Terence Dials is returning to the Ohio State basketball program.
Thirteen years after he was named the Big Ten player of the year in 2006, Dials has joined Chris Holtmann's coaching staff as the director of professional development, Ohio State announced on Wednesday.
Dials, who played for Ohio State between 2001 and 2006, effectively replaces former director of player development Scoonie Penn who left the program to become an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies a month ago.
“I couldn’t be happier to be a part of a program that gave me the opportunity to live my dream,” Dials said in a statement. “Helping grow these young men who represent our university is an honor. I can’t wait to jump right in and be part of the basketball staff at Ohio State. I hope I can share my experiences to help the team and I can’t wait to learn a ton from everyone on staff. I want to thank Coach Holtmann, Gene Smith and Scoonie Penn for believing that I would be great fit to represent the University.”
In his new position, Dials' responsibilities include "providing and arranging professional development and community service opportunities" for players on the team. He also will "arrange internships, mentors, job fairs and other personal and career growth initiatives for student-athletes," working with the Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute to accomplish that goal.
He is not one of the team's three assistant coaches, so like Penn was, he will be limited in how he can work with players on the court.
“Terence is obviously a name many Buckeye fans know well,” Holtmann said in a statement. “We are excited to add him to our staff in our director of professional development position. His outstanding work as a student-athlete here, as well as his experience in sales and business after his professional playing career ended, will be beneficial in his role with our players. Because this is a non-coaching position, we elected to change the position title and responsibilities to more accurately fit the position,” Holtmann said. “Terence will play an important role in helping to prepare our players for life after Ohio State. We are really excited about the benefit this will add to our players. Welcome back Terence!”
In his five years and 132 games with the Buckeyes, Dials scored 1,566 points (14th-most in Ohio State history) and grabbed 867 rebounds (fifth-most in Ohio State history). He was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.
Ohio State also announced the hiring of Andrew Dakich and Robbi Rucki as program assistants. Their varying duties include "a variety of administrative tasks related to camps, clinics, banquets, gameday events, general correspondence with the public, campus tours and office operation," per the press release.
