Athletic director Ross Bjork and head coach Jake Diebler are taking a positive stance on where Ohio State basketball finished its first season under Diebler.
On separate radio programs Monday, while both expressed disappointment about the Buckeyes being the third team out of the NCAA Tournament, they feel the program is moving in a positive direction.
“Jake has done a great job of changing the culture, changing the mindset,” Bjork said on WOSU’s All Sides. “How we operate the program is at a completely different level than the previous regime. Now we just have to get over the hump, and we need to be in the conversation, to be competing for Big Ten championships (and) obviously a strong run in the postseason.”
“How we operate the program is at a completely different level than the previous regime. Now we just have to get over the hump, and we need to be in the conversation.”– Ross Bjork on the state of Ohio State basketball
Now, of course, Bjork does see areas where things need to change.
“We have work to do,” Bjork said. “We need to change the narrative in many aspects around the scope of the program. We’ve got to get our fans plugged in. So, disappointment is the word, but now we have to go to work. Jake is already going to work on building that roster and making sure that we’re in the competitive landscape in this new era of college athletics.”
Changing the narrative and getting fans plugged in will require better results on the court than a 17-15 mark and a third consecutive missed NCAA Tournament. The first step to that, with Diebler set to lead the charge for another year, is roster building.
The first step will be roster retention, first and foremost clutching on to star point guard Bruce Thornton. Thornton will be a big target for tampering in the portal after earning second-team All-Big Ten honors and pacing the Buckeyes in both points (17.7) and assists (4.6) per game. He may also go through the evaluation process for the NBA draft, as players in college can do while maintaining their eligibility, and decide whether or not to go pro.
Diebler said on his radio show with 97.1 the Fan that he encourages players to go through that process and get feedback on where they stand if they feel so inclined. But Thornton is just one of the three stars it’s vital for Ohio State to try to keep around, as Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. are also integral parts of the plan for next year in Columbus.
“That’s what’s going on right now, is evaluating some very specific needs from a roster standpoint and conversations about retention is part of it,” Diebler said. “That’s what’s happening now.”
Diebler added that he wants Ohio State to stay “on the forefront” when it comes to adding through the portal itself. Guard depth will be needed regardless of whether Thornton and Mobley stay, but especially if one or both leave. Disappointing center play this season calls on the need for a bona fide big man as well.
“Any time you’re in this competitive world, you want to win at the highest level,” Bjork said. “So when you have those disappointments, you analyze, ‘What do we need? What do we need from a staffing structure standpoint? What do we need from a player personnel (standpoint)?’ Because obviously that’s a big part of this. What do we need from a roster building? How do we keep the nucleus of the high-level guys in place, but also add to that in the transfer portal era?”
Bjork added that Diebler’s relatable personality and understanding of the current college basketball landscape will assist in building a roster that can produce better results next year.
“Jake has the connectivity to the modern era,” Bjork said. “He relates to the players. He’s an Ohio name and a brand among himself. He’s recruiting at a high level in the future. We’ve got guys that are committed to the program that are high-level. So, tons of confidence in Jake. And, again, how do we finish these games where we had the lead with five minutes left, with seven minutes left. Those are the things we have to get over. And Jake knows that, the staff knows that, the players know that.”
“Tons of confidence in Jake. And, again, how do we finish these games where we had the lead with five minutes left, with seven minutes left. Those are the things we have to get over.”– Ross Bjork
The Buckeyes will get a jump on their roster construction for next season after they declined to participate in FOX’s College Basketball Crown on Monday. Diebler said that move was made with the health of his players and the timing of a March 31 tournament in mind, as the portal opens on March 24.
“Really, really hard decision because the competitor in me and the competitiveness of this team, this program, certainly wants to play and wants to keep playing and if there’s a championship to be won, wants to go make a run at it,” Diebler said. “But we had some time since Wednesday night to kind of evaluate what the future could hold. We knew, at minimum, we had the Crown opportunity and we saw (Sunday) night we were very much right there for the NCAA Tournament.
“The biggest thing, I think, for us is we’ve been playing in big-time, meaningful games for a significant stretch and our guys have poured everything they have into it. And we’ve got some guys who, quite honestly, they’re banged up. They’re dealing with some injuries and just an overall totality of the season and what we asked a couple guys to do. Still got some guys sick right now. It’s been a lot and we just felt like, right now – now certainly the timing of the Crown is not ideal, we can be open and direct about that too – but it was more about just everything else we’ve had going on physically and what we’ve done to get through this year.”
Diebler was also asked on the Fan if he felt the Buckeyes did enough to make the Big Dance given their NET ranking of 41st and six Quad 1 victories. With five losses in the final seven games, the coach felt his team didn’t do what was needed to lock themselves into a bid.
And the fact of the matter is Ohio State had numerous chances. The Buckeyes blew several second-half leads to Indiana, Pitt, Oregon and others. They lost a total of five one-score games. Flip the results of two of those contests and they probably coast into the NCAA Tournament.
“We talked a lot about controlling our own destiny, and the reality is, we didn’t do quite enough to control our own destiny,” Diebler said. “We ended up putting our destiny in the hands of a committee. I think that’s the first thing to acknowledge. Both can be true. We positioned ourselves to be in the NCAA Tournament but we also didn’t do what we needed to do to make sure that we leave it up to anything other than what we had done.”
As Bjork pointed out toward the end of his talk on the basketball program, Ohio State has been a consistent force in Big Ten basketball before. The program made four consecutive Sweet 16s in the NCAA Tournament from 2010 through 2013 under Thad Matta. Matta also brought the Buckeyes to two Final Fours and four Big Ten Tournament titles. Even if basketball isn’t the top priority in Columbus as football always will be, Ohio State’s athletic department has as many resources as any other in the country.
Bjork still believes Diebler is the man to take advantage of those resources.
“We have the right ingredients,” Bjork said. “We’ve been in the hunt for a long time in the past. Jake’s the right guy, he’s got vision, he’s got energy, he relates to the players in this modern era. So, we’ve just gotta get over the hump and there’s a lot of work happening behind the scenes to get that done.”
