“He’s always on us about moving, whether it’s defense to offense or even just as simple as drill to drill,” – Gabe Cupps
Jake Diebler’s push to get his Ohio State basketball team to play faster, better and bring the program back to prominence begins with Sunday’s home exhibition against Ohio.
Columbus, OH – When Jake Diebler kept the three starters he desperately needed and found three experienced transfers, one little word defined his plans for this Ohio State basketball season.
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“The thing he probably says the most is just go,” said redshirt sophomore guard Gabe Cupps, who became a Buckeye after two seasons at Indiana.
Diebler, a point guard in his playing career, is wired like all floor generals. He wants to play fast, catch the defense off guard, and keep the scoreboard moving. And playing fast requires a mentality that must be ingrained.
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“He’s always on us about moving, whether it’s defense to offense or even just as simple as drill to drill,” Cupps said. “Everything is about pace and getting to the next spot and getting to the next thing as quickly as possible.”
The Buckeyes played faster last year than in previous years. But not as fast as Diebler wants. He didn’t have quite the personnel he needed, too many players were in and out of the lineup and the basketball IQ didn’t measure up.
Diebler speaks confidently about the fast-paced style of play he wants. The first chance to see it is 2 p.m. Sunday at the Schottenstein Center in an exhibition against Ohio University.
“A lot of our players know how to play with that pace,” sophomore starting guard John Mobley Jr. said. “A big struggle with trying to play fast is you get sped up. But it’s good on D’s part for recruiting players who are not sped up when playing fast.”
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The ability to play fast but not in a hurry comes with experience. One of Diebler’s goals in constructing this season’s roster was to be more experienced. When starters Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal and Mobley stayed, experience spiked.
Experience peaked when Diebler went to the transfer portal and found big men Christoph Tilly from Santa Clara and Brandon Noel from Wright State, two highly productive offensive players and good rebounders. And he added Cupps, a high school star at Centerville, to the backcourt. Cupps started a lot of games at Indiana as a freshman before sitting out most of last season with an injury.
“The experience of this team compared to last year’s, it’s been impactful already,” Diebler said. “It’s important for us to play with more pace and more versatility and in less called sets, more free-flowing concepts. It was important to raise our collective basketball IQ. Experience helps with that.”
Senior Bruce Thornton returns to push the Buckeyes back to the top of the Big Ten standings in 2025-’26.
Playing fast also means more playmakers. Thornton as the point guard is the best playmaker. But Mobley has improved in the offseason, and Royal has moved to the wing. When live play was charted this summer, he shot 43% from 3-point range.
“I love being able to pass it, I just like playing on the outside,” Royal said. “Growing up here there wasn’t a lot of guys my size, so I had to get inside. I feel like my whole life I’ve been able to play on the wing.”
When bigs like Tilly and Noel can run the floor, that boosts the game plan. Both can grab a rebound, put the ball on the floor and pass ahead. Tilly’s Santa Clara teams emphasized pushing the ball.
“I know how it’s going to be and what it should look like,” he said. “And the coaches know better than everybody else, and they’ve done a good job of getting us ready for that.”
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The Buckeyes fell one victory short of playing in the NCAA Tournament last year. They lost too many close games. Eleven came down to one or two possessions, and at midseason five came were one possession.
“The outcome of the game shouldn’t come down to one play, but it’s a results-driven business, and that tends to determine the result,” Diebler said. “Someone told me we were one of the unluckiest teams in the country. That didn’t make me feel any better.”
To make their own luck, the Buckeyes must rebound better. They allowed too many second shots, especially at crucial times. Tilly, Noel and improved 7-footer Ivan Njegovan, along with Royal being a good rebounding wing, should solve a lot of the rebounding problems. The more defensive rebounds, the more fast-break opportunities.
“We play better when we just play fluid and get up and down, instead of just sitting there waiting for plays to get called,” Royal said.
However, Diebler is confident in his team’s ability to execute offense in the half court. Because of more experienced players and more basketball smarts, he said even in half-court situations there will be less looking at the bench for a play to be called. He said this group is more equipped to read, react, take advantage of mismatches and run a quick hitter for an open shot.
“This team can withstand a lot of different schemes against it,” Diebler said. “It can withstand a lot of different coverages and attempts to either slow down or speed us up. We’re built to see a lot of different stuff.”
What Diebler wants all this to mean is a re-establishment of Ohio State as a relevant program in the Big Ten and nationally. He said he understands building is a process, but he’s expecting this season to be a consequential step forward.
“I don’t apologize for having big expectations,” he said. “I’ve been very consistent with that from the day I got this job, much to the dismay of people who would say, ‘Ah, you’re setting the bar too high.’ Ohio State basketball, I believe belongs as one of the best programs in the country.”
How fast the Buckeyes will get there…?
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