With just two games left in the 2017-18 regular season, who would have thought we would be talking about a senior class ready to leave their final, and significant, mark on Ohio State program history?
The expectations for Chris Holtmann's first season in Columbus were about as low as they could be entering the season, and Ohio State's senior class, or lack thereof, was a big reason why.
Everyone was aware of and appreciated the hustle that Jae'Sean Tate had brought to the table in his first three years in Columbus, but it hadn't translated to team success. Kam Williams had provided lights out shooting, but questions about him getting open shots arose when Ohio State lost its starting point guard, JaQuan Lyle. Finally, the Buckeyes were set to get Keita Bates-Diop back off of a season-ending leg injury, and no one was quite sure if he would be able to stay healthy.
With the final home game of their collegiate careers coming Tuesday night, the Buckeye seniors have done more than answer all of those questions. They have exceeded all expectations to create a new memory of their time at Ohio State.
"I think it's a unique group, it's kind of an eclectic group, in terms of where they have come from," Holtmann said Monday. "You can tell they really care about each other and those guys are the reason in a lot of ways for the success we have had this year."
In terms of it being an eclectic group as Holtmann mentioned, none of Ohio State's players have taken the same road to get to where they are entering their final home game. Williams is the elder statesman of the group, a member of the 2013 recruiting class that redshirted the 2013-14 season before becoming a contributor in 2014-15, which marked the freshman seasons for Tate and Bates-Diop.
The two unquestioned leaders of the 2017-18 Buckeyes have been Tate and Bates-Diop, but the two were overshadowed in the 2014 recruiting class by freshman phenom D'Angelo Russell.
After Russell's departure to the NBA, the Buckeyes slipped into a program funk that ultimately saw every member of the 2015 recruiting class exit the program and head coach Thad Matta lose his job. The seniors that endured the struggles, however, are the same ones that have helped breath new life into a program that was in desperate need of a culture change.
The Buckeye seniors, with the help of graduate transfer Andrew Dakich, have done just that, helping lead Ohio State to a 22-7 and 14-3 record heading into the final week of the regular season. However, the Scarlet and Gray have slipped up in their last two games, dropping back-to-back contests to Penn State and Michigan.
Tate said Monday that not only is he looking forward to Senior Day, but also looking forward to getting back into the win column after a rough week that saw Ohio State fall eight spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
"Our top priority is to get the win. We have a sour taste in our mouth losing back-to-back on the road," Tate said. "As the leader of this team, my top priority is to make sure that we are prepared to go out and face a good Rutgers basketball team."
The four seniors have each made some kind of impact on Holtmann's first Ohio State team, and each will get a moment to speak to Buckeye fans following the game against Rutgers on Tuesday night, as will Holtmann. The path to get to where the Buckeyes are now hasn't always been easy, but Tate said he wouldn't trade Ohio State's success this season for anything.
"That is the reason why we chose this university," Tate said. "The 'it' factor that Ohio State has. We came here to win and unfortunately it took until this point to do it, but we are still not done. We are not satisfied with where we are. Our whole goal is to get back to where we were a couple of weeks ago and try to stride before the end of February."
