Senior Bruce Thornton displayed his loyalty to Jake Diebler and the program by turning down the portal and the ‘league’ for one more year as a Buckeye. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr. and Devin Royal said they never considered playing at another school or for another coach. They came back because they love being Buckeyes and want to take the program back to the NCAA Tournament. Part 2 of a summer series on the building of the 2025-2026 basketball Buckeyes.
Columbus, OH – Loyalty to team and loyalty to hometown are helping Jake Diebler with his retention initiative, one of his strategies for building the Ohio State basketball program back to national relevance.
Beginning summer practices with three returning starters, who were also three of last season’s top four scorers, is a bonus many programs don’t enjoy because of the easy way out through the transfer portal.
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Senior point guard Bruce Thornton is an anomaly in this era. He has started every game since coming north from Georgia – 102 of them – and led the Buckeyes in scoring last year at 17.7 points a game. He flirted with turning pro but never another school.
“I’ve just always been a loyal guy,” he said Monday. “Me being here is just sticking it out and just showing love back to Ohio State because they’ve been nothing but great to me.”
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. are Columbus guys who grew up watching the Buckeyes.
Royal played high school ball at Pickerington Central, led the Tigers to the 2022 Division I state championship and was Ohio’s Mr. Basketball in 2023.
“The chemistry I have with my coach, and the love we have for each other and the team, that’s the main reason I stayed,” Royal said.
Mobley Jr. is a sophomore guard from Reynoldsburg. But he left town to play three years at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas and his senior season at Wasatch Academy in Utah, where he led that team to a No. 8 national ranking and was the state player of the year.
“This is home,” he said. “I got no plans on leaving Ohio State. It’s my dream school.”
The dream and determination for 2025-26 is to return the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022, the year before Thornton arrived. The Buckeyes had no chance in his first two seasons. Last year they were a bubble team to the end.
“I’m here for my last year just to have fun – I really want to win,” he said. “I’m not putting that pressure on myself just to force myself. I’ll just do what I do best each and every day – be a great teammate.”
Each of the three starters have personal goals and views of the upcoming season.
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The Captain
Thornton is the team’s unquestioned leader. Mobley Jr. referred to him as “Cap.”
“You look up to Cap,” he said. “He did really big things as our leader, got us some big wins.”
The summer T-shirt spells out the Diebler-driven messages that are Thornton’s job to live out on the court, in the locker room and away from arena. On the back, the word “FAMILY” reminds them they are in this together. On the front, is a depiction of Diebler’s slogan for this season: Winning Over Everything, which is designed to eliminate distractions. “WINNING” in white letters sits above a thin line. Below the line is “EVERYTHING.”
Thornton has proven that he can score inside, and out, averaging 17.7 for the Buckeyes last season.
Thornton talked about two keys to make those ideas create a season they expect to better than last year’s 17-15 almost-made-it disappointment. A handful or two of possessions kept them from dancing.
“Every little detail matters, how we warm up, how we make sure we finish through the line [on sprints], how we communicate with each other, it matters,” he said. “And stuff we do on and off the court to make sure we just build a great connection because we definitely will need it in the winter.”
Thornton said he believes this year’s team won’t be distracted by egos that get too big to put the team first.
“This year we’re not going to deal with that at all because we just know if we win, everybody wins,” he said. “That’s the main theme that everybody’s saying, been preaching because we’re going to win games this year.”
They call him Juni
Thorton’s backcourt mate Mobley Jr. – he goes by the nickname Juni – understands how important the attitude of “Winning Over Everything” is to team success.
“Diebler’s been big on that so that’s the place we have to be,” he said.
He can shoot it…when he’s on no one in the Big Ten was a bigger threat from behind the arc last season than John Mobley, Jr.
Four of Mobley Jr.’s new teammates are transfers who are expected to be big contributors. Through the first several summer practices and open gyms he likes the evolving chemistry.
“All we want to do is be around each other,” he said. “You don’t see that too much with a team. A lot of people want to be separated, but we always find ways to be with each other.”
Mobley Jr. started last season backing up Meechie Johnson for 10 games. When Johnson left the team, Mobley Jr. became a full-time starter. He quickly showed his ability to quick-release and make long 3-pointers, averaging 13.0 points.
Despite coming into this season as a starter, Mobley Jr. said his approach is the same.
“What I was telling myself last year was your time would come, and it came,” he said. “So just putting in that same work, staying levelheaded, staying humble, still be coachable.”
With two adjustments.
“Just contributing more on the rebounding,” said the 6-foot-1 guard. “I shied away from that a little bit last year. And having a little voice this year.”
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The 3 man
Royal benefits the most directly from the influx of frontcourt transfers who can score, rebound and bring size. As a 6-6 power forward last year he was clearly outsized in the Big Ten.
Now he takes his quickness and improved three-point touch to the wing to play the three. The team’s improved offensive versatility allows Royal to diversify his game.
Pickerington’s Devin Royal has proved he can overcome size to contribute on both ends as a Buckeye.
“It’s going to help me become better and get more versatile everywhere on the court and help me further my career,” he said. “I’m saying versatile because I can move out and do everything on the court.”
Royal is getting as many reps as possible to improve not just his shooting but his comfort with playing off ball screens and to be a playmaker at times. But, perhaps, his greatest challenge is a shift from guarding big men to guarding guards.
“Just get your feet quicker,” he said. “I worked on guarding guards like Bruce and Junie when we play open gym. Getting a lot of reps up. That’s the main thing you got to do. I feel like I’m making progress. No one’s really scoring on me.”
Royal, however, will not omit everything that made him an inside scorer.
“I’m always going to get that,” he said. “I like to body guys, I like to get contact. I’m never going to shy away from that.”
Coming soon
The remade frontcourt
The experienced backcourt
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