Chris Holtmann opens up on challenges of roster management amid transfers, draft declarations

During the 2022 NBA Draft, Malaki Branham became the first Ohio State draft pick since 2018. He was a one-and-done player after an impressive freshman season with the Buckeyes, winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and Ohio State could have another one-and-done go in the first round Thursday night in Brice Sensabaugh.

Both players starred as freshmen for Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes. But the plan wasn’t always for them to go to the NBA after one year in Columbus, though. It’s all part of the reality of the college basketball landscape, between the transfer portal and players declaring for the NBA Draft.

Those aspects also make roster construction hard on a year-to-year basis, Holtmann said on SiriusXM College on Wednesday.

“I think if you talk to most coaches, they’ll say, ‘Hey, we’re going to start over every year with between six to 10 players, and we’re going to have to form an identity and a team culture every year,'” Holtmann told Matt Schick and Anthony Herron. “And the more I talk to, you know, the traditional teams that used to maybe bring in just two or three recruits a year, and they would have eight or nine players returning. Even those programs are having massive turnover.

“So, I think it is the biggest challenge — roster construction. Figuring out a way to allow your young players to grow, but still go out and recruit a transfer portal [addition] and be an impact player when it comes to that and yet, help your young kids grow and develop and find that balance, if I’m making sense. It is, it’s the greatest challenge.”

Chris Holtmann: Ohio State ‘didn’t anticipate’ Malaki Branham or Brice Sensabaugh to be one-and-done

Branham and Sensabaugh were both four-star recruits on the recruiting trail. Branham was the No. 38-ranked player in the nation from the 2021 cycle and Sensabaugh came in at No. 54 in the nation in 2022, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Neither seemed like a one-and-done out of high school, though, according to Holtmann. Last year, Branham was one of 16 former four-star recruits to go in the draft, and that number includes seven from the 2021 cycle. With Sensabaugh poised to be either a late-first or early-second round selection this year — although ESPN’s Jonathan Givony made the case for him to be a sure-fire first-rounder — he could follow a similar path.

But as those types of players go to the NBA, Holtmann said coaches have to find other ways to build their rosters to sustain. That’s where the portal comes in as teams “adapt and adjust” with the landscape.

“We decided, really, after Malaki [Branham] — who we didn’t anticipate being a one-and-done,” Holtmann said. “We did not anticipate Brice [Sensabaugh] being a one-and-done because typically, the one and done guys are typically your top 20 players in the country. Those are the guys that really have a real chance, that are top-20 high school players. And neither guy was a top-20 high school player coming out, so we said, ‘Hey, maybe two years, three years.’

“So I just think you have to adapt and adjust, and that’s what we’re trying to do here. And I know that’s what every program is trying to do.”