The fallout from the FBI's investigation into college basketball in multiple cases of bribery schemes has dominated sports headlines across the country this week.
Four college basketball assistant coaches – Chuck Person of Auburn, Emanuel Richardson of Arizona, Tony Bland of Southern California and Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State – were all charged after an investigation by the FBI determined that the coaches used hundreds of thousands of dollars to influence high school recruits to play at their respective schools.
It was also discovered that Adidas' James Gatto is being accused of funneling $100,000 to the University of Louisville to gain the commitment of a high school athlete with the assumption that athlete will sign a sponsorship deal with Adidas once he turns professional.
With the fallout of this surrounding college basketball, Chris Holtmann, entering his first season as Ohio State's basketball coach, said Thursday at his on-campus media day that no one in his program has been contacted by the FBI.
"We have not been contacted. I have not and no one on my staff has," Holtmann said. "As a coach, you have mixed feelings about this. I think I have great respect for all of those that intend to do this the right way and have done in the right way. I mentioned that about Thad (Matta) during my initial press conference and there are many others that do it the right way."
The fact that Ohio State and Holtmann have not been contacted won't come as a surprise to many. In August, Holtmann was voted as one of the "cleanest coaches" in the country by more than 100 anonymous coaches in a poll taken by CBS Sports.
Holtmann added in his Thursday press conference that he was thankful for Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and his willingness to avoid any situations that might be illegal in the eyes of the FBI or NCAA.
"One of the things I feel really good about is Gene Smith. He has empowered me and I know he empowered Thad to walk away from situations that we weren't comfortable with," Holtmann said. "Thad and I would talk about some of them on the road. There were certainly instances in the past where both of us had to walk away from. That never gets communicated to the public.
"The fan base can wonder sometimes that, 'Hey, why didn't they get this kid? Why aren't they recruiting this kid?' That's not to say every kid you don't get is because of this, I am not implying that at all, but there are certain things that quite honestly we have had to walk away from."
