The Jake Diebler era of Ohio State basketball started about as strong as one could imagine.
An 80-72 win over No. 19 Texas was cause for celebration, especially after a team whose 3-point shooting was questioned in the offseason went 14-of-28 (50%) from downtown against the Longhorns. But Diebler doesn't want the Buckeyes resting on any accomplishments – they have to "earn the right" to play well in games by their practice.
After freshman guard John Mobley Jr. racked up 14 points and went 4-of-4 from 3 with a couple of makes from closer to half-court than the actual 3-point line, Diebler dove into some of what made the first-year Buckeye successful, namely his confidence. Mobley also met with the media to discuss where that comes from within him, as did Devin Royal, who also enjoyed a career-high 16-point scoring night against the Longhorns.
Jake Diebler
- Diebler said it wasn't Ohio State's intent to lean so heavily on the 3 necessarily against Texas, but those were the shots that came open. "We really just want to get a good look. ... An adjustment we made as we had a direct conversation about it at halftime, is our efficiency inside the 3-point line. ... I thought our guys took the coaching and went out and executed the adjustment to play with more poise."
- On the pace Ohio State played with: "It was good. ... I want us to be smart with it and be poised ... we had too many turnovers. ... In the second half, I thought we had some great, deliberate possessions."
- On Micah Parrish: "I thought he played a really poised game. At times in practice, as he's gotten used to a little more freedom offensively ... I've just encouraged him to take advantage when you have space behind the 3-point line, because he's a good shooter. ... He's a two-way player, I think that's important as well. ... I think one of the beautiful things about this team is we've got a handful of guys who are capable of having loud offensive games. ... I think it makes us really dynamic."
- Diebler said his engaged, emotional approach to coaching games from the relationship with his players. He added that his staff empowers him to have conversations
- On Royal developing his outside shot: "I think if you look at the way they were guarding some of our forwards ... his ability to space the floor is going to be very important for us. ... And he's worked hard at it, I think that's the thing I'm, most proud of. ... You want results to validate that for him, and I was happy for him to get that validation. ... I believe he can do it, I believe now he believes he can do it."
- On Meechie Johnson Jr. "impacting winning" even as he had a slow scoring night: "I was impressed with his maturity, I thought it would have been very easy for him to get frustrated. ... He had two big-time assists in the second half. ... He showed a great deal of maturity in making those reads. ... He's an elite on-ball defender, he's gotta continue to get better off the ball ... but (defensive effort) didn't waiver."
- On what's stood out about Mobley and where he needs to grow: "There's a savviness to his game offensively. ... He's not just a shooter. ... He's very much a complete offensive player. It's very easy to see his ability to make jump shots ... he's gotta continue to grow in reading, ball-screen reads ... but that'll come. ... His intent, his effort, his intensity defensively has really grown, now he's gotta get reps. ... I just love his mentality."
- While they celebrated the win over the Longhorns, Diebler wants his team to stay focused on what's ahead. "When things are going bad, it's easy to say, 'Don't listen to that, don't look at this.' I think it's just as important when it's going good. ... Really good win against a really good team, but we didn't play perfect by any means. ... Win, lose, draw, you've gotta have the same approach. ... That's what it's about for us right now, earning the right to play well."
- Diebler also wants the Buckeyes to recognize that their performance in practice led to a good game. "It's important to experience some individual success and to get some confidence individually, but most important for us was to get collective confidence. ... Our guys understanding, the reason we were able to play well is because of how we prepped in practice."
- On his excitement for the Buckeyes' first home game: "I'm really excited to be in the Schott and for our fans and Buckeye Nation to come see this group. ... I'm excited to just see how it is on Monday night."
- On Mobley's confidence: "I wish I could sit here and tell you that I taught him to be that way, that's not the case. ... It's not particularly hard to inject confidence into him. ... But I want all our guys to play with confidence. ... He's always been a believer in his ability and I've always been a believer in his ability. ... But he's a gym rat."
- On Austin Parks: "His physicality that he plays with ... I felt like we needed that in that game. ... He's started to figure out the system a little bit better and the pace we want to play at. ... I think Austin's done a great job the last couple of weeks of developing that consistency.
John Mobley Jr.
- Mobley got an outpouring of texts and support after his big showing in his debut. "A lot of family just congratulating me on the good game, good win we had."
- On Bruce Thornton closing out the win in a strong way: "That was no surprise to me, him being able to step up and carry us to that win at the end."
- On what he's learned from Thornton: "Just keep my head down, keep my head down, keep grinding and worry about what's ahead."
- On his feelings as he checked into his first game: "There's a lot going through my head, first college game, big stakes, you don't know what's going to happen. ... Just staying true to myself, going out there and doing what I know you can do."
- Mobley, an Ohio native, is excited to play his first game in Value City Arena. "Going to be a dream come true. I always grew up a Buckeye fan. ... Playing a home game here, that's going to be a surreal moment."
- Early misses, when they happen, won't make Mobley take his foot off the gas pedal. "I'm always going to shoot no matter what. ... For me, that confidence is always going to stay there and my mindset is going to stay the same."
Devin Royal
- On Thornton's ability to close games: "It means everything, he's a great guard and a great leader. ... Having that is very helpful for sure."
- On how the team is avoiding complacency: "I think Diebler, our coaching staff, have harped on that. ... They make sure we stay on our toes, go over things. ... Just go over everything we didn't do right."
- Shooting is where Royal grew his offensive game throughout the offseason, he said. "I just gained more on my shot throughout the summer."
- Royal said Mobley and he first played against each other in junior high.
- Royal said the Texas victory showed Ohio State's single-minded focus on success. "We all have one goal ... just going out and having confidence in each other to knock down shots was big."
