What was Chris Holtmann’s response when he found, courtesy of DePaul’s athletics communications crew, that he’s the varsity’s first males’s basketball coach to begin off 7-0 in his debut season since some fellow by the identify of — ahem — Raymond Joseph Meyer in 1942?
Did Holtmann beam with delight? Rush to Twitter and declare himself the new GOAT of Lincoln Park? Dance a celebratory jig on Sheffield Avenue?
Not fairly.
“Oh, God, no,” he stated by cellphone Tuesday. “I instantly tried to debunk it in each means I probably may. I stated, ‘Come on, you possibly can’t put that on the market. Please don’t examine me to the nice Ray Meyer simply but.’ ”
Look, no massive deal. All Holtmann, 53, has to do now’s win one other 717 video games at DePaul, possibly tack on a few nationwide coach of the 12 months awards and Last Fours whereas he’s at it, and the comparability gained’t make anyone a lot as blink.
Alternatively, this season’s Blue Demons have overwhelmed Southern Indiana, Prairie View A&M, Mercer, Duquesne, Japanese Illinois, Northern Illinois and Valparaiso. It’s solely early December, however one suspects there isn’t a nationwide championship contender in that lot.
Additionally, there’s the minor matter of DePaul’s less-than-glorious current historical past on the hardwood. Final season’s workforce was 3-29 general and 0-20 within the Huge East. The final three groups mixed for a 9-51 Huge East file. 9 straight Blue Demons squads have completed final, or next-to-last, within the convention. DePaul’s most up-to-date NCAA Match look got here in 2004, and its 20 years since have been school basketball’s saddest, quietest disappearing act.
That is why DePaul basketball tales have lengthy had a means of turning into bummers in a rush.
“We perceive what the notion is now,” Holtmann stated. “That’s not going to be simply modified. We’re not questioning if it’s based or not. It’s actuality.”
Actuality will change, although. It has to. Holtmann — a former Huge Ten and Huge East coach of the 12 months with seven NCAA Tournaments underneath his belt — was too good a rent for DePaul to not lastly get that rusty outdated needle transferring once more.
The arduous stuff begins Wednesday with a sport at 6-1 Texas Tech (8:15 p.m., ESPNU, 670-AM). After that, Holtmann dives again right into a Huge East schedule for the primary time since leaving Butler for Ohio State in 2017.
He has a workforce that was, understandably, pegged for final place within the convention in most previews. However the Blue Demons — a very reconfigured workforce Holtmann constructed largely by way of the switch portal — rank within the high 10 nationally in each assists and bench factors per sport. Holtmann credit older transfers Isaiah Rivera, David Skogman and Troy D’Amico for setting a tone of selflessness and believes the identical core will have the ability to deal with no matter dropping inevitably comes round.
“They simply wish to depart it in a greater place,” Holtmann stated.
That has at all times been the best method to choose coaches, too.
In his first season as a head coach, at Gardner-Webb 14 years in the past, Holtmann’s workforce performed early video games in opposition to 5 major-conference foes and acquired run out of the fitness center every time.
“My head was spinning, for positive,” he stated. “I assumed, ‘Whew, that is arduous.’ ”
However three years later he’d gained sufficient to get from there to Butler, the place, in his first season, his workforce beat Roy Williams and No. 5 North Carolina the day earlier than Thanksgiving within the Bahamas. Later that evening, Holtmann and spouse Lori bumped into the Williamses whereas strolling alongside the seaside. The vanquished outdated teaching star couldn’t have been extra gracious earlier than deadpanning, “Now excuse me whereas I am going drown myself within the ocean.”
That first Butler squad completed tied for second within the Huge East, getting Holtmann to his first Huge Dance. Two years later, the Bulldogs climbed to eleventh within the High 25 en path to the Candy 16 and Holtmann was named the league’s coach of the 12 months.
That propelled him to Ohio State, the place he went 15-3 in his first season within the Huge Ten, in 2017-18, and took house extra teaching {hardware}. Two years after that, his Buckeyes began out like world beaters, knocking off a trio of high 10 non-conference foes in Villanova, North Carolina and Kentucky. Alas, the pandemic would preserve that workforce from the Huge Dance. If not for that, Holtmann would’ve piled up 5 straight NCAA appearances in Columbus.
The reality is, Holtmann has missed being within the thick of such high-profile matchups within the season’s early weeks. He has had pangs for these nationally televised video games in impartial arenas the place influential media varieties are buzzing and it will probably really feel like March earlier than the primary turkey leg has been claimed. He merely doesn’t have that on this DePaul job — not but.
“After I was watching [ESPN’s] Feast Week, I did say to myself, ‘We have to get to these video games rapidly,’ ” he stated. “And we’ll. I wish to be taking part in in these.”
DePaul will spend subsequent Thanksgiving in Destin, Florida, house of the Emerald Coast Traditional event. Holtmann’s program may need a little bit little bit of mojo by then.
In his second season, he’ll path Meyer’s time on the faculty by a mere 40 years. That’s nothing, proper?
However we child. No, we gained’t be judging Holtmann in opposition to Meyer. Doing so could be meaningless and foolish. However no less than the person is off to a pleasant 7-0 begin.
“You need to play the video games in entrance of you,” he stated.
The arduous ones are right here.
“And that’s factor,” he stated. “It truly is.”
