Jake Diebler has spent five years coaching from Chris Holtmann’s bench. He credits Holtmann with much of his development as an assistant coach.
Ohio State’s associate head coach as of a few days ago, Diebler took the helm of Holtmann’s staff and Holtmann’s players as interim head coach on Wednesday.
But Jake Diebler is not Chris Holtmann. As he pointed out on Friday, he shouldn't try to be, either.
“The best thing that I felt I could do for (the players) and the best way that I could serve them and serve this program is be me and not try to be Holt or be someone else,” Diebler said. “I needed to be the best version of me.”
The Buckeyes could embrace a new style of play under their interim program driver, one that sees the offense crank up its tempo as the team embraces Diebler’s passionate, urgent demeanor.
“Our guys would probably tell you that I operate with a passion and urgency and pace to things,” Diebler said on Friday. “We tried to tailor practice around that and I was very open with what I wanted it to look like. They embraced that. ... I’m not gonna sit here and pretend like I have some sort of secret formula that’s all of a sudden going to make all the difference in the world. But I do know that I care and I love these guys and this staff and I care about this program.”
On Thursday, with three days separating the Buckeyes from their monumental challenge against No. 2 Purdue, Ohio State ramped up its cardio, attacked the basket in transition and found shots early in the shot clock.
“(Thursday) was a lot of fastbreaks, a lot of urgency trying to get stuff accomplished in a short amount of time so our legs won’t die out,” said Bruce Thornton. “I feel like yesterday was a good pop, understanding that a crazy incident happened that you have no control over as a player and just trying to make sure my team is on the same page to go win a big game against Purdue.”
Diebler said his goal isn’t to overhaul the systems implemented by Holtmann; it’s too late in the season for that. But such a practice ramp-up is one reason why athletic director Gene Smith wanted to make a midseason change in leadership; not because he wanted to start the search for Ohio State’s next full-time head coach immediately, but because he felt handing leadership over to Diebler could provide a “spark” for this year’s team.
“It’s not a huge gain (in the hiring process) because you really can’t begin to talk to candidates until the end of the season,” Smith said on Wednesday. “It’s more about these six games and where these kids are and trying to give them a spark.”
There’s evidence to suggest that a fast-paced approach could benefit the Buckeyes.
Their offense has, statistically, been better than their defense this year. Ohio State scores 110.8 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 86th in the country. On the opposite side, the Buckeyes allow 103.8 points per 100 possessions, 204th in the nation.
A similar disconnect is there in KenPom’s opponent-adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency ratings, where the Buckeyes are 45th on offense and just 122nd on defense.
It feels like an age ago given Ohio State's current skid losing nine of its last 11 games, but the Buckeyes’ biggest win of the season happened to come in their fastest-paced game. Ohio State beat Alabama, currently No. 15 in the AP Poll, 92-81 as part of the Emerald Coast Classic on Nov. 24. That day OSU outpaced what is still the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense.
Now, at least for six regular season games and the Big Ten Tournament, it sounds like Ohio State is gearing up to play at such a tempo consistently under Diebler.
“Being at a younger age, his experiences, how he played in college and high school is more fast-paced and more up-tempo, so that’s what he presents,” Thornton said. “(He was) on the court yesterday at practice, trying to push the pace, get more transition buckets, things like that to increase our tempo, increase the urgency on the court that we need to have to finish out the year the way that he wants in. But I feel like it can be a great road for us, trying to have a different style of pace about us to win big games in the future.”
Perhaps aggression and pace can help present a threat to the Boilermakers when they come to Value City Arena on Sunday (1 p.m., CBS). Purdue sits atop the Big Ten with a 12-2 record in conference play and a 23-2 mark overall with reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey averaging 23.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
Whether it’s on Sunday or down the stretch of the season, Diebler has belief in what is now his team to make some noise this year before Ohio State’s program – much like his offense – focuses on transition following the season.
“(I have confidence due to) who our guys are, and some of our play this year, to be honest with you,” Diebler said. “The encouraging part for me as we’re going down the stretch is there’s some really good things that have happened. We’ve beat some really good teams, certainly in the nonconference. ... We’ve had great moments in games in league play. So that gives me belief that we’ve got more that we can be and be better consistently. And I know the heart of our guys and the heart that they have.”
