Phillips shrugs off speculation following Ryan retirement

Staying putSaul Phillips grabbed a bottle of water, picked up his phone and plopped down on the couch in his office.

Then Phillips began thumbing through his notifications — the calls and texts he missed while he was conducting another Bobcats’ practice.

“I have a lot of people to call,” he said.

Ohio’s second-year head men’s basketball coach was a prime target for national media members on Wednesday. Phillips’ coaching mentor — Bo Ryan — announced the night before he was retiring immediately from his post as the head coach at the University of Wisconsin.

Ryan, who coached Phillips at Division III Wisconsin-Platteville, announced his pending retirement in June. Then backed off that publicly…