Tony Skinn has been hired on as an assistant coach with the Ohio State men’s basketball team. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Department of Athletics
This story has been updated for the BuckeyeBound edition.
Tony Skinn has only been an assistant coach with the Ohio State men’s basketball team for a little over two months, but he’s already motivating the Buckeyes to break team records in the practice gym.
Skinn said he’s been working consistently with senior forward Justin Ahrens, sophomore guard Eugene Brown and senior guard Jimmy Sotos. Although Sotos has been recovering from surgery to repair a separated shoulder suffered Jan. 9 at Rutgers, he set a new record time in what Skinn called “the Celtic drill.”
“He just actually broke a record the other day that everybody was questioning whether or not was true, but I had three witnesses in the gym,” Skinn said. “You get a minute to make as many shots as you can, and Jimmy went around and back in a minute and three seconds. That’s currently the record here at Ohio State.”
Skinn officially joined the Buckeyes May 27 after spending the past three years with Seton Hall. While he said searching for the right home in Columbus for his family has been difficult in the current market, Skinn dove head-first into the recruiting machine operated at Ohio State.
“Between trying to get acclimated with the job but also trying to figure things out from a personal level, it’s been a whirlwind,” Skinn said. “Obviously, I’m excited to be here. I know the recruits, our coaching staff, we’re all excited to just kind of get back to some normalcy with getting guys on campus. It’s been nonstop, it’s been pretty much 30 days straight, nothing in-between with just getting guys on campus.”
Skinn said he’s balanced getting to know the Buckeyes personally with welcoming two or three on-campus recruits every day.
That hasn’t been a challenge Skinn hasn’t been up for, however, as he said getting the first call from head coach Chris Holtmann and Ohio State excited him — perhaps even a little too much.
“It’s definitely a brand and a place that I was excited when I initially got the phone call. Maybe a little too over-excited because these things, these jobs are very hard to get,” Skinn said. “I was excited to have the opportunity, and then obviously once I got the job, it was just one of those things where I knew that the brand is something I’ve always wanted to be a part of.”
Since his arrival, Skinn has focused on creating organic relationships with his new players and coworkers. He said he’s a fan of listening to those around him.
“I don’t think you can develop in life if you don’t listen,” he said.
Skinn said his new assistant colleagues Jake Diebler and Ryan Pedon have helped him feel comfortable. He fits right in given each member of the trio has past collegiate playing experience: Skinn at George Mason, Pedon at Wooster, and Diebler as the hometown Buckeye.
“It’s been fun, they’ve made things pretty easy for me transition-wise,” Skinn said. “It’s not all serious and it’s not all basketball; some jokes in there, too, so I’ve appreciated just working with those guys in just a short amount of time.”
The Maryland native — who proudly boasts he’s from the ‘rich DMV’ as he’s familiar with the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia regions — said he’s been impressed with how willing Holtmann has been to listen to the numerous voices that make up Ohio State’s roster during staff meetings.
Skinn said he brings something to the table that cannot be found within Holtmann’s coaching tree, and after hosting recruits on a near-daily basis while working with the current Buckeyes, he’s applied his skills rather quickly.
“In my opinion, I just think I bring something different from the outside, and I think that’s what [Holtmann] was looking for,” Skinn said. “As uncomfortable as he might’ve been with hiring someone that he doesn’t know, he did his due diligence. Having an opportunity to get a guy like myself who’s from the ‘rich DMV’ — I’m a little biased, so I have to say ‘rich DMV’ — is just a positive thing to get a guy like myself that knows that region that’s maybe been untapped a little bit.”
