Ohio State called first and called strongest when Christoph Tilly entered the transfer portal in April.
Jake Diebler formed an instant connection with the 7-foot former Santa Clara center when the two spoke on his game.
“He was a very young coach, but there's something that I really liked about him,” Tilly said. “He had a lot of energy. He seems like he could understand us younger players. He knows how this generation right now functions with social media and all that. He's just younger, and he told me that he's very active. He practices sometimes and all that, and I really like that.”
A reporter then followed up and asked what it’s been like when Diebler hops into practice.
“Good for us. Not good for him,” Tilly said to a laugh from the media contingent.
Diebler and Tilly have a shared vision for how the Berlin, Germany native can best capitalize on his senior year and elevate his game to the professional level. Plus, he feels he fits in with an Ohio State offense that needed a diverse and proven scoring threat at the center position.
“I was talking about what I need to improve for the next level, and he's like, ‘Yeah, that's exactly what we need, and we're going to help you to get there,’” Tilly said. “I was asking for film and all that, and I could see myself playing here in their play style and the vision they had. So it was just a matter of me working on that stuff and him putting me in situations where I can work on it.”
Tilly’s taken strides each season since he strode across the Atlantic Ocean to Santa Clara, California. His freshman campaign with the Broncos didn’t see him start, but his sophomore year did.
In that 2023-24 season, Tilly gave Santa Clara decent inside scoring production, collecting 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 55.2% from the field. Then, as a junior, Tilly maintained a 55.4% rate from the field while increasing his volume to score 12.5 points, pull in 4.9 rebounds per game and dish out 1.9 assists per game.
“Coming from overseas, going to college, it was not always easy being away from family and all that,” Tilly said. “Just be patient, keep working, working hard, like hard work pays off. That is something I really believe in. At Santa Clara, (they) taught me a lot about how to play this type (of game), like the way basketball is played right now. They really developed me, helped me to get to this level.”
Tilly’s traditional shooting percentage might not have moved up much in 2024-25 from what was already a strong mark the previous season, but what did improve was his effective field-goal percentage, which weighs a 3-point make as 1.5 times more valuable since it is worth 1.5 times as many points as a shot from inside the arc. That number jumped from 56.2% to 58.7% for Tilly as he took and made more 3-point shots, attempting 1.7 per game and knocking down 31.5% of them. He shot a career-best 61.7% from 2 to boot.
While last year established a baseline, Tilly wants to leap from that floor to become a more threatening 3-point shooter in his final collegiate campaign. His rebounding will also need to improve as he transitions from mid-major basketball to the Big Ten, as his 8.7 rebounds per 40 minutes were a little underwhelming last year.
“Something (to work on) is my shot,” Tilly said. “I need to shoot more, and obviously, when I shoot more, I want to shoot better, better percentages. And then just rebounding and my overall game. Pushing the ball in transition, playing in the low post, creating for my teammates, running the offense.”
Tilly hasn’t been promised a role, but all indications are that he’ll start at center after the top two from last year’s roster, Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart, transferred out. Ohio State’s other portal acquisition at the position, Josh Ojianwuna (Baylor), is out with injury to start the year. Tilly joins another mid-major transfer, former Wright State power forward Brandon Noel, trying to translate his production in the frontcourt.
“Both of those guys have played a lot of college basketball,” Diebler said in June. “I get they didn't play a lot of Big Ten basketball, but they've both been well-coached. You could see on film an understanding of basketball IQ that I think will help the transition from their level to this level.
“But Tilly's played high-level international basketball, which is a whole other level, and that's going to be valuable. And I think Brandon and him both are really smart. You combine that basketball IQ with their skill level, being able certainly to make shots, but pass, make decisions, dribble, that stuff, that combination I think really is going to help that transition for them.”
The Film Room With Coach Diebler
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Breaking down why Buckeye Nation should be excited about incoming transfer Christoph Tilly #GoBucks | #FightToTheEnd pic.twitter.com/CFh485uD1T
The main difference Tilly’s noticed between his action at Santa Clara and practices at Ohio State is the level of physicality and caliber of the athletes.
“People are taller, stronger, for sure,” he said.
Tilly will tackle his new challenge the same way he improved each of his years with the Broncos: by tucking his chin and getting to work.
“You come here and you're going to get what you deserve,” Tilly said. “You’ve gotta work for everything, and I was ready for that for sure. I wanted that. I wanted that challenge. That was part of why I entered the portal, I wanted a new challenge.”
