Devin Royal earning right to play more: 5 takeaways from Chris Holtmann's radio show
A big week looms for Ohio State. After having lost four straight and seven of their last eight, the Buckeyes return home to host Indiana on Tuesday and Maryland on Saturday. It’s the first time Ohio State has played consecutive home games since a three-game stretch from Nov. 29-Dec. 6, and it arrives as Ohio State needs wins to try and prevent this season from turning into what last year ultimately became.
Most recently, the Buckeyes took a 79-77 loss at Iowa on Friday night, marking their 15th straight road loss. Ohio State won’t hit the road again until next week, when it plays at No. 11 Wisconsin on Tuesday night.
Monday, Ohio State men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann held his weekly radio show. It was a slightly abbreviated appearance as, for the first time this year, an assistant coach stepped in for the final segment of the show. As Jack Owens sat in on the radio, Holtmann met with local media to preview the Hoosiers and more.
If you couldn’t listen to the radio show, here are five takeaways.
Devin Royal has earned bigger role through practice
Freshman forward Devin Royal has started to make a more consistent impact in recent games. Friday, he scored 9 points in 17 minutes against Iowa, moving him to 35 points in 50 minutes in his last six games.
“He’s earned it for several weeks now,” Holtmann said. “He had pockets of tough matchups where it was hard to play him extended minutes because he was always going to be guarding a perimeter (player). Now we’re getting into games that will be better matchups for him. His approach has never changed. He’s been highly engaged. He’s earned the right to play well.”
Royal’s biggest adjustment has been adapting to having to guard more varied players after almost exclusively playing in the post in high school.
“We do a lot of switching on the perimeter and he’s got to guard a lot of different guys,” Holtmann said. “The defensive piece is something that has been the biggest learning curve for him, but he’s had a great approach and great attitude. He’s earned these minutes. I’m really proud of him and excited for him and his growth because he’s got a lot of potential.
“The game doesn’t lie. If you didn’t prepare well, it’ll catch up with you. Who’s highly invested? Who’s highly invested in their role? We’re going to play those guys. Devin’s one of those guys who has really shown that.”
Jamison Battle playing well, but needs to stay in bounds
Fifth-year transfer Jamison Battle led the Buckeyes with 17 points at Iowa and provided leadership, but he has a special film edit to watch Monday.
“He’s got a video edit showing him stepping out of bounds,” Holtmann said. “It happens in the corner, because the line got increased. There’s a break in the line where it narrows, but still, the line is tighter in the corner.”
Otherwise, Holtmann said the Buckeyes have been pleased with what Battle has provided while still asking for more.
“He’s been really important for this group,” Holtmann said. “We had great leadership in the Iowa game. Jamison, Bruce, so many guys highly engaged, vocal. We’ve got a good way about us right now and that’s got to continue. I was really pleased to see the leadership on the road in that environment. They were connected and vocal. It was good to see.”
Scotty Middleton’s status unknown for Tuesday against Indiana
Ohio State was without freshman wing Scotty Middleton against Iowa. He watched the game in street clothes while wearing a walking boot on his left foot.
“He’s kind of day-to-day right now,” Holtmann said. “He’s making good progress. Outside of that, a couple guys a little banged up in practice yesterday. It was good, physical practice.”
Can Ohio State run in transition more?
The final stat sheet showed that Iowa outscored Ohio State 17-0 in fast-break points in Friday’s game. While Holtmann pushed back against those numbers, he did agree that the Buckeyes need to run more.
“We have to be faster, particularly off of turnovers and long rebounds,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to get down the floor quicker to get some easier baskets. That’s something we’ve been working on a lot. As much as anything, so much of these games right now, scoring 77 and 75 points (against Illinois), that gives you plenty of opportunities to win games if your defense is just a little better.”
At Iowa, Holtmann said the Buckeyes scored against the press a few times and pointed to his team’s 77 points and adjusted offensive efficiency rating of 119.0 points per 100 possessions as having been enough to win most games. Against the Hawkeyes, Holtmann said the Buckeyes were fine with working against Iowa’s defense on a few occasions.
“It was a game we were scoring pretty consistently,” he said. “There’s a point where you want to make Iowa guard you, particularly at home, because that’s not necessarily what they want to do. I was pretty pleased with our offense. We did not shoot it great in the second half, which hurt us.”
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Buckeyes need Bowen Hardman to shoot more aggressively
There are obviously limits to how much Ohio State wants anyone to hunt shots, but Holtmann said the Buckeyes need sophomore guard Bowen Hardman to be a little bit more aggressive when he’s in the game. After spending most of his first year and a half on the outside of the rotation looking in, Hardman has played in four straight games, the longest stretch of his career.
Friday at Iowa, Hardman passed up a corner 3-pointer, and Holtmann yelled at him from the bench, “Shoot the ball!”
“He missed an opportunity to take a corner 3 that he thought the close-out was coming and it wasn’t,” Holtmann said. “He’s got to be more ready to shoot on the catch. That’s a challenge for a kid who’s starting to play. At this level, you don’t have many clean looks, so when you have one and shooting is what you do, you’ve got to snap it off. It’s part of, he’s a sophomore too. He’s still growing.”
Hardman played six minutes and did not record a statistic in the two-point loss to the Hawkeyes.
“I think he can do it,” Holtmann said of staying ready and immediately hunting shots in limited playing time. “He’s done it in some games before. It’s his role. He’s got to come in ready to shoot the ball well and compete defensively. I thought he did that well in the Iowa game.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 takeaways from Chris Holtmann's radio show: Devin Royal growing
