Every day when members of the Ohio State men’s basketball program walk from the locker room to the practice gym, they’re reminded of the importance of toughness. It’s not subtle, either. Upon leaving the locker room, players walk down a hallway which is adorned with photos of former Ohio State athletes holding their diplomas and cutting down nets — two accomplishments that should be celebrated equally. At the end of that hallway they arrive at a staircase that goes up to the practice gym.
At the bottom of the staircase, about a dozen steel chains are clamped onto the concrete wall.