It might not be the same as Ohio State football's two $2 million coordinators, but Jake Diebler's Ohio State basketball coaching staff will feature two $400,000 assistants in 2024-25, per public records obtained by The Columbus Dispatch.
Former NC State assistant turned Ohio State associate head coach Joel Justus is set to make $425,000 in his first season in Columbus, while former Grand Canyon assistant Jamall Walker will earn an even $400,000.
| COACH | 2024-25 SALARY |
|---|---|
| JOEL JUSTUS | $425,000 |
| JAMALL WALKER | $400,000 |
| TALOR BATTLE | $300,000 |
| DAVE DICKERSON | $295,000 |
| LUKE SIMONS | $185,000 |
While former Northwestern assistant and Penn State all-time leading scorer Talor Battle is the least experienced of Jake Diebler's first crop of assistant coaches, he will join Justus and Walker as the three coaches allowed to serve as off-campus recruiters under NCAA rules. The NCAA expanded the limit on basketball assistant coaches from four to five ahead of the 2023-24 season but kept the limit on off-campus recruiters to three.
Dave Dickerson's $295,000 salary is a raise from the just over $210,000 he made as head coach at USC Upstate in 2023-24. Former Baylor assistant Luke Simons rounds out the staff at $185,000.
Combined with Diebler's $2.5 million salary, Ohio State will pay its coaching staff $4,105,000 million this year, down from the $4,835,000 it paid its coaches under Chris Holtmann last season, despite having a five-man bench to Holtmann's four. Removing Holtmann's $3.5 million paycheck last campaign, however, this year's assistant coaching staff will be compensated more, up from $1,335,000 to $1,605,000.
