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Fuss, Ohio Adjust To Head Coaching Change


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Longtime assistant coach Aaron Fuss of the Ohio men’s basketball team chimed in on how the team has handled the last few months with the departure of head coach Jim Christian.

“We’ve gone from a lot of different highs and lows,” Fuss said. “With the coaching change and everything like that, there’s definitely a lot going on right now.”

Fuss, a member of Ohio’s coaching staff since 2008, has now seen his third head coach take over the men’s basketball program since he joined the staff.

“I know from working for John [Groce] and Jimmy [Christian] and now Saul [Phillips], it’s been three guys who have had a lot of success and have been great for me, personally, to learn from and I think they’ve been tremendous for this basketball program,” Fuss said.

Along with Saul Phillips being hired as the new head coach of Ohio, the Green and White also welcome in new assistant coaches Jason Kemp and Will Ryan.

“They are about as personable of people as you could want to work with,” Fuss said.

Will Ryan, an assistant coach at North Dakota State under Phillips, followed the new head coach to Athens. Jason Kemp has been very familiar with the Bobcats’ program, working with the Toledo Rockets men’s basketball program last season.

“They have been great. I’m kind of helping them bridge that gap here at Ohio with getting acclimated to the campus and the players,” Fuss said. “At the same time they have been great with acclimating me to their program and how they want to do things.”

Adding two new assistant coaches and a new head coach can be difficult for a team to adapt to. But Fuss said the team handled the changes just like they’ve handled their late-game comebacks last season.

“This team has shown just a huge amount of ability to bounce back in tough situations,” Fuss said. “These guys have been competitors.”

With Ohio losing players, most notably Nick Kellogg, to graduation, the Bobcats are ready to keep improving and put the crazy last few months behind them.

“Obviously when the coaching change happened, there was a little bit of nervousness on these guys’ part,” Fuss said. “I think these guys right now are ready for the next challenge.”