programs.

“No plans beyond making it the best workout facility that we could possibly have,” Smith said. “Many of our Olympic sports — our men’s and women’s track team, women’s ice hockey team and our swimming programs — are the ones who it the most. Making that a really good weight room like it has been the last couple of years.”

Three months later, however, Ohio State revealed its Framework 3.0 development plans for the campus, which detailed the future of St. John Arena. Like in Framework 1.0 and 2.0, Ohio State plans to demolish the venue for five reasons: Strengthen school identity, create an arrival point on campus, maintain and enhance connections to Ohio Stadium, reinforce connections from Lane Avenue to Woody Hayes Drive and provide a mix of program elements to meet campus space needs.

Here are renderings from Ohio State's Framework 2.0 and 3.0 plans:

St. John Arena
Conceptual rendering of the St. John Arena site integrating recreation fields and interdisciplinary teaching and research facilities. (Photo: Ohio State's Framework 2.0)
SJA
Conceptual rendering of the St. John Arena site integrating recreation fields and interdisciplinary teaching and research facilities. (Photo: Ohio State's Framework 3.0)

The Framework 3.0 rendering included this description:

The long-term vision for Core North includes a plan for redevelopment and transformation of the St. John Arena site, as originally proposed in Framework 1.0 and refined in Framework 2.0. In the future, this site may be redeveloped to serve as a mixed-use hub for campus, bringing academic, recreational and residential uses while remaining a vibrant part of the overall Ohio State experience. The imagined transformation will extend the campus fabric found elsewhere in Core North to this site, providing a functional and spirited experience, as expected by fans of football Saturdays. Any proposed open spaces will be studied and designed in a way that support future Skull Sessions and a stadium entrance sequence that balances tradition and progress.

I am saddened that St. John Arena will meet its end soon (soon is a relative term, of course). Before we know it, the hallowed venue will be reduced to rubble and remembered with an Ohio Historical Marker. 

But a thing isn't beautiful because it lasts.

I will miss St. John Arena, but I will forever remember when Ohio State beat Cleveland State, 89-62, in the Clark Kellogg scarlet uniforms on Nov. 23, 2018. Thanks to the arena's atmosphere, it was the best basketball game I have ever been to.

 BEST OF THE BEST. Kevin McGuff and Jacy Sheldon are semifinalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year and Naismith Player of the Year awards for the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season.

McGuff, who was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year last week, led Ohio State to a 25-5 overall record this season. The Buckeyes also won their league-leading 16th regular-season Big Ten championship with a 16-2 record in conference competition. (As the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State fell to Maryland, 82-61, in the quarterfinals, but we don’t talk about that – just like we don’t talk about Bruno).

Sheldon was named to the All-Big Ten first team and the conference’s all-defensive team in 2023-24. After missing most of last season with a foot injury, she has started in all 30 of Ohio State’s games this season and averages 18 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per contest. In addition to her nomination for Naismith Player of the Year, Sheldon is a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year award.

Congratulations to McGuff and Sheldon. Their recognition is well-deserved.

McGuff has a real shot to win his award. Sheldon does not, however – and that’s to no fault of the 5-foot-10 guard from Dublin, Ohio. Unfortunately, for Sheldon, Caitlin Clark exists. Clark, the 2023 Naismith Player of the Year, somehow got better and averages 31.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game this season. Love her or hate her, she clears, which means Sheldon and other women’s college basketball stars are in a race for second place.

That said, goooooooooo Coach McGuff!

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Kashmere” - Kashmere Stage Band.

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