Wright State transfer Holden settling into new role for basketball Buckeyes

Tanner Holden is among a handful of new faces for the Ohio State men’s basketball team, which began practice for the new season on Wednesday.

To hear OSU coach Chris Holtmann talk about Holden, it is obvious the Wright State guard transfer has made a good impact in his first few months as a member of the program.

“He’s been great,” Holtmann said at the team’s media day earlier this week. “The biggest thing for him is Tanner’s game is built on … he’s a terrific cutter and a great athlete. He has scored some outside the three, but a lot of it has been inside. He will have to continue to expand his game to be the most effective here in these next two years. I think he is growing with that.

“He is a really good rebounding guard and wing. His teammates love him. He has been as consistent a worker as we have had on our team. From day one, he has been as consistent as we’ve had in terms of work.”

Holtmann was asked how Holden has made the transition from Wright State to OSU this summer.

“He is a great worker,” Holtmann said. “He’s an everyday guy. He’s been one of our most consistent workers. You know, guys don’t respect guys that don’t work. And he’s really respected within our locker room because he works. And I think that’s going to allow him to have a voice in the locker room, whatever that looks like as a new player.”

We have video of an interview session with Holden above and another video segment with him below.

The 6-6, 200-pound Holden entered the transfer portal shortly after wrapping up his junior season at Wright State. He quickly settled on Ohio State as his next destination. Holtmann and his staff sold Holden on the chance to step in at shooting guard, where freshman Malaki Branham starred this past season before deciding to make a jump to the NBA.

He went in as a freshman in 2019-20 and averaged 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He hit an impressive 42.4 percent of his three-point tries. He stepped up in his sophomore year and averaged 15.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists.