Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith spoke Feb. 14, hours after relieving men's basketball coach Chris Holtmann of his duties.
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00:00 >> Okay, we'll open up Rob Waller, Columbus Dispatch.
00:02 >> Gene, you said last week you were gonna let the season play out, or
00:05 at least there were a lot of games left you were looking forward to.
00:08 What changed?
00:09 >> Well, I just felt like looking at the last couple of games,
00:12 few games actually, that this team needed different leadership, so
00:15 I made the change.
00:16 >> Move over to the left, Andy Anders, 11 Warriors.
00:21 >> Yeah, how tough was this for you personally?
00:24 I mean, I'm sure you don't wanna fire someone on the way out,
00:27 but it was a lot of pressure there.
00:30 >> It was hard.
00:30 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:40 It's really hard.
00:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:47 >> Spencer- >> When you have good people, and
00:50 you care about people, it is hard.
00:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:55 If you don't have a good person, you really don't care about the person,
00:59 it's easier.
01:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:03 When you care about someone like I do, it makes it hard.
01:08 I apologize.
01:09 >> Yeah, I apologize.
01:10 Spencer Holbrook, ladder man to row.
01:12 >> Gene, is there a process that you're gonna go through with Ross as far as
01:16 getting this, the next steps done?
01:18 And what does that look like since he's still finishing things up and
01:21 you're obviously finishing around Joe?
01:23 >> Yeah, I've had good communications with Ross along the way here about this
01:27 issue and share with him along the way the decision that had to be made.
01:33 And we talked about process moving forward and I'll help him along the way.
01:38 >> You talked, just talked about how you have good people,
01:42 it's hard to do things like this.
01:44 The saying is that coaches always have the list,
01:47 no matter what the program looks like, you always got the list of who you like.
01:51 Has that been the case with you and do you see this being,
01:54 once the season wraps up, a pretty rapid process or
01:56 is this someone who's gonna take some time off?
01:57 >> Yeah, that's a great question for Ross, I really don't know, sorry.
02:00 >> Doug LaMaurice, Kings of the North.
02:06 >> Gene, when you're in your position, how do you balance personal relationships,
02:10 what kind of people are involved with the needs of the program and
02:15 what's best for the team?
02:17 What's that balance like?
02:19 >> One of the answers in your question, Doug,
02:22 my responsibility is to the program and
02:24 it's to these young men that compete every single day.
02:28 I don't care what sport it is, whatever it is,
02:33 my responsibility is to those young people and to the program.
02:37 And so I just felt at this particular time with six regular season games left and
02:44 with Big Ten tournament and whatever the postseason brings,
02:48 a spark of energy was needed.
02:51 And so, yeah, it's about the program in the end.
02:57 And I have to set aside my personal feelings and
03:01 just go with what's best for the program.
03:05 >> Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch.
03:07 >> Gene, about two, three years ago, you made a plan with Chris to build your youth
03:11 and let that youth go through some bumps but come out on the other side of it.
03:15 Seems like there's still a chance for that youth to maybe get to the potential
03:18 that you guys saw.
03:19 Why does that plan not work?
03:21 Why is it time to change the leadership when you could still maybe give that
03:25 another year?
03:27 >> Yeah, I think the young men have played hard, they've given a lot.
03:32 But the reality is the body of work this last year,
03:38 I felt that they needed something different from a leadership point of view,
03:44 to give them that chance.
03:46 While they're young, there's a lot of minutes on that floor, a lot.
03:50 And so they still have six home games in the tournament.
03:54 So I wanted to give them a shot, and that's what they have.
03:58 >> So you're saying, so you still believe in the talent on this team,
04:01 just that talent was not being realized the level you wanted to see it?
04:04 >> That's right.
04:04 >> Over to the right, Cameron T.
04:07 Robinson, the athletic.
04:08 >> Gene, you mentioned the timetable's kind of up to Ross, but
04:12 what will be your role in that process with Ross kind of direction?
04:15 >> Yeah, so obviously, we still have a remainder of the season,
04:18 which I'm gonna help Jake with and help navigate.
04:23 And then when Ross gets here, as he shares with me his plan for the search,
04:28 I'll be there to assist him and be very much a part of it.
04:31 And in conversation and background information, things of that nature.
04:37 >> So then, but it'll be pretty much completely led by him?
04:40 >> Yeah, yeah, but I'll be a part of it.
04:43 >> Dan Hope, 11 Warriors.
04:44 >> Yeah, how much input did Ross have in terms of coming to this decision?
04:49 Did you talk to him a lot before you made this decision?
04:51 >> I talked to him a lot, but it was my decision.
04:54 I told him what I was going to do.
04:55 It wasn't like, what do you think?
04:57 >> And you made the decision a couple years ago to give Chris a contract
05:02 extension, obviously that increases what the buyout is now.
05:04 Do you have any regrets about making that decision at that time?
05:08 >> Of course you do.
05:09 I have many regrets in my lifetime.
05:11 I've been doing this a long time.
05:13 If I could fix all the regrets that I have in my life, I'd fix them all.
05:18 But certainly that's one of them.
05:19 >> Over to the left, Mitch Stacy, Associated Press.
05:22 >> How much more difficult is it to be a basketball coach in a power five
05:28 program now than seven years ago when you hired Chris?
05:34 >> That's a great question.
05:38 I think it's harder on all coaches in every sport now.
05:42 I mean, if you think of the aggregate of all the issues that each coach is faced
05:47 with now, the transfer portal, the lawsuits, the NIL,
05:53 and uncertainty about what's coming relative to our structure and model.
06:00 It's harder today.
06:01 The industry's harder, so it's harder for basketball coaches and all coaches.
06:06 But the basketball coaches, they have different windows around the transfer
06:11 portal, so it makes it a little bit more difficult.
06:15 >> How much do you think Chris struggled with all those changes?
06:21 >> Yeah, that's a good question for Chris.
06:23 I'm not gonna get into that.
06:24 I appreciate the question, though.
06:25 That's not for me to answer.
06:28 >> Back row, middle.
06:28 Play hall, WSYX.
06:30 >> Were there things that you tried to change the course?
06:34 I know you're not gonna talk about where he felt short, but
06:38 was it the same kind of thing?
06:42 And what did you tell him?
06:46 I think we need to do better here than there.
06:48 >> Yeah, Clay, I'm not gonna get into that.
06:50 I appreciate that.
06:51 With all due respect, I'm just not gonna go there.
06:53 >> Andy Baxstrom, Letterman Row.
06:55 >> Gene, you talked about how it's getting harder now for
06:57 college basketball coaches.
06:59 What is the standard right now for
07:00 Ohio State men's basketball in a changing landscape for college sports?
07:05 >> There's nothing changed for any of our sports.
07:07 I think we have 13 or 14 ranked in the top 25 right now.
07:14 Well, we're getting ready to watch one of them, a great one.
07:16 I mean, nothing's changed.
07:18 All of our programs have the same standard.
07:20 The blessing that we have at the Ohio State University is to recruit to this
07:25 platform, to recruit to Columbus.
07:28 Resources that Buckeye Nation provides us.
07:31 So the standard for men's basketball is the same.
07:34 Be in the hunt, periodically win the championship, and
07:40 then go deep into the postseason.
07:42 That hasn't changed.
07:44 And so that hasn't been accomplished.
07:47 We need to do better.
07:48 >> Back row, Steve Nelwegen, 24/7 Sports.
07:52 >> Yeah, Gene, back.
07:53 >> Sorry, Steve. >> Go ahead.
07:56 >> To make a decision of this magnitude with this amount of money involved,
07:59 I assume that President Carter had to be involved.
08:02 What were those conversations like?
08:04 You just got to know him in the last three months.
08:07 Just what were those discussions like?
08:11 >> President Carter's unbelievable.
08:13 Obviously, because of his athletic background and his understanding of
08:17 our space, conversations are pretty straightforward and frank.
08:22 And he's a decision maker, which I like.
08:24 There's no gray area.
08:26 And so he agreed, he supported, and we made the decision.
08:31 >> If I could also ask, 19 years you've been here, so many great ups, downs,
08:36 great things have happened, great accomplishments.
08:39 As you bring in Ross and welcome him to this community and
08:43 everything that goes with it, what are the recommendations that you're gonna make to
08:47 Ross about what can be done to improve the fan experience,
08:52 the overall environment, and getting people to come back to the Schottsdale
08:57 Center to watch Ohio State men's basketball?
08:59 It just died on the vine in the last three years.
09:02 What can you do?
09:04 What can you recommend to him that needs to be done?
09:07 >> It's so funny.
09:08 I mean, you guys are opinion makers.
09:11 To say that it died on the vine.
09:15 >> Lowest attendance you've ever had.
09:17 >> Yeah, but it's still 8,000.
09:18 I mean, we can debate that all we want to, but
09:24 at the end of the day, this is an 8,000 fans at the last game that we won.
09:30 So the facts are this.
09:31 We have to have expectations consistent with reality.
09:36 There's going to be games throughout the year where you're gonna have eight or ten.
09:42 You guys seem to forget that conversation from like ten years ago.
09:47 Reality is that's gonna happen.
09:48 It happened during fan modders years.
09:51 Go back and look at the numbers.
09:52 There were eight and 10,000 fans periodically throughout the season.
09:56 However, to your point, there's gotta be six, seven, or
10:00 eight games where we're close to that sell out or at the sell out.
10:04 We haven't had that, to your point.
10:08 That's really what you're talking about.
10:09 It hadn't died on the vine.
10:11 At the end of the day, we need to get better.
10:14 We need to win.
10:15 And my advice to Ross is simple.
10:17 Product, place, price.
10:20 That's marketing.
10:22 You gotta win.
10:23 You gotta win.
10:23 >> Adam King, WBNS.
10:26 >> I'm gonna go off of that, Gene.
10:28 You've done a good job of your career being a great and
10:31 good people that are also good coaches.
10:33 I know you're not gonna make this decision with Ross, but
10:36 how much are you gonna try to instill what it takes to put Ohio State back where they
10:40 were just ten years ago in the program?
10:42 >> Yeah. >> While also-
10:44 >> I'm gonna be all in.
10:45 I'm gonna be all in with Ross.
10:46 I'm gonna be honest, forthright, authentic, and genuine.
10:50 And tell him that we gotta find somebody that has the Xs and
10:55 Os and those talents and skills, but they gotta fit our values.
10:58 They gotta fit our culture.
10:59 So I'll be involved.
11:02 It'll be heavy.
11:03 >> Guys, I'm gonna go just a few more questions.
11:05 Over to the right, Pat Murphy, 24/7 Sports.
11:08 >> Gene, you mentioned the last few games, but
11:11 I know the last 11 have been losses.
11:14 Why was this game after Wisconsin the time you decided to pull apart?
11:19 >> Well, it's something I obviously have been thinking about for a little bit.
11:23 I am so appreciative that Jake Dibbler stepped up and accepted the challenge.
11:29 That's not easy.
11:30 I hope you guys appreciate that, that what he's doing is not easy.
11:38 So my heart is with him to a great degree.
11:42 But we have a little runway.
11:45 You have days between now and Sunday,
11:51 when you have time to accept the emotions of this moment.
11:56 And adjust and begin to coach our kids.
11:59 I mean, there's some games where you only have two and a half days to recover.
12:03 And actually, less than a day and a half,
12:04 because you get on a plane to go somewhere.
12:07 So the runway for him is the best that it could possibly be
12:13 when you're this deep in the season.
12:14 So I'm so appreciative of him just stepping up and
12:20 being a warrior and taking this on.
12:23 >> What do you see of Jake stepping on the court?
12:26 What do you imagine he'll be?
12:29 >> It's hard to imagine except I think he's a very good coach.
12:33 I think he's gonna demonstrate for the kids just at the end of the day,
12:40 that we just need to keep fighting all the way through.
12:43 And he's gonna do that.
12:44 And so I feel good about it.
12:48 >> Joe Nugent, WCMH.
12:50 >> Making the decision now,
12:51 will it put the program in a position of strength in terms of the search?
12:55 You started a little bit earlier, I know Ross will-
12:58 >> Yeah, and it's not a big game.
13:02 You can do some background checking and things of that nature.
13:06 But it's not a huge game because you really can't begin to talk to candidates
13:11 till the end of the season.
13:13 So it's more about these six games and
13:18 where these kids are and trying to give them a spark.
13:22 And hopefully it shows up on the floor.
13:25 Guys, I appreciate the time and I've always appreciated you.
13:28 So sorry I got to go.
13:29 Thanks.