Ohio State's Chris Holtmann talks Roddy Gayle, Big Ten play on weekly radio show
The calendar has turned to 2024 and it’s time for Big Ten basketball. On Wednesday night, Ohio State will take an 11-2 overall record into its first of 18 remaining regular-season conference games as the Buckeyes host Rutgers.
Most recently, Ohio State took care of West Virginia with a 78-75 win inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Saturday night.
“It was a great environment,” coach Chris Holtmann said on Tuesday’s weekly radio show. “We knew we were going to get a different West Virginia team because of the guys they’d added. That environment, combined with them having everybody back … I’m just really, really proud of the resolve of our guys.”
This week, the Buckeyes will host Rutgers on Wednesday before heading to Indiana for a Saturday night game. Ohio State is 1-1 in Big Ten play with a home win against Minnesota and a loss at Penn State.
With that on the docket, men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann held his weekly radio show on Tuesday afternoon. In case you couldn’t listen, here are the highlights.
Roddy Gayle’s big night against West Virginia
In addition to Gayle’s 32 points against the Mountaineers, the sophomore finished with six assists and five rebounds to round out an all-around impactful game.
“His game has really grown,” Holtmann said. “One of the things we loved recruiting him was he was a 6-4 kid that you said, OK, he can shoot, he can score a couple different levels, he can be a plus defender and he can play-make so you had this big game that you felt could come. We knew it was going to take some time, but his playmaking was something we fell in love with recruiting him. He’s a very willing passer. He sees things quickly and he’s got good vision.”
That has taken some of the pressure off of Bruce Thornton, and it’s not just Gayle whom Holtmann needs to help out there.
“Roddy’s not a point guard necessarily, but he can be a primary playmaker and you see that,” he said. “Dale (Bonner) and Roddy are both critical for us. Dale’s assists can increase a little more. He’s got to continue to grow in terms of his impact too because he’s critical for us.”
The game was a bounce-back effort for Gayle after he finished with only 4 points and also had four turnovers in the final game before Christmas break, a 78-36 win against New Orleans on Dec. 21.
“I think he took an early Christmas break there,” Holtmann said. “We got on him a little bit there. He was pretty good defensively in that game. There are moments he turns it over too much but he came back refreshed and ready to go. It was as good a performance we’ve seen in a win as we’ve seen in a number of years.”
Rebounding still a top priority
Ohio State is a top-25 offensive rebounding team in the nation. Holtmann said controlling the glass on both ends is going to be among the team’s top priorities as Big Ten play gets underway.
“We have really tried to emphasize that from day one, differently than in years past,” he said. “I’m hoping that can be a staple of us these next 2½ months because I do think in close games that can be a separator if you can get a few more offensive rebounds. I’m hoping that that can continue. For some guys, it’s really how they can impact the game the most offensively while they’re out there.
“Zed (Key) is a tremendous offensive rebounder. Felix Okpara can offensive rebound. Evan Mahaffey, Devin Royal, Jamison (Battle) has bought into it. Roddy Gayle rebounds as a guard. Scotty Middleton goes. We have to embrace that’s who we are, because it gets harder in league play to get those. If we can do that, it will help us in so many of those close games we’re going to play.”
Holtmann pointed to a critical late-game rebound against West Virginia by Mahaffey, who had seven rebounds, as the type of play the second-year player has to make.
“He was great the last couple minutes,” Holtmann said. “The challenge is the best teams in the league are good offensive and defensive rebounding teams. We’ve not been the defensive rebounding team we need to be yet. I’m challenging a guy like Evan, who was great on the offensive glass, to be equally good on the defensive glass.”
The coach also pointed to Battle as having made strides on the glass.
“Offensively, his rebounding numbers are dramatically improved on last year,” Holtmann said. “His offensive rebounding has been critical. He’s got to continue to embrace that that’s who he needs to be as a player.”
How fresh can Ohio State keep Bruce Thornton?
The sophomore guard has been critical to everything for the Buckeyes this year, and Holtmann said they’re trying to keep an eye on not letting him wear down as his shooting numbers have dipped recently.
“I think he’s fine right now,” Holtmann said. “He probably wasn’t going to shoot it for the whole year at the clip he was. I don’t think these (recent) numbers will stay consistent. It is something I’m keeping an eye on in terms of watching where he is at mental and physical fatigue. More than anything it’s a product who was really in an offensive zone for a while and now maybe missing some shots he’d make. I have confidence he’ll get rolling again.”
In the win against UCLA in Atlanta as part of the CBS Sports Classic, it was Thornton who broke the Bruins’ late-game pressure to help Ohio State seal the win. Those demands are only going to grow as the season progresses.
“He’s really poised,” Holtmann said. “He’s really sure with the ball. I had our coaches say in the UCLA game, we knew they were going to trap in the corner. He’s so good at stepping through traps, and then his decision-making is really good. He could probably take a few more chances with the ball. I think teams are going to load up for him and he’s probably going to have to spray it quicker when he’s in crowds.”
Up three, Buckeyes were fouling late against West Virginia
The score was what the final would be when the Mountaineers brought the ball up the court with a chance to tie the game and force a second overtime. That never came to fruition as Thornton fouled Kerr Kriisa with eight seconds left, sending him to the line and not giving West Virginia the chance to hit a 3-pointer.
That was a specific situation the Buckeyes had practiced leading into the game.
“Great play by Bruce,” Holtmann said. “Something we practiced three days earlier. We showed them an example of a game where there was an intention of fouling but the play happened so quickly they weren’t able to foul, (and that team lost). We’ve all had games like that we’ve lost like that. There’s an execution offensively and defensively that you’re hoping your players can do.”
Holtmann said the Buckeyes will foul when up three when a certain amount of time remains on the clock but did not disclose the specifics.
“Bruce did a good job of doing it at the appropriate time,” Holtmann said. “It’s exactly what we wanted. We couldn’t have timed it any better, going at eight seconds. That was exactly what we had talked about and planned for. If they had gotten a quicker look, before a certain time requirement we’ve told our guys we would not have fouled, but that fell in that range.”
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Thornton wanted Gayle to shoot late free throws
Ohio State had a chance for two free throws when West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert was given a technical foul. With the choice to pick who would shoot them, Holtmann turned to Gayle and Thornton.
“Roddy’s been so good closing games out,” Holtmann said. “I looked at Bruce and Roddy and Bruce said, ‘Let’s have Roddy do it.’ I’m going to defer to our guys in that situation. They’re both good free-throw shooters and both guys are capable. We had a quick meeting there and Bruce said, ‘Let’s have Roddy shoot them. He’s in a great rhythm offensively.’ They he missed both of them.”
Eilert got the technical for arguing a play where he felt Key was not called for a foul on a 3-point attempt.
“One of his strengths, I’ve challenged him defensively in a lot of areas and he’s gradually getting better,” Holtmann said of Key. “His stick-hand is there early and it’s there appropriately on guys as dangerous as (RaeQuan Battle) was. When I went back and watched it, I didn’t spend a lot of time breaking down the slow-mo on that. What allowed it not to be called is Zed did not follow through on the challenge. He stayed where he was at.
“Those are always close calls but his technique allowed it to be a clean look by the official.”
Quotable
On Scotty Middleton’s recent play: “Scotty’s struggled a little bit offensively these last few games. He’s got to continue to relax and take good shots and impact the game in other ways. He’s got to work his way through this stretch a little bit. Devin had a tough foul away from the basket but I love his energy and what he brings. Those guys are going to be critical for us.”
On playing guys with two fouls: “It’s very much a gut thing. It’s usually dictated by the way the game is going. If it is a game that is a one- or two-possession game, I’m likely not to put him back in the game. If he gets his third and you go into halftime and he picks up his fourth, the most critical stretches he’s going to be sitting on the bench. I’ve played guys with two fouls in close games before, but I will try to leave a player like Roddy who’s so important to us on the bench.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's Chris Holtmann talks Roddy Gayle, more on radio show
