A’mare Bynum is Ohio State’s top high school recruit. Diebler expects Bynum’s physical style and skill to impact the team this season.
Senior point guard’s return for his senior season gives Jake Diebler’s second season as head coach a much better shot at success in the Big Ten and the opportunity to earn the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 2022. Part 4 of a summer series on the building of the 2025-2026 basketball Buckeyes.
Columbus, OH – When Bruce Thornton sought advice from NBA people this past spring, the foundation of Ohio State basketball’s 2025-2026 season could have cracked.
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Worst case: Thornton playing in the NBA Summer League right now.
Almost-worst case: Thornton grudgingly returns to Ohio State focused on personal gain.
Best case: Thornton returns to Ohio State, leaves his ego behind on those NBA conference calls, and expects to lead his team to an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time in his four seasons.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
In the optimism of summer practices and open gyms, Thornton’s return is a clear-cut best-case scenario for Jake Diebler’s second full season as head coach. He is the rare fourth-year starter and three-time double-digit scorer at a Power 5 program who hasn’t changed uniforms.
When Thornton spoke to the media earlier this summer, he didn’t talk much about himself other than his loyalty to Ohio State. His mind was on the transfers and freshmen Diebler recruited with the intent of finally playing in NCAA Tournament.
“We have a lot of new guys this year, and I’m very excited,” he said. “I feel like our chemistry and our camaraderie together is to try to build
Christoph Tilly averaged 12.5 points last year at Santa Clara and upgrades the Buckeyes’ ability to score in the post.
each other every day so we can be the best team we can possibly be.”
The catalyst to the chemistry is Thornton and, by extension, a backcourt with a mix of Big Ten experience and youthful enthusiasm. Thornton expects no fighting or sulking over roles, minutes or shots.
“It’s going to all fit together because there’s no egos,” he said. “When you have no egos it makes this job way easier. We really don’t care who scores, how we score. We just want the job to get done.”
During the past three years of unfulfilled expectations that cost Chris Holtmann his job and keeps Diebler under the microscope of expectations, Thornton has been the backbone to build around.
Thornton was the foundation last year. He led the team in minutes played (36.2 per game), shots attempted (11.6), 3-point percentage (42.4), scoring (17.7) and assists (4.6). He shot 50.1% from the field, 85.3% from the free-throw line and averaged 3.4 rebounds. He was named second-team all-Big Ten on a 17-15 team that finished 9-11 in the league. If Thornton has a similar statistical season in 25-26 and the Buckeyes win 20-plus games and finish top six in the Big Ten, he will be a first-teamer.
“You want Bruce out there every minute, all the time, and involved in everything, but there’s a reality to it,” Diebler said.
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The hard reality is no one can last a season playing every minute. But the good reality is Thornton will have more help, more building blocks to place on the foundation he represents.
The frontcourt, while promising, is still largely unknown as a Big Ten entity. The backcourt, however, looks and feels like a group that can carry this team to where it wants it to go with a lot of help from its frontcourt friends. Devin Royal, a returning starter and proven scorer, and transfers Christoph Tilly and Brandon Noel, good scorers in lesser leagues, should take scoring pressure off the guards.
Gabe Cupps, who led Centerville to a state title, transferred from Indiana and brings depth, stability and leadership.
Diebler expects a more versatile offense to spread the floor for everyone’s benefit. That’s big for a player like sophomore John Mobley Jr., who can score in bunches. The addition of Indiana transfer Gabe Cupps to play the point in a backup role will allow Thornton to work for open shots away from the ball, a strategy Diebler used more as last season progressed.
“It was a heavy load that we asked him to carry last year,” Diebler said of Thornton. “Being able to have guys create for him sometimes makes it easier for him and also makes us harder to guard. We feel like we have way more playmaking in general, which will be really helpful for us. There’s going to be a lot more space on the court.”
Mobley Jr. is on the floor to score and averaged 13 points a game as a freshman. When he’s on, he is a dangerous 3-point shooter (38.5%). As last season progressed, he improved at attacking the basket.
Cupps, one of three former Ohio Mr. Basketball winners on the roster (Royal, Colin White), played significant minutes as a freshman at Indiana. But a knee injury sidelined him early last season. When head coach Mike Woodson resigned under pressure, Cupps looked to his home state.
Diebler, as an assistant coach, recruited Cupps heavily out of Centerville. Cupps is known for his playmaking, defense and leadership. And, as Diebler says, don’t underestimate Cupps’ shooting, a skill he works at tirelessly.
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“He’s better than I was, but I’ve always seen a lot of who I was as a player in him,” Diebler said. “I like that, and I think it impacts winning. We felt like we needed to raise our team internal leadership. He certainly does that.”
When Diebler began talking about Cupps, he just kept going.
Brandon Noel led Wright State in scoring and rebounding last year as a junior. Doing both of those things well again would be a boost for the Buckeyes.
“The one thing I know about Gabe is he’s really tough. He knows the game at a high level. And you know his intangibles, the way he can impact the game, may not always show up with stats. He knows how to read the game, coming off ball screens and zoom actions, which we’re going to be doing a lot of.”
Three other guards who will get a chance to figure into the rotation are redshirt sophomore Taison Chatman and freshmen Myles Herro and Mathieu Grujicic.
Chatman, who is 6-4, was recruited as the No. 36 player in the nation, but injuries have stopped him. He appeared in 17 games as a freshman, a season slowed by a knee procedure in October of 2023. He missed all of last season.
“I’ve been really impressed with his commitment to working and getting better and getting ready,” Diebler said. “He’s not behind, he’s not apprehensive, he’s in the mix, he’s playing hard, he’s being aggressive.”
The Buckeyes were counting on Dorian Jones from Richmond Heights. But Jones, instead, announced at the end of May that he will spend a year at a prep school. Many sources have reported that academics played a role in his decision.
The Buckeyes went looking for more guards and landed Herro of Wisconsin and Grujicic of Germany. Herro, the brother of NBA All-Star Tyler Herro, is 6-3 and on the developmental timeline. Grujicic, 6-6, is 18 but has lots of international experience. If either earns playing time this year, it figures to be Grujicic.
“He provides real positional size and perimeter versatility,” Diebler said. “For being such a young player, he’s got a unique blend of high-level experience. He has a mature pace to his game that you don’t see in a lot of young players.”
Experienced backcourts often translate to NCAA Tournament success. But one step at a time. The first goal of this year’s backcourt is to get the Buckeyes on the bracket.
Then we’ll see if they can dance.
Coming soon
The top transfers’ summer experience
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