Justin Ahrens thought Chris Holtmann was joking.
He hadn't played in the entire first half of Ohio State's game against Northwestern on Wednesday and hadn't played more than seven minutes since January, but Holtmann pointed to him as halftime ended and told him to enter the game.
"It was a double-take when I told him he was going in," Holtmann said on Wednesday. "He kind of looked at me. I think he said, 'Now?' And I said, 'Yeah. Start the half.'"
Ahrens responded by providing energy off the bench, scoring four points, including finishing a dunk on a back cut where Kaleb Wesson found him for the easy bucket.