Chris Holtmann’s staff officially in place at Ohio State

When Chris Holtmann was hired to be the 14th Ohio State basketball coach just under a week ago, one of the biggest questions was what his staff would look like in Columbus. It was generally assumed that he’d be bringing his Butler staff, Ryan Pedon, Mike Scharge, and Terry Johnson with him, as long as they didn’t get the Butler head coaching job. Scharge to Columbus was announced earlier this week, and when the Butler job went to LaVell Jordan, rumors began to swarm about Pedon and Johnson joining Scharge and Holtmann at Ohio State.

Now, it’s official, Chris Holtmann will be joined by Ryan Pedon, Mike Scharge, and Terry Johnson at Ohio State. Pedon, a Columbus native, is especially excited to get a chance to return to his home state.

Holtmann had this to say about the three hires:

"I am excited about the addition of Ryan, Mike and Terry to our coaching staff,” Holtmann said. “They are outstanding people and coaches. They complement each other extremely well. I know they are committed to working hard to help Ohio State Basketball compete at the highest level. They are excited to get to work!"

Ryan Pedon, from his new Ohio State bio:

Ryan Pedon enters his first season as an assistant coach at Ohio State after joining the staff in June 2017. The Columbus native returns home after spending the last two seasons as an assistant on Chris Holtmann’s staff at Butler.

In Pedon’s two seasons at Butler, the Bulldogs tallied a 47-20 record and advanced the NCAA Tournament twice. Last year, the Bulldogs went 25-9, finished second in the BIG EAST and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011. Two seasons ago, Butler went 22-11 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Before his time at Butler, Pedon spent two seasons at Illinois as an assistant to head coach (and former Ohio State assistant) John Groce. Pedon also spent three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Toledo, helping the Rockets to 19 wins in 2011-12, and five seasons at Miami (Ohio), where the RedHawks won the MAC Tournament title in 2007 to earn the school’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 1999.

Pedon also served as director of basketball operations at Kent State from 2002-05 and as a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio) from 2000-02.

Mike Scharge:

Mike Schrage (pronounced “SHRAWG-ee”) begins his first season as an assistant coach at Ohio State after joining the Buckeyes in June 2017. Schrage comes to Ohio State after one season as an assistant on Chris Holtmann’s staff at Butler.

Schrage possesses 18 seasons of coaching experience, including time spent at Stanford and Duke.

In 2016-17, Schrage helped the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011 while posting a second-place finish in the BIG EAST and a 25-9 overall record.

Prior to his stint at Butler, Schrage assisted under head coach Johnny Dawkins for eight seasons at Stanford. The Cardinal signed 16 players ranked in the Top 100 nationally in his time as recruiting coordinator. Four Stanford players were selected in the NBA Draft after their collegiate careers in Schrage’s time in Palo Alto and five played in the NBA.

Schrage also mentored Chasson Randle, Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2011, to first team Academic All-America honors as he became Stanford’s all-time leading scorer. In Schrage’s eight seasons, the Cardinal appeared in the postseason five times, including an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2014, and won at least 20 games on four occasions.

Schrage also spent time at Duke University, serving as the Blue Devils’ director of basketball operations from 2002-08 and the program’s academic and recruiting coordinator from 1999-02. In his time in Durham, Schrage was a part of Duke’s 2001 national championship team and a pair of NCAA Final Four squads.

Terry Johnson:

Terry Johnson is in his first season as an assistant coach, joining the Buckeye staff in June 2017 after spending 10 seasons as an assistant coach at Butler.

In 10 seasons as an assistant at Butler, Johnson helped the Bulldogs to eight NCAA Tournaments, including consecutive Final Fours in 2010 and 2011, four regular-season conference championships and three conference tournament titles. The Bulldogs ranked in the Top 25 nationally eight times in those 10 seasons, had seven players garner Academic All-America honors and sent two players to the NBA. In 2015, Johnson was invited to the Villa 7 Consortium, which brings together university athletics directors and the country’s elite assistant coaches in an effort to prepare the next generation of college basketball leaders.

Prior to assisting at Butler, Johnson spent the 2006-07 campaign as an assistant on Dane Fife’s staff at IPFW and served as director of basketball operations at Butler from 2004-06. Johnson also served in an administrative capacity at Auburn in 2003-04 and had stops as an assistant coach at Lincoln Trail Junior College, Indiana Tech and IPFW.

There’s still no word if Holtmann will be changing up the strength and conditioning team, though according to Adam Jardy, Alan Major is no longer listed on the team’s website. Information on what Holtmann plans to do with the S&C team will likely be available soon.