Holtmann is a very good coach, but complaining about the “physicality” of the game or how Wesson is referred is . . . rich. That guy is a brute, and their team in general plays with a ton of obvious physical contact. It’s also perhaps counterproductive, both in terms of impacting the whistle and leading to Wesson standing around and complaining while the play goes on.
A few comments and then a question for Dylan. This was quite a different post game presser than the one we heard last Friday by Archie after the IU game. Both teams were beaten pretty soundly, though IU WAS embarrassed, I thought. I much prefer the demeanor and the approach by Holtmann to what I saw from Archie Miller.
As to the discussion of physicality, I think the question of that was brought up by the reporters and Holtmann responded to that. I believe he wrote a letter to the B1G offices this past week or so concerning the way the refs are officiating the game as it relates to Caleb Wesson so I DO think that is an issue with him, but I thought the physicality issue was brought up by the writer(s) and he handled it pretty well.
Question for Dylan. In these pressers is the opposing coach, in this case Holtmann, primarily being questioned by writers who follow their schools? Were the reporters asking questions of Holtmann mostly Ohio writers or Michigan writers, or a pretty even balance. Also I’m guessing there are, at times, national writers there, too, for particularly big games. UM/MSU or perhaps even on Saturday Feb 9 at home with Wiscy. What is the room like? 
The amount of visiting media in the press room really depends on the school and how many beat writers travel for that school.
Indiana probably has a larger traveling beat than any Big Ten school (they ran out of space on press row for that one which really only happens for MSU games usually). A school like Ohio State probably has a handful of guys, Adam Jardy was asking quite a few of those questions. He does a great job covering the Buckeyes for the Dispatch.
There will always be local guys asking questions though too. You’ll always hear an Illinois reporter ask Beilein about his 3rd and 4th years in the program and how tough it is to build a program for example. Or a Michigan reporter will ask about Zavier Simpson, etc.
As far as a the demeanor difference between Archie on Friday and Holtmann today. A blowout home loss is a different beast than a blowout road loss IMO. And pressure is mounting down there in Bloomington.
Wesson has never had fewer than 3 fouls in a B1G game. Has fouled out of three of them and has 4+ in 7 of 9 conference games. I can understand complaining about a game or two, but if the same thing keeps happening with multiple referees you might want to think about adjusting how you play instead of bashing your head against a wall.
Holtmann has a lot more leeway than Miller. Holtmann inherited a pretty bad roster and got them to a 4 seed in last year’s tournament. Masterful job. Lost his two best players and upperclassmen. Meanwhile, Archie Miller inherited the job from Crean who despite all his faults had won a conference title just two years before Miller got there. Miller has a losing record in conference play at Indiana. Holtmann has won 67% of his conference games at OSU even with their poor record this year. IU is also a blue blood and all Indiana people care about is basketball. OSU has a big fanbase but they’re still a football school.
Thanks, and I completely understand the difference in conditions that caused Archie’s demeanor to be different than Holtmann’s. By the same token, JB can joke a bit and have some fun when he’d just won by 23 at IU or pretty much toyed with Ohio State and then soundly put them away over the last third of the game vs. a tough loss or an embarrassing loss by our kids. I’m pretty sure Coach B would have handled the latter situation much better than I thought Archie did. I guess I’m just not a fan of Archie and I think Holtmann is a pretty classy guy and a good coach. And Coach B.,.well, he’s one of a kind.
Thanks for the input. I appreciate your inside knowledge.
Yeah, Beilein’s demeanor in press conferences has changed a lot in the past 4 years or so. He’s in a very different spot than he was early in his tenure at Michigan.
Well, Holtmann DID get them to a four seed. He has won 67% of his B1G games. And he did all that with “a pretty bad roster.” It IS a masterful job. I think he’s earned that leeway. Archie? Not so much.
Deservedly so. I think we can agree on that.
I thought OSU last year was a bit more talented than people believed. Bates-Diop (who had missed most of the previous year) was obviously a stud. If he had been healthy the previous year, Matta might not have gotten fired. But Holtmann did a fine job anyway.
Miller’s performance at IU surprises me. He was supposed to be THE name in the coaching pool two years ago.
I’ve seen it thrown around here that when you really look at Miller’s resume, it is pretty thin. Throw that on top of Crean being at least somewhat successful during his time there and the IU tradition/unrealistic expectations and you can see where the pressure will mount on Miller sooner rather than later.
Holtmann meanwhile took a program in clear decline and brought them to a 4 seed last year and proved there was more talent on that roster than Matta displayed. That buys him some extra time plus OSU being a football school more than basketball. He was probably expecting this to be a down year while his young talent gets up to speed and his recruits come in. They are going to be a pain the next few years.
Miller didn’t win the A10 until after Xavier, Temple and Butler had left. And it’s not like they were going undefeated in conference and finishing with 3-5 total losses year in and year out like Calipari at Memphis or something like that. I’ve never really been impressed with his basketball acumen in comparison with a JB, Izzo, Matta etc etc. If he wins there, it’ll be because he gets the talent.