Preseason preparations are well underway for Ohio State's 2024-25 basketball outfit.
While the Buckeyes' football team gears up for its toughest test yet this season in No. 3 Oregon, Jake Diebler and each player on Ohio State's hoops roster met with the media on Tuesday to discuss where the team is at with less than one month to go until its Nov. 4 season opener against Texas in Las Vegas.
The coach ended Ohio State’s preseason media day with a nearly 35-minute press conference. Diebler's been encouraged by most of the developments he's seen in the early weeks of preseason practice, the Buckeyes lasering in on defense most recently with what he referred to as a "defensive boot camp" this week. The Buckeyes' depth and versatility are showing through, as team chemistry keeps building through both on- and off-court activities.
While we’ll have more content from the players’ portion of Ohio State basketball media day next week ahead of the Buckeyes’ preseason exhibition against Cincinnati, here’s a quick recap of what Diebler had to say.
- On how pace factors in for his team: "We had some success playing faster last year and that, for me, served as validation for how I thought I wanted to play. ... Fits our personnel, absolutely."
- The Buckeyes want to play a free-flowing style, similar to a lot of NBA teams. "As we continue to recruit high-level players into our program, we want to play a style that helps them grow and get to the league."
- Asked a fact-or-fiction as to whether he's the best shooter on the team: "Fact."
- On Colin White: "It's been great having Colin in this program. I just love how much he cares about Ohio State. ... There's an element of toughness to him, and winning. ... I've been really impressed with his summer and start to the preseason."
- Diebler says he is still growing on the job in his first year as a head coach. "For me it's always making sure that I delegate some things so I can focus on our players. ... Learning stuff as it goes to some degree. (My assistants) help with that."
- On what this week's "defensive boot camp" entails: "Practice plan has been heavily toward the defensive side of the ball this week. ... Our defense can help our offense. We needed to just shore up some things and spend a lot more time and focus. We spent a lot of time this summer building our offense."
- On how the team's forwards mesh together: "I think we have a great combination of athleticism and skill in the front court. ... We have multiple guys who can play different positions ... but the inexperience is something that we've got to answer. ... As those guys continue to get more experience our level should raise as a group. ... We have multiple guys with size who can step outside and shoot it, defend multiple positions."
- On if he feels "more depth" this year: "Depth is a strength for this group. ... It's gonna present some challenges as far as finalizing a rotation. But what we do have is some healthy competition." Diebler added that roles for players haven't been finalized but will need to be shortly.
- Diebler is confident that there's no shortage of starting-caliber players to select from on his team. "Based on what I've seen in practice we have a starting seven or eight. I know eventually we're going to have to pick five guys. ... The biggest challenge for me is figuring out how we're gonna end games. ... It may be different from game to game."
- On why this year's team will be better: "I believe having really good, old guards has proven to be helpful in college basketball and we have a lot of those. ... I think depth, for us, is certainly a strength. That hasn't always been the case the last few years. ... But there's a sense of comfort having Bruce Thornton and Meechie Johnson and Micah Parrish and Ques Glover."
- On the team hanging out outside the gym, going on trips together and the like: "I'm a big believer that it matters significantly. ... In an attempt to speed up the on-court chemistry that you need in college basketball, first establishing that off-court chemistry is important. ... I wish we had more time to get ready for our first game for our on-court chemistry, and that's not to say that I'm disappointed ... I think our on-court chemistry has been really good. ... I don't anticipate it being an issue, I just wish we had more time."
- On the meaning of having Valparaiso, where he played and started his coaching career, on the schedule: "I hope they win every game but one next year, and I think Roger is going to do a really good job. ... I follow that program closely for the obvious reasons. ... It'll be a weird feeling, probably before the game."
- On throwing himself into the middle of drills in practice: "My coaching style is all about relationships. ... I always thought, if I become a head coach, 'Relationships are going to be important.' I thought we had some of the success we had at the end of last year because of our relationships."
- Diebler hopes to keep playing alongside his team in practice throughout his career.
- On Ques Glover: "Ques has a unique perspective because he's overcome some things in his career. ... We'll lean on his experience and I think his perspective is valuable for us. ... He's come in and just fully embraced everything we've been about. ... His voice, when he uses it, is really powerful."
- On Ivan Njegovan: "I love Ivan's skill. ... His size is legit. He's adjusting more and more to the pace we're playing at. ... His best basketball is ahead of him, so he's just got to keep building. ... I'm excited about him."
- On the Big Ten schedule: "It's going to be interesting to see how the league shakes out throughout the season. ... I think we should have a record number of teams in the NCAA Tournament with the depth of this league. ... You've gotta make every game count, because we're only getting to play three teams twice."
- Diebler said that Thornton and Johnson have meshed quickly. "They're both two-way players and they both take pride on both sides of the ball. The other thing I've been excited about is their chemistry on the court. ... The natural chemistry those two have has been really impressive."
- On the family atmosphere of his program: "Ohio State basketball is one big family. ... You had former players fly in from all over the country to be here for our (veterans’ dinner). ... Our guys, when they leave this program, will feel that and know they're a part of something special. ... They know, like most family members or most players would, I'm committed to doing everything I can to help them grow as men. As players too, but as men."
- On what he's seen from Aaron Bradshaw from a physicality standpoint: "There's certainly a physical element to our schedule. ... For him, he may not just be guarding centers either. ... I haven't noticed a deficiency in any regard to that."
- "One of the values of this program is joy and I think Meechie is a living example of that every day. ... Plays with a smile on his face all the time, and it's not devoid of competitiveness, but you can tell that he loves being in the gym. ... He's been an example for us in that joy value we have as part of our program. I think people will see that too."
- Diebler said the team is working through how deep his team's rotation will go, but said it will be a longer one to start the year, "around 10."
- On what his message to recruits is on the visits the Buckeyes have hosted recently: "Recruiting is arguably the most important part of the practice. ... We've been trying to get guys on campus to see us practice. ... There isn't a lot of data out there for them to see. We've gotten great feedback from coaches, players, people that have seen us practice.”
