During the Ohio Bobcats’ win against the Marshall Thundering Herd Monday, Nov. 30, there was a moment when head men’s coach Saul Phillips could be seen visibly challenging point guard Jaaron Simmons on the sidelines.
Against Marshall, Simmons committed seven turnovers. After the game, both Phillips and Simmons acknowledged the in-game meeting was about Ohio’s ongoing turnover issue and Simmons being part of the problem.
While it’s not clear what was said, this was anything but a sign of a rift or tension between a coach and a star player. Instead, it signaled a healthy working relationship between the two people most responsible for Ohio’s on-court successes and failures.