Chris Holtmann faced an emotional locker room Sunday afternoon when Ohio State’s season was officially over.

But this loss, the second-round loss to Villanova in the NCAA Tournament, felt different than last year.

“I think last year was such an emotional finish. I think this year there was a little bit of a different feel, certainly emotional, but I think our guys felt good about the way they battled particularly in that game and certainly there were a lot of tears shed,” Holtmann said on his final radio show of the 2021-22 season. “They certainly were hoping to move on to the Sweet 16.”

In the hours after the season ended, Holtmann’s focus turned to the offseason, preparing for all the changes awaiting him in 2022-23, from coaching staff changes to the highly-rated 2022 class coming in.

But to him, it starts with the decisions in terms of roster management, knowing that freshman guard Malaki Branham will have a decision he has to make in terms of possibly entering the NBA Draft, while Justice Sueing and Seth Towns both contemplate a possible return.

However, Holtmann knows one thing, though: he's planning to not have E.J. Liddell.

“E.J.’s going to move forward,” Holtmann said. “He’ll do it in his own timing, but certainly we would expect for that to be the decision he’s given every indication of, but we will let him officially make that decision.”

After the loss to the Wildcats, Liddell wouldn’t confirm his intentions to enter the NBA Draft, saying “I'm not going to say I have thought about it, because I really haven't. This moment right here, I didn't want it to happen, ever.”

Holtmann will also have to find a replacement for assistant coach Ryan Pedon, who is leaving the program to become the head coach at Illinois State. The Ohio State head coach confirmed Monday that assistant coach Jake Diebler will take Pedon’s role on the coaching staff, while also taking control of the offensive game plan, something Holtmann said has “already been in the works.”

Along with the decisions facing Branham, Sueing and Towns, Holtmann said the program is beginning the process of deciding which players it wants to target in the transfer portal to play alongside Ohio State’s five members of its 2022 recruiting class.

“It’s a phenomenal class,” Holtmann said. “It’s one of the best in the country.”

In Ohio State’s fifth-rated class, Holtmann described guard Bruce Thornton as a “big, strong, power, true point guard,” while he looks at Roddy Gayle Jr. as a 6-foot4 guard, who can really defend and Bowen Hardman as “a shooter from the state.”

In the post, Holtmann called Felix Okpara a “6-foot-11 impact, shot-blocking center” and a really good athlete, while declaring Brice Sensabaugh as a really challenging mismatch.

“I think he’s going to be as big of a mismatch as we’ve ever coached,” the Ohio State head coach said of Sensabaugh. “People are going to have no idea how to guard him.”

To Holtmann, despite the emotional locker room Sunday, this is what his mind turned to almost immediately, focusing on getting back to the NCAA Tournament with a new group next year.

“To say my next few months are going to be busy would be an understatement,” he said.