Interim head coach Jake Diebler watches play from the sideline during the second-half of Ohio State’s 73-69 upset over Purdue. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
This is from the perspective of Sam Becker, a second-year in political science, who reports for The Lantern.
Jessica Pearson, from the longtime American drama television series Suits, once said, “You don’t make major life decisions when you are reeling from a loss.”
For Ohio State men’s basketball, you don’t make major life decisions when you are reeling from a win.
Sunday’s victory over No. 2 Purdue was an exhilarating breath of fresh air for the Buckeyes, which left fans unified in calling for one thing: Jake Diebler to be hired as the permanent head coach at Ohio State. It all makes too much sense. Diebler let the players play, delivered key guidance in the heat of the moment and sealed the deal against one of the top teams in the nation.
Diebler has all the momentum on his side right now. Riding on an emotional high from the massive upset, fans and even the administration might feel pressured to hire him at the season’s end. That is, assuming the team does not dip further below the substandard state in which it was inherited.
However, this may be a mistake.
The interim head coach did what former head coach Chris Holtmann could so often not do: close out a game. So Diebler is not Holtmann. While he clearly provided the spark needed for the Buckeyes on Sunday, Diebler is likely not the right man for the permanent head coaching position.
During the search for the next men’s basketball coach, incoming athletic director Ross Bjork needs to find an individual capable of flipping a program on its head. Do not let the Purdue win blind you, this is still a lost program in need of a new identity.
If you remove the emotional high of Sunday and evaluate each potential (rumored) candidate for his collective body of work, it will become clear that Diebler is probably not the man for the job.
Diebler has been an assistant coach at Valparaiso, Vanderbilt and Ohio State. He is the brother of former Buckeye star Jon Diebler. He beat the Boilermakers on Sunday. That is the highmark of his coaching resume in basketball.
Among rumored candidates, three stand out.
Sean Miller is the head coach at Xavier. He is formerly a three-time PAC-12 Coach of the Year and a five-time PAC-12 champion.
Greg McDermott has coached Creighton since 2010, has a Big East Coach of the Year to his name and has made the NCAA tournament 11 times.
Lamont Paris, from Findlay, Ohio, won a Southern Conference championship at Chattanooga before leading South Carolina to a top-25 ranking for the first time since 2017.
All three of these coaches share something in common: they revived either mediocre or floundering programs. Miller inherited Arizona fresh off of 19-15 and 21-14 seasons. Two years into his coaching tenure, he had the Wildcats at 30-8 and took them to the Elite Eight.
McDermott transformed Creighton from 18-16 to 29-6, leading to a deep tournament run in just his second year as head coach.
Paris took over a mediocre South Carolina team, which went 6-15 and 18-13 before firing its head coach Frank Martin. Paris’ first season at the helm was rocky, but now in the rearview mirror as he has the Gamecocks at a resounding 21-5 record.
These coaches are masters in the art of program revitalization. They have tournament experience, legitimacy in the coaching world and have overseen seismic shifts that brought programs back to national relevancy.
Being the head coach is somewhat like being a CEO. There is a lot more that goes into the job than simply being competent on gameday. Dealing with recruiting, name, image and likeness and the transfer portal are enough to drive some coaches away from collegiate sports.
Is Jake Diebler ready for these responsibilities?
This is not to say that Jake Diebler will not someday be a great head coach, after all, every one of the esteemed coaches listed above came from humble beginnings. There is also something to be said for maintaining continuity within a program. By all accounts, the players and recruits seem to love Jake Diebler.
In fact, Buckeye fans may be quick to recall the successful transition from Urban Meyer to Ryan Day and cite it as an example of why continuity is necessary within a program. However, continuity is significantly more important when the previous season resulted in a Rose Bowl victory, rather than a bottom-of-the-Big Ten finish.
Needless to say, if Jake Diebler manages to somehow maneuver the Buckeyes into position for the NCAA Tournament, and even further, to win a game within it, this conversation will need to be revisited.
Jake Diebler’s first shot as interim head coach was a slam dunk, quite literally, from a storybook. Be that as it may, the implications of a full-time coaching hire are long-lasting and irreversible. Holtmann was at the helm for seven years. He beat Purdue, too. This is not a decision to be made lightly.
