Report: Ohio State Expected to Name Interim Jake Diebler Head Coach
The Ohio State Buckeyes' search for a new head basketball coach may soon be at an end.
According to reports from the Columbus Dispatch, current interim coach Jake Diebler is expected to be promoted and named the team's next head coach.
Diebler had been one of two names the school had been focusing on to replace the recently fired Chris Holtmann alongside Florida Atlantic's Dusty May.
And by the sounds of things, this could be exactly what the players wanted to hear.
"Whatever ‘it’ is, he has that,” senior Jamison Battle said of Diebler. “He recruited a lot of us here and with that, he has a relationship with all of us. It’s easy to play for someone who you have a relationship with, who cares so much about you.”
Diebler has accomplished several impressive feats already, including upsetting the then-No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers and breaking Ohio State's 17-game losing streak on the road.
Six games remained on the Buckeyes' regular-season schedule when Diebler took the reigns of the 14-11 team. And doing what many believed impossible, Diebler and the Buckeyes proceeded to win six of their last seven contests - including a victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the opening round of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament to improve to 20-12 overall.
Diebler nearly continued that run too, losing a heartbreaker to the No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini to end their tournament run on Friday.
According to the report, the length and terms of the contract are not yet known.
But as it stands right now, it seems the Buckeyes have their man.
