Ross Bjork explains why lack of coaching experience was not a concern with Jake Diebler

Jake Diebler’s lack of head coaching experience was not a concern for Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork.

Diebler took over midseason for Chris Holtmann and seemed to immediately improve the Buckeyes on the basketball court. While Ohio State couldn’t squeeze out an NCAA Tournament appearance, the Buckeyes will host an NIT game against Cornell Tuesday.

For Bjork, he was sold even before the postseason.

“Look, I think what we saw the last eight games and there’s another game where he subbed in, I think when Coach was sick, and so, look, either you have the wherewithal or you don’t,” Bjork said. “He outcoached coaches that have been doing this a long time. Strategy, substitutions, timeouts. So as you observe that you say, ‘Okay, do you have that wherewithal?’ Clearly, he has a whisper, has his dad in his ear and sort of that born to coach mentality.” 

Diebler is 6-2 since taking over as head coach, going 5-1 in Big Ten play. He’s been with Ohio State since 2019 as an assistant head coach.

As Bjork evaluated Diebler’s candidacy, he saw that the coach fit the mold of Buckeye basketball.

“So as we looked at all the characteristics, as we looked at where’s this program at now, what’s coming down the pathway in terms of the next couple of classes here in the state of Ohio, which are really deep and recruiting,” Bjork said. “I sat down with folks that know recruiting in this landscape and to connect all the dots that he has, there’s value in that. There’s value in that in terms of other people that were asked to come in and learn that perhaps. 

“So we just thought, look, we know where we’re going, let’s pull the trigger. He’s the real deal. He knows how to live at the highest level of college basketball, he’s seen it in action. So to me that made up for the lack of long term head coaching experience because he just fits with where we are in this program right now.”

The Buckeyes, as the No. 10 seed, beat No. 7 Iowa in their first Big Ten Tournament game and came up just short, 77-74, to eventual champion Illinois.

It was clear Diebler made an impact during his time as interim head coach, so Bjork removed the tag.

Ohio State will host Cornell at 7:00 p.m. ET in the first round of the NIT Tuesday.