2024-2025 Ohio State Basketball

There needs to be a significant amount of improvement next year.

The timeline for building/rebuilding a program has rapidly accelerated in the transfer portal era. If a coach can fix it, they ought to be able to quickly move in the right direction.

Diebs has four years remaining on a cheap deal that has an even cheaper buyout. He needs to right the ship quickly or he’s not going to last very long.
 
nwwarrior09 said:
There needs to be a significant amount of improvement next year.

The timeline for building/rebuilding a program has rapidly accelerated in the transfer portal era. If a coach can fix it, they ought to be able to quickly move in the right direction.

Diebs has four years remaining on a cheap deal that has an even cheaper buyout. He needs to right the ship quickly or he’s not going to last very long.
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Coaching is the biggest problem and it's never spoken about. Until that changes or improves this program won't be going anywhere.
 
Thus ends a very disappointing season. The autopsy of what went wrong, in two parts:

Roster
- If you go 1 for 5 in evaluating and identifying quality players in the portal, you are sunk. Bradshaw and Stewart were way overrated due to their 5 star ranking. At least Stewart plays hard, Bradshaw is a wimp. Meechie was never very good and turns out he is a spineless quitter also. Glover also not very good. Only Parrish was worth a darn.
- Not nearly enough height in the backcourt. With Thornton and Mobley already on board, it makes the Meechie and Glover pickups that much worse. Having 4 short guards in today's game is not good.
- Jury is still out on Njegovan, he seems to have some skill and decent court sense, but he needs serious weight room and agility training in the off season.
- For next year, if we are lucky enough to retain Thornton, Royal, Mobley and Njegovan, blow up the rest of the roster and get some new talent evaluators.

Coaching
- Yes, it is Diebler's first year in the driver's seat, but he was a key cog in the old regime, so he helped build his mess. That should make his leash shorter.
- In terms of evaluating talent, Holtmann and Diebler always seem to go for athletic guys that can't play. (Likeley, Mahaffey, Bradshaw, Stewart, etc.). Bjork needs to insist on staff changes like a new top assistant in charge of evaluating portal and high school talent.
- The most important change needed is the offense. Diebler is running Holtmann 2.0, which is to say, there is zero offensive structure. Dribble around and try to find something. Bjork needs to identify a Chip Kelly for Diebler, a coach with experience that can install an offensive plan.
 
wolves82 said:
Thus ends a very disappointing season. The autopsy of what went wrong, in two parts:

Roster
- If you go 1 for 5 in evaluating and identifying quality players in the portal, you are sunk. Bradshaw and Stewart were way overrated due to their 5 star ranking. At least Stewart plays hard, Bradshaw is a wimp. Meechie was never very good and turns out he is a spineless quitter also. Glover also not very good. Only Parrish was worth a darn.
- Not nearly enough height in the backcourt. With Thornton and Mobley already on board, it makes the Meechie and Glover pickups that much worse. Having 4 short guards in today's game is not good.
- Jury is still out on Njegovan, he seems to have some skill and decent court sense, but he needs serious weight room and agility training in the off season.
- For next year, if we are lucky enough to retain Thornton, Royal, Mobley and Njegovan, blow up the rest of the roster and get some new talent evaluators.

Coaching
- Yes, it is Diebler's first year in the driver's seat, but he was a key cog in the old regime, so he helped build his mess. That should make his leash shorter.
- In terms of evaluating talent, Holtmann and Diebler always seem to go for athletic guys that can't play. (Likeley, Mahaffey, Bradshaw, Stewart, etc.). Bjork needs to insist on staff changes like a new top assistant in charge of evaluating portal and high school talent.
- The most important change needed is the offense. Diebler is running Holtmann 2.0, which is to say, there is zero offensive structure. Dribble around and try to find something. Bjork needs to identify a Chip Kelly for Diebler, a coach with experience that can install an offensive plan.
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Many posters on yappi welcomed the addition of Bradshaw and Stewart. Meechie was 2nd team all SEC last year, he has talent just don't what his issue is maybe Diebler is a hard coach to play for I have no idea. If this team had a legit center OSU would have won 20 games this year and been in the tourney. OSU will get it right, some posters said Day couldn't win a NC, again OSU bball will be just fine. As I have stated previously OSU needs a GM in bball like they have for football (Pantoni) to identify the players in the portal that can come in and contribute immediately. Go Bucks.
 
Orin Swift said:
Does the basketball team have a Mark Pantoni? My understanding he’s a huge part of the talent eval and roster management for football.

It seems like Holtmann and Diebler were/are doing it themselves.
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I don't believe you would need one for basketball considering a basketball roster is 1/10 the size of a football roster.
 
Spartacus1987 said:
I don't believe you would need one for basketball considering a basketball roster is 1/10 the size of a football roster.
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Why does NBA have GM's, just let the coaching staff do it. Duke has a GM for bball as does Texas Tech, Baylor, some others. I expect most major college bball teams to have a GM over the next 5 years. With NIL deals, scouting college players during the season for TP among other duties only makes sense.
 
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Stirred not Shaken said:
Why does NBA have GM's, just let the coaching staff do it. Duke has a GM for bball as does Texas Tech, Baylor, some others. I expect most major college bball teams to have a GM over the next 5 years. With NIL deals, scouting college players during the season for TP among other duties only makes sense.
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Well with that being the case OSU should get a GM then. I wasn't sure the status of other programs. OSU should be looking at Duke and UCONN and emulating EVERYTHING that they do. They have the resources to do it, if you have to start cutting other sports then so be it
 
I actually hope players like Thornton and Royal leave the program in the offseason. They will never win under Diebler and these players deserve some success elsewhere. Meechie made the right decision separating from the team.

Local Columbus radio continues to talk about the talent program with little to no accountability directed at Diebler and how he's an extension of Holtmanns coaching
 
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Stirred not Shaken said:
Why does NBA have GM's, just let the coaching staff do it. Duke has a GM for bball as does Texas Tech, Baylor, some others. I expect most major college bball teams to have a GM over the next 5 years. With NIL deals, scouting college players during the season for TP among other duties only makes sense.
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I agree. With the way the college game is going they need to hire a GM.

In terms of roles/responsibilities, somebody needs to be in-season scouting potential transfer portal targets and keeping tabs on other team’s players. That in itself could be a full time job.
 
Spartacus1987 said:
Coaching is the biggest problem and it's never spoken about. Until that changes or improves this program won't be going anywhere.
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I agree that there are issues with coaching — usually flaring up late in each half.

But this roster is limited on talent. They have 0 future NBA guys on their current roster, and the bench is atrocious. Limited size, limited shooting, etc. And that is also very much on the coach who retained, lost, and gained players composing this roster.

Damn in this game they had a pair of possessions where guys off the bench (Mahaffey and Bradshaw) should have had wide open layups or dunks that instead resulted in turnovers. Bradshaw taking a dribble and having the ball ripped instead of dunking it. Mahaffey passing it out to the top of the key resulting in a turnover. There is a lot of dead weight on this roster that needs turned over.
 
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nwwarrior09 said:
Mahaffey passing it out to the top of the key resulting in a turnover. There is a lot of dead weight on this roster that needs turned over.
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Was watching at a local sports bar......nobody could figure out what in the world he was thinking. Had a wide open layup/dunk and didn't even look at the basket
 
The only guys I’d care to see return are Thornton, Royal, Mobley, Stewart, and maybe Niegovan. Chatman also since we haven’t really seen him yet.

Have Bynum and Jones on the way. Hopefully go pluck 4-5 transfers that include a wing to replace Parrish and a pair of proven bigs.
 
Ive had some time to think and reflect and heres what I come up with: talent evaluation under Holtman and yes partially Diebler ( not sure how much of it was his decision making but none the less) had alot of 4 stars in it ( DJ Carton, EJ Liddell, Branham, Alonzo Gaffney , Roddy Gayle,Thornton just to name a few). All good individual players but not good enough to be the STAR that could put a team on their back when needed . Liddell did at times but not often. So, the team concept was really missing u der Holtman and now Diebs. Not sure what the disconnect is . Players seem to like Diebler but his message just isnt resonating yet . Now, is it his system? His coaching style ? ..I say it s more his inexperience . This is why I would not drop the ax on him now. I would however need to see marketable improvement next season. 20+ wins and NCAA tourn birth are a must . Now if Bjork contacts Beard tomorrow and Beard has interest , well then, hard to argue but I would like to see Diebler be given time to grow. What is he 35 yrs old?? I still think he could become a standout coach . I would not say he is Holtman Jr. yet . All this being said ,ive looked at a couple NIT bracketolgoes and neither have OSU in the NIT .Could be they havent updated yet but I would assume OSU would get an invite to NIT
 
Stirred not Shaken said:
Many posters on yappi welcomed the addition of Bradshaw and Stewart. Meechie was 2nd team all SEC last year, he has talent just don't what his issue is maybe Diebler is a hard coach to play for I have no idea. If this team had a legit center OSU would have won 20 games this year and been in the tourney. OSU will get it right, some posters said Day couldn't win a NC, again OSU bball will be just fine. As I have stated previously OSU needs a GM in bball like they have for football (Pantoni) to identify the players in the portal that can come in and contribute immediately. Go Bucks.
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I was one of the posters excited when I saw "5-stars" coming from Duke and Kentucky via the portal. But I have an excuse, I had not seen them play. OSU talent evaluators had hopefully done more homework than me before getting them via the portal. It is their job, not mine.

I'm rooting for OSU and Diebler to succeed, but Bjork should be demanding some staff changes per my earlier post. Offensive structure is badly needed. Better talent evaluation is also needed.
 
kdiamond said:
All this being said ,ive looked at a couple NIT bracketolgoes and neither have OSU in the NIT .Could be they havent updated yet but I would assume OSU would get an invite to NIT
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At this point it's probably because they are still technically a bubble team. I'm sure they'll get an invite......and I'd hope they will take it. It would give Diebler a few more games that should be competitive under his belt before next season.
 
kdiamond said:
Ive had some time to think and reflect and heres what I come up with: talent evaluation under Holtman and yes partially Diebler ( not sure how much of it was his decision making but none the less) had alot of 4 stars in it ( DJ Carton, EJ Liddell, Branham, Alonzo Gaffney , Roddy Gayle,Thornton just to name a few). All good individual players but not good enough to be the STAR that could put a team on their back when needed . Liddell did at times but not often. So, the team concept was really missing u der Holtman and now Diebs. Not sure what the disconnect is . Players seem to like Diebler but his message just isnt resonating yet . Now, is it his system? His coaching style ? ..I say it s more his inexperience . This is why I would not drop the ax on him now. I would however need to see marketable improvement next season. 20+ wins and NCAA tourn birth are a must . Now if Bjork contacts Beard tomorrow and Beard has interest , well then, hard to argue but I would like to see Diebler be given time to grow. What is he 35 yrs old?? I still think he could become a standout coach . I would not say he is Holtman Jr. yet . All this being said ,ive looked at a couple NIT bracketolgoes and neither have OSU in the NIT .Could be they havent updated yet but I would assume OSU would get an invite to NIT
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The Big Ten is not associated with the NIT anymore. They would play in the new Basketball Crown tournament that involves Fox
 
nwwarrior09 said:
I agree that there are issues with coaching — usually flaring up late in each half.

But this roster is limited on talent. They have 0 future NBA guys on their current roster, and the bench is atrocious. Limited size, limited shooting, etc. And that is also very much on the coach who retained, lost, and gained players composing this roster.

Damn in this game they had a pair of possessions where guys off the bench (Mahaffey and Bradshaw) should have had wide open layups or dunks that instead resulted in turnovers. Bradshaw taking a dribble and having the ball ripped instead of dunking it. Mahaffey passing it out to the top of the key resulting in a turnover. There is a lot of dead weight on this roster that needs turned over.
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Biggest problem with the roster is the lack of length and athleticism on the wings. Everywhere else I think they would be fine if they had a good coach but the problem is these players lose confidence as the season progresses and they look terrible towards the end because Diebler gives them very little direction.

I’ve been John Mobleys biggest critic but at the same time I understand he’s being used incorrectly and isn’t given a lot of good looks in this offense. Really drains his confidence and Diebler hasn’t taught him how to correctly play defense either to boost his confidence.

I swear I hear coaches mention “spacing” much more often nowadays. Diebler mentioned it the other day. where the f**k did this language come from??? If you run a nice crisp motion offense with good picks there is very little need for “spacing.” Seems like all the trash coaches mention it since they cannot draw up a simple offense to run.

It’s literally one on one street ball offense at Ohio State and they as a program haven’t run a good offense since the Jim O’ Brien days.
 
Spartacus1987 said:
I swear I hear coaches mention “spacing” much more often nowadays. Diebler mentioned it the other day. where the f**k did this language come from??? If you run a nice crisp motion offense with good picks there is very little need for “spacing.” Seems like all the trash coaches mention it since they cannot draw up a simple offense to run.
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This is increasingly very common language and a base principle of just about every offense. The issue with Diebler’s is that when the offense totally stalls it’s because they don’t get any of the two other elements needed: ball movement and player movement.

The spacing does not matter when your guys and the ball don’t move. When you pound the ball with 1-2 guys over dribbling and lack shooting the defense off the ball is just packed in there. Easy to guard and a major problem when their guys that are packed in tower over your guys that over dribble.
 
Cedar_Point said:
The Big Ten is not associated with the NIT anymore. They would play in the new Basketball Crown tournament that involves Fox
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Watching BIG Ten Network and they mentioned N Western could go to the Crown or the NIT ?? So are you sure Big Ten is no longer assciated with NIT?? T
 
kdiamond said:
Watching BIG Ten Network and they mentioned N Western could go to the Crown or the NIT ?? So are you sure Big Ten is no longer assciated with NIT?? T
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Just looked at the schedule. It doesn't start until Monday the 31st Guess they don't want to compete with opening weekend of the NCAA tourney.
 
kdiamond said:
Watching BIG Ten Network and they mentioned N Western could go to the Crown or the NIT ?? So are you sure Big Ten is no longer assciated with NIT?? T
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From what I just read the top 2 teams in the Big 10 that don’t make the NCAA have to go to the Crown. Then I guess it’s up to each individual team. I was thinking since Ohio State would be in the top 2 they are going to the Crown. Didn’t think about the rest of the league. My guess is the networks will push the Big 10 schools to the Crown
 
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