John Mobley Jr. (0) brings the ball up the court. Credit: Dominic Ferraro | Freelance Photographer.
John Mobley Jr. felt that he had let his teammates down.
The sophomore guard had scored a season-low three points on just five shot attempts in Jan. 1’s 81-74 loss to Washington on the road, a surprisingly quiet night for the Buckeyes’ second-leading scorer.
Mobley Jr. never lost confidence, but head coach Jake Diebler challenged him to be more aggressive.
He got right back to the gym.
With a week separating the loss from Ohio State’s next game, Diebler said he wasn’t concerned about Mobley Jr.’s slump lingering.
“He didn’t have his best game, he knows that,” Diebler said, “but like good players do, he’ll respond.”
He certainly did.
Mobley Jr. erupted for a career-high 28 points with six 3-pointers on Saturday, leading the Buckeyes to an 86-72 win over UCLA. Three days later, he put up a 26-point performance in an 82-74 overtime win over Minnesota.
The surge didn’t come out of nowhere.
Mobley Jr. credited the extra shooting work he’s been putting in at the practice facility, often long before most of the team arrives.
“I’ve been getting in the gym at 5 a.m. every day,” Mobley Jr. said. “I knew there was going to be a turnaround; it was just a matter of time.”
Almost every morning, Mobley Jr., along with his father, John Sr., are the first people in the facility, working out for roughly 45 minutes before sunrise.
Ohio State basketball manager Will DeVere has seen those early morning workouts firsthand.
“He does some finishing, works on his touch, he shoots some mid-range shots then goes to threes,” DeVere said. “It’s a pretty full workout which is kind of unusual for going that early. It’s impressive.
Diebler compared Mobley Jr.’s work ethic to his own time when he played at Valparaiso University from 2005 to 2009.
“It’s why I have such trust and believe in him, because I know the work that he puts in,” Diebler said after the UCLA game. “I’m kind of cut from the same cloth, that’s how I was brought up. When you’re shooting it well, you get in the gym. When you’re not shooting it well, you get in the gym. When you’re playing great, you get in the gym. Maybe you struggle, you get in the gym. And he’s the same way.”
In addition to extra shooting, Mobley Jr. has tried to become a more well-rounded player this season.
“Just [watching] a lot of film, if I’m going to be a complete player, I’ve got to see other things besides putting the ball in the basket,” Mobley Jr. said. “Trying to find teammates, making the right play, having poise in the paint.”
Over the two-game stretch, the Reynoldsburg, Ohio native shot 11-of-23 from 3-point range, boosting his percentage from beyond the arc to 41.4%, which ranks first in the Big Ten.
After winning its last two games, Ohio State is 5-3 in the Big Ten, marking the first time since Jan. 1, 2023, that the Buckeyes are two games above .500.
Mobley Jr., who averages 15.3 points, has proven to be the difference maker on a Buckeye offense that ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 83.2 points per game. When the guard scores 15 or more points, Ohio State is 9-1.
With Ohio State projected as a No. 10 seed in CBS Sports’ Bracketology, Mobley Jr.’s surge arrives at a pivotal moment. But the foundation was laid long before the Buckeyes climbed back into the conference race — in early mornings, empty gyms and extra reps taken when no one was watching.
