Ohio will take on Tennessee State after convincing season-opening victory over Florida Gulf Coast.
Guard Jaaron Simmons anxiously waited to make his debut as a Bobcat against Florida Gulf Coast Saturday. Even more anxious for Simmons' debut was Ohio coach Saul Phillips.
“I spent a lot of time in a dark room last year,” Phillips said jokingly about having to wait for redshirt junior Kenny Kaminski and Simmons to be eligible to play.
Last season, former Bobcats Javarez "Bean" Willis and Stevie Taylor shared reps at point guard. Both were known for their shooting repertoire rather than their ability to control the game with their vision.
Simmons, however, showed Saturday against the Eagles that he will be bringing a traditional, “pass-first” mentality to the helm of the Bobcat offense.
“Jaaron’s not looking to score, he’s different,” Wadly Mompremier said. “He loves the pass more than the points. So hey, who wouldn’t love a point guard who’s going to pass you the ball?”
Simmons, a Houston transfer, controlled the tempo of the Bobcat offense and recorded 20 points, seven assists and logged 32 minutes Saturday.
When he was not in the game, freshmen James Gollon and Jordan Dartis shared the backup point guard role and the Bobcats struggled for offensive consistency.
In one instance with Simmons on the bench, Florida Gulf Coast forced two turnovers with Ohio running out of time on the shot clock and turned the steals into fast break scores.
Phillips said he doesn’t plan on choosing a defined backup to Simmons. Instead, he trusts Gollon and Dartis, who will see increased minutes as the season goes on.
For the time being though, Phillips will lean on Simmons to carry a heavy workload and shouldn’t mind with the way he has transformed the Bobcat's attack.
“If we were over at Ping (rec center) and I was picking teams, Jaaron would be a very early pick for me,” Phillips said.
In a quick turnaround, Simmons and the Bobcats will take on Tennessee State during Monday night in The Convo.
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The Tigers pulled away late with a 21-6 run in the final six minutes of their opener against Loyola and won on the road, 86-71.
The matchup to look for will be between the slew of Ohio’s big men versus 6-foot-7 Tiger forward Wayne Martin, who posted a dominating 27 point, 21 rebound performance in his season debut.
Ohio will look to start 2-0 for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
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