There's been a lot of movement on the Ohio State basketball front since Jake Diebler last spoke to the media.
The Buckeyes assembled their roster for the 2025-26 campaign (though one spot technically remains open), adding transfers Gabe Cupps, Brandon Noel, Christoph Tilly and Josh Ojianwuna with freshmen A’mare Bynum, Mathieu Grujicic and Myles Herro since the season ended. Ojianwuna is still recovering from a season-ending knee injury and Diebler said on Wednesday that there is no timetable yet for his return.
Diebler evaluated his second roster and dove into the team's offseason mantra of “winning over everything,” plus the opportunity to have former NBA Buckeyes on campus to coach up his players during Monday and Tuesday's veterans camp, when he met with the media for approximately 25 minutes before Ohio State’s pracice on Wednesday.
The team's new mantra came about at the end of last season, Diebler said, but it's been fully embraced this offseason as the Buckeyes seek a better finish than the disappointment of their first campaign under the head coach. The goal is to cut out distractions and prioritize the things that matter, an approach that will come into full focus as the Buckeyes' contributors take shape closer to the season.
Noel and Tilly both have the experience and skill to translate their frontcourt games from the mid-major level to the Big Ten, Diebler said, but he added that Ohio State won't need them to produce as much as they did at their previous stops (Wright State and Santa Clara) with a better collection of talent around them.
You can hear the coach's full thoughts on the roster he’s built for 2025-26 and the Buckeyes’ approach this offseason in the video at the top of the page.
Following Diebler's interview session, the Buckeyes opened up 30 minutes of their practice for media viewing. Here's some behind-the-scenes footage from that window:
