Bruce Thornton is Ohio State's best player. There's no doubt about that.
The four-year Buckeye and first-time four-year captain for Ohio State continues to give his heart and soul to the scarlet and gray, even if it means throughout all 40 minutes of a game. He's the Buckeyes' top scorer, is second in assists and is one of OSU's best shooters, both overall and from beyond the arc. His importance to Ohio State should (and won't) ever go unnoticed.
That said, when it comes to drawing up a play in late-game situations when Ohio State needs a basket, Jake Diebler has turned to John Mobley Jr. rather than Thornton, as the sophomore has proven to be better in those situations as a playmaker.
That remained the case in Ohio State's win over Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon. Following a stretch in which the Buckeyes had missed six of their seven shots leading into their final possession when they trailed 63-62, Diebler called a timeout with 23 seconds left to draw up a play for a potential game-winning basket.
Although Mobley had made only two of his 10 shots in the game, including missing all three of his shots in the second half, Diebler leaned on the sophomore when he needed him the most and when Ohio State needed a basket. Not necessarily because he thought Mobley would make the shot, but because Diebler knew he'd make the right play that would turn into a go-ahead bucket for the Buckeyes.
With Thornton dribbling the ball at the top of the circle following the timeout, Christoph Tilly and Amare Bynum set an elevator screen for Mobley. Since the defender did a great job getting around it, Mobley was unable to shoot a 3-pointer and instead put the ball on the floor, rejecting Tilly's immediate ball screen. With both Tilly's defender and his own defender focusing on him, Mobley came to a stop and delivered a pass to Tilly. Since the big man's defender was off balance, Tilly was able to get to the basket and make a tough layup to give Ohio State the lead for good.
Christoph Tilly for the win! pic.twitter.com/tV0J68is50
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 16, 2025
"I have high-level belief in him. I think he's a hooper, I guess, is kind of the best way to describe it," the head coach said of Mobley after the game. "He doesn't really get rattled. I probably sometimes wish maybe he'd get a little bit more rattled, but it's kind of his superpower, too. So, when he's got the ball in his hands, I'm confident something good is going to happen. And he's going to react.
"I just felt like he was a little rushed. I talked to him about that. I think he needed to slow down a little bit when the ball hit his hands," Diebler said of Mobley’s struggles early in the game. "And I felt like he did better in the second half with that. People are going to try to limit his looks because he's such a gifted scorer. But what makes him special and what makes the potential of our offense to be special is that he's not just a scorer. He can read the game. And he made a great read."
It certainly wasn't some newfound playmaking ability that Diebler noticed. In fact, it dates back to last season. While Thornton has struggled in those situations, Mobley seemed to flourish. It's the type of playmaking ability in clutch time that has carried into this season as well.
While Ohio State has leaned on Bruce Thornton in crucial late-game possessions, the Buckeyes have trusted John Mobley Jr. in those spots as well.
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) February 18, 2025
In OSUs eight one-possession games, the freshman has had four opportunities late in the game:
- Assist
- Made 3
- Near TO
- Made 2 pic.twitter.com/YgiOACM5Qk
"This isn't the first time he's done that. He did it at Minnesota last year. And he did it, you know, throughout kind of the second half of the season last year," Diebler said of Mobley's late-game playmaking. "So, high-level belief. And, maybe I'm crazy, but if I see him missing a few shots in a row, I think the next one's going in too. Some percentage would say so. Again, our guys got high-level belief in each other, which I think helped that play develop the way it did."
Mobley was not only struggling to find his shot, or lack thereof, throughout the game, but he has also been inefficient in terms of his shotmaking ability so far this season. While he is averaging 15 points and a team-high 4.3 assists per game, he is shooting just 32.6% from the field through the first four games.
Thorton might be the player Ohio State leans on throughout much of the season. Still, when it comes to needing a bucket in crunch time, it seems clear that Diebler will hand the sticks to Mobley to make a play even if the sharpshooter is struggling to find his shot, as he proved yet again against Notre Dame on Sunday.
