Chris Holtmann provides update on status of Roddy Gayle Jr.

The Ohio State Buckeyes got an 84-64 win over Miami (OH) on Wednesday night. After the game, head coach Chris Holtmann shared an update on shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr.

Gayle was seen riding a stationary bike during the game and was the last one out of the locker room for the Buckeyes. This led to concerns that he was banged up. However, as Holtmann explained, there’s nothing to get too worried about.

“No, they had a kid actually sick,” Chris Holtmann said. “Their starting point guard was sick, but no. Roddy, he just has I think lower system ankle that bothers him at times. He just likes to keep it loose.”

Roddy Gayle Jr. played 32 minutes during the win. That was the most of anyone on the Buckeyes. He also led Ohio State in scoring, with 15 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. So, if he was having any issues, he kept those issues under wraps.

“So, those guys, I just screamed his name like five times. I didn’t know where he was, but he was on the bike. Yeah, he’s fine. He’s fine.”

A four-star recruit in the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, Gayle Jr. was the 68th-ranked overall player in his class. He played in nine games as a freshman before growing into his own during his sophomore season.

This is head coach Chris Holtmann’s seventh season at Ohio State, but he’s coming off what was one of the most challenging seasons of his career last year. However, after a 7-1 start this season, it looks like the Buckeyes have righted the ship.

Next up for Ohio State is a trip to Penn State on Saturday for an early-season Big Ten matchup.

Chris Holtmann expresses excitement for what Big Ten expansion means for basketball

This is the last Big Ten season before the conference expands, adding USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon. That’s an expansion that Chris Holtmann is excited about moving forward.

“Yeah I’m excited about it Myron, I really am. I think our league is positioned as well as any league in the country and I think all those schools bring a different element. They’re all gonna be really exciting places to play for our guys to go and experience playing at some of those venues that are as iconic as they are in college basketball. They’re all programs that have experienced certainly highs and lows, but you look at a program like UCLA and they’ve had a phenomenal last couple years there with Mick [Cronin] so I think it’s a really good thing for our league. I couldn’t be more excited, I think I speak for most coaches,” Holtmann said.

“The question that’s come up a lot Byron is the scheduling and how that impacts sports like ours, but I know that we have an incredible crew at the Big Ten that I think will take that all into account. There’ll be some challenges with it, but it’s well worth whatever challenges are gonna come.”