While most of this week's Ryan Day Radio Show focused on Ohio State's loss to Oregon on Saturday, Ryan Day made his main point clear on the broadcast: "The focus is on moving forward."
Acknowledging that the Buckeyes' loss in Eugene "hurt," Day said all of Ohio State's goals remain in sight as the team enters the second half of the regular season. In fact, if the Buckeyes win out in the regular season, Day said, "We're right back where we want to be."
After Day discussed the Oregon game and more with Paul Keels and Jim Lachey, Ohio State men's basketball coach Jake Diebler joined the show to preview the Buckeyes' 2024-25 season.
Here is all the need-to-know information from The Ryan Day Radio Show:
Ryan Day
On Ohio State's performance against Oregon
- "The focus is on moving forward."
- Day said Ohio State needs to win the turnover battle and the rushing battle in matchup games. He added that the Buckeyes also have to limit explosive plays against talented teams. "Those things have to get fixed."
- If Ohio State wins its next six games, Day said "we're right back where we want to be" in terms of accomplishing the team's goals this season.
- "A lot of review, a lot to go over, a lot to improve on."
- "That really made a big difference."
- "Down the stretch, we got to find a way to get a stop. We have to get that field goal in the end."
On the accountability after Ohio State's loss
- "There wasn't a whole bunch of finger-pointing."
- "There was accountability. ... That part was good."
- "We got to learn from it and move on."
On Josh Simmons and Will Kacmarek's injuries
- "That's why you build depth."
- "A couple of guys, we'll get back. A couple of guys, like Josh and Will, will be a while."
On how long it will take to "move on" from the loss
- "You don't just move on. I wish we wouldn't have lost that game."
- "It hurts."
- Day said "at some point" you have to move on. From here on out, Ohio State won't keep the Oregon loss in the "front of their mind" but will use it as motivation in all the Buckeyes accomplish the rest of the year.
On how Ohio State will respond to the loss
- "This is not a wakeup call at all. Guys have been going after it. We've been playing hard. We've been doing those things.
- "We got to find a way to win in the fourth quarter."
- "We got to take care of the football, we got to win the rushing battle, we got to limit the (explosive) plays."
On Ohio State's plans for the left tackle spot
- "We're gonna go with Zen right now."
- Day said Ohio State could turn to Donovan Jackson at left tackle.
- If Jackson were to move over to left tackle, Day said players like Tegra Tshabola, Austin Siereveld and Luke Montgomery could all see reps at left guard.
On Oregon's offensive gameplan
- "They had a good plan coming into it."
- "Not a lot of stuff that caught us off guard."
- "We have to execute better."
On TreVeyon Henderson
- "He played well. He played well in the game."
- Day said Henderson probably has a couple of plays he wished he had back from the Oregon game.
- "Overall, I thought he played hard and really ran hard."
On Oregon's onside kick
- Day said Ohio State was prepared for Oregon's onside kick, but the situation still worked out in the Ducks' favor.
- "The kid really drilled one right at Caleb, and it bounced back to them."
- Day said Ohio State will continue to work on those situations for the rest of the year, understanding they could have something similar happen to them later in the season.
On Emeka Egbuka
- "Emeka has been great. Emeka has been clutch."
- "We're gonna need him here down the home stretch."
- "He's made a lot of plays. That veteran approach and mentality is gonna be something that's important here down the stretch in some of these big games."
- "His approach has helped that room and helped that offense."
- Day said Egbuka gives Ohio State "flexibility" while comparing him to "someone like Deebo Samuel" for the San Francisco 49ers.
On Oregon having 12 men on the field, the Ducks' penalty
- Day said Will Howard still had Carnell Tate open on the boundary, so "I don't know how much that really had an effect on the play."
- Day said he thinks the NCAA's new rules interpretation is correct. "I do think that the right thing to do is to put the time back on the clock."
On how Ohio State will handle this weekend with a bye week
- "Get rest. Get away."
- "You're not gonna completely forget about football, but get away."
- "We're about to go on a long run here."
Jake Diebler
On the potential for Ohio State to play other Ohio schools
- "We're certainly open to it."
- "I'm a product of the basketball culture here in Ohio. As the head coach at Ohio State, there's a responsibility to grow that here within our borders. This is part of it."
- "Scheduling is hard. I learned that very quickly this past spring. There's a lot of details that have to get ironed out for this to come together."
- "I think it would be awesome to do at Nationwide Arena."
On Meechie Johnson
- "He really cares about winning here."
- "He cares about winning at Ohio State. I think Bruce Thornton does, too."
- "The next step of that is to get to the postseason and advance in the postseason."
On John Mobley Jr.
- "I've always believed in his ability at this level and certainly his ability to shoot."
- "I've been impressed with how quickly it's translated. He's going against veteran, old, tough, good defenders."
- "He's finding a way to be efficient."
- "I'm really excited to see how he continues to grow this season."
On Devin Royal
- "I think he played with a great deal of confidence down the stretch. That gave him some momentum going into the offseason."
- Diebler said Ohio State talked with Royal about "doing a few more things on the perimeter" this offseason while maintaining some "strengths that helped him be successful down the stretch of (last) season."
- "That confidence gave him a bunch of momentum."
On Ohio State's basketball practices being physical
- "I've been to watch our football team practice. It's definitely not a football practice," Diebler joked.
- "I think the more I can do that and the bond that helps create is critical when it comes to coaching."
- "I hope I can do that for a while. I know that's not an endless opportunity, but while I can, I want to be out there. I want to demonstrate. I want to be able to spar with guys a little bit."
- "Good to get out there every once in a while."
On Colin White
- "He's even ahead of what I thought he might be."
- "He had a really good summer. He's tough. He's smart. He's shooting the ball consistently well. That was a question he had to answer. ... He worked and he worked and he developed that part of his game to where it's translated."
- "I've been really impressed."
- "The game hasn't seemed too fast for him."
On Ohio State having Power Four in the nonconference schedule
- With Texas, Texas A&M, Auburn and other Power Four opponents on the nonconference schedule, Diebler said it will help the Buckeyes "figure out where you're at in the nonconference."
- "Against those opponents, we're gonna have to bring our best stuff in those games."
- "It's a great challenge for us."
- Diebler said those games will "prepare us for the Big Ten schedule."
