Terry Johnson and Ryan Pedon “are expected” to join Chris Holtmann’s staff at Ohio State

With a new head coach in place, the assistant coaching lineup for Ohio State basketball is in flux. During his presser today, Chris Holtmann said not to expect anything official immediately, but that doesn’t mean news isn’t starting to trickle out.

According to Jon Rothstein, two more Butler assistants are likely to join Holtmann in Columbus, including a very key name.

Buckeye fans might recognize Ryan Pedon at this point. Thought to be the architect behind the highest ranked Butler recruiting class ever, Pedon is also very much a Columbus guy (he’s from Bexley and played basketball at Wooster). Pedon has also coached all over the state, including jobs at Toledo, Miami (OH) and Kent State, along with a stint at Illinois under John Groce.

Pedon was also thought to be a candidate to be Butler’s new head coach, a position now filled by Milwaukee head coach LaVall Jordan.

Johnson had coached at Auburn and IPFW (his alma mater), and also served as a director of basketball operations at Butler.

If both coaches are coming, it’s clear that Holtmann plans to double down on an Ohio and Indiana-centric recruiting strategy, while continuing the brain-trust that was so successful at Butler.

If the Buckeyes are serious about “closing the borders” of Ohio, this is probably a good start.