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Skull Session: Chris Holtmann is Out, Ohio State Hoops Will Honor Its 1998-99 Team vs. Purdue and Archie Griffin Shares a Memory of Woody Hayes
Chris Holtmann's time with the Buckeyes is over, Ohio State hoops will honor its 1998-99 team this weekend and Archie Griffin shares a memory of Woody Hayes.
www.elevenwarriors.com
SHH! IT'S A SECRET. While Chris Holtmann will not be at Ohio State vs. Purdue on Sunday, the 1998-99 Ohio State men's basketball team will. Indeed, the Buckeyes, who won [REDCATED] games and reached the [REDACTED] of the 1999 NCAA Tournament, will be honored when the Buckeyes host the Boilermakers at Value City Arena this weekend.
But shhhhhhhhh!
Don't tell the NCAA about it.
Ohio State can no longer recognize the Final Four team after the school accepted NCAA sanctions for a fallout that led to coach Jim O’Brien's termination in 2004. However, Adam Jardy of The Columbus Dispatch reported Ohio State will honor the 1998-99 team on Sunday for an achievement the NCAA cannot revoke:
George Reese and Scoonie Penn are excited for the event:As part of its season-long celebration of 25 years of the Schottenstein Center, Ohio State will officially welcome back “The USA Today Coaches Poll No. 4 Team.” It’s not a recognition of a Final Four run that helped put the program back on the national radar, or an acknowledgement of a 27-9 overall record, but it’s a way to give some due to a team went from 8-22 the year before (and 1-15 in the Big Ten) to the Final Four.
Including family members, “The USA Today Coaches Poll No. 4 Team” will have about 70 representatives on Sunday. Penn told Jardy the players and their loved ones will arrive in Columbus on Saturday, reuniting nearly the entire team for the first time since their postseason banquet in 1999. The team will also have a brunch at the arena before their in-game recognition.“Every time we come into the building people still talk about that team, so why not?” Reese said. “That elephant in the room was always there, like, come on man, we remember it. You see all the stuff the NCAA does, now it’s our time to actually be recognized. The NCAA can’t take that away.”
...
“It’s nice to have something, to be recognized, but it still has a sour taste in my mouth and I’m sure the rest of the guys, coaches, everybody that was a part of what we did that special season feels like that,” Penn said. “The people who were around, they understand, they remember. But what about all these people who became Buckeyes and Buckeye fans these last 22 years that go into the Schottenstein Center and don’t see that? Hopefully those who don’t know, this will help them recognize and understand a little bit better.”
I love this.
Kudos to whomever at Ohio State put this event together for the 1998-99 Buckeyes. Michael Redd, Penn, Jason Singleton, Ken Johnson and Reese are some Ohio State basketball legends and deserve praise for their contributions and performances in one of the best seasons ever for the program. I can't wait to see them receive that praise from Buckeye Nation this weekend.
Re: I love this.
Just sayin': Me too........