Ohio State is focusing on Jake Diebler as its full-time males’s basketball coach, The Dispatch has confirmed.
Diebler, 37, is in his fifth season throughout what’s his second stint with this system. An Ohio native who performed collegiately at Valparaiso, Diebler was affiliate head coach for Chris Holtmann for the previous three seasons till he was elevated to the interim job when Holtmann was fired on Feb. 14.
Particulars concerning the size of his contract and the phrases usually are not but identified. Diebler met with incoming athletic director Ross Bjork on Saturday, and the ultimate particulars of the contract nonetheless have to be hammered out.
Ohio State fell brief in its pursuit of the NCAA Event bubble, however underneath Diebler would possible pursue an NIT bid. Doing so would imply the Buckeyes would wish to have sufficient gamers to area a roster. The switch portal formally opens Monday, in the future after the event fields are set, and the Buckeyes valued having their teaching state of affairs set with a view to give the roster a chance to make knowledgeable choices concerning the the rest of this season and past.
After dropping to Illinois within the Huge Ten Event quarterfinals on Friday, Diebler declined the chance to stump for the full-time job and mentioned his focus is on the gamers and this system.
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“So far as what’s subsequent, I don’t suppose there’s been applicable time to suppose by way of that as a result of the main target has been on the right here and now,” Diebler mentioned contained in the locker room contained in the Goal Middle. “There might be a time for that. Sorry that point’s not now. Admire the query, however going to maintain my deal with these guys.”
The transfer ends a search that noticed the Buckeyes linked to quite a lot of high-profile nationwide candidates. Ohio State was involved with Florida Atlantic coach Dusty Could from a number of the earliest phases, and alongside the best way the Buckeyes thought of Xavier’s Sean Miller, Alabama’s Nate Oats, Creighton’s Greg McDermott and South Carolina’s Lamont Paris earlier than zeroing in on Diebler because the Buckeyes piled up wins underneath his watch.
In latest days, the search was focusing in on Could and Diebler as its prime candidates.
Ohio State entered the Huge Ten Event having received 5 of its last six video games since Diebler was named interim coach, a run that included a house win towards No. 2 Purdue and wins at Michigan State and Rutgers after the Buckeyes had misplaced 17 straight highway video games. It helped Ohio State climb out of its place because the second-worst group within the Huge Ten standings and earn a first-round bye within the convention event with a No. 10 seed.
The Buckeyes then took down No. 7 seed Iowa on Thursday evening on the Goal Middle, serving to additional their case on the bubble for March Insanity and enhance their file to 20-12, earlier than dropping to Illinois on Friday.
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Diebler’s teaching profession started as a pupil assistant at Valparaiso in 2009-10, and he labored his manner as much as director of operations and finally assistant coach earlier than becoming a member of Ohio State coach Thad Matta’s workers as a video coordinator from 2013-14 by way of the 2015-16 season. From there, Diebler was an assistant at Vanderbilt for coach Bryce Drew and was on workers for 3 seasons earlier than Drew was fired following the 2018-19 season.
Diebler was then employed to return to Ohio and be part of Holtmann’s workers, the place he established himself as a recruiter and finally the affiliate head coach. Diebler was accountable for recruiting and signing Ohio State’s whole 2022 and 2023 recruiting courses.
“No matter ‘it’ is, he has that,” fifth-year ahead Jamison Battle mentioned of Diebler as a head coach. “He recruited a variety of us right here and with that, he has a relationship with all of us. It’s straightforward to play for somebody who you could have a relationship with, who cares a lot about you.”
ajardy@dispatch.com