Men’s Basketball: Jake Diebler is finally living out his “dream”

Lauryn Luderman
Wed, 20 Mar 2024 02:18:16 +0000
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Jake Diebler at his introductory press conference as head coach of the men’s basketball program Monday at the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Lauryn Luderman | Sports Editor

On the Schottenstein Center court, Jake Diebler won a high school state championship, met and proposed to his wife, Jordan Diebler, and on Monday, held his introductory press conference as the next head coach of the men’s basketball program.

He called this opportunity a “dream.”

“Growing up you have dreams, and you never fully get to predict if or when those dreams will come true, and so I just want to praise God for being able to live out a dream of mine,” Jake Diebler said. “This is a dream.”

Since Feb. 14, Ross Bjork, the senior adviser for intercollegiate athletics at Ohio State, had been searching for a new head coach. Saturday, Bjork said he visited the Diebler home with an official offer, and one day later, made the announcement informing Buckeye Nation of who its new leader would be — his first major decision since landing in Columbus March 3.

Bjork said he laid out a specific profile of qualities the next head coach needed to possess, and the “beacon” of it all was Jake Diebler.

“Passion, energy, create a program identity, a track record of player development, a recruiting machine, especially here in the Midwest, in the state of Ohio,” Bjork said. “Born to coach, Jake Diebler fits each one of these characteristics, and then some.”

It was a seamless transition as Jake Diebler went from assistant coach to interim just a month prior.

As interim head coach, Jake Diebler helped lead Ohio State to defeat then-No. 2 Purdue at home Feb. 18, win its first road game since Jan. 1, 2023, and helped guide it to a 6-2 overall record. Additionally, he improved its Big Ten Conference record from 3-9 to 9-11.

Jake Diebler said what helped the team fight adversity and finish its regular season strong was coming together as a family, one not only made up of the 15 players on the roster. He said several past Buckeyes attended recent practices to speak to the team about what it means to wear an Ohio State jersey.

“This program has a rich tradition and it’s because of these guys and the guys before them,” Jake Diebler said. “When we talk about family in this program, it expands beyond the current roster, the current staff, it expands beyond guys who maybe played recently. It’s all the way back to the beginning.”

Jake Diebler’s contract extends through the 2028-29 season and he is guaranteed $2.5 million.

Over his five years at the helm, Jake Diebler said he intends to “serve” the program, players and staff with everything he has. With his and Bjork’s partnership, they said they hope to return Ohio State basketball to the standard of winning it once reached often.

“We have great expectations for this,” Jake Diebler said. “Ohio State is the best of the best, and we’re going to do everything we can to push this basketball program to align with that.”

For now, No. 2-seeded Ohio State will take on Cornell at Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. This will also be Jake Diebler’s debut as full-time head coach of the Buckeyes.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.