The Ohio State basketball program made the decision to fire Chris Holtmann on Valentine's Day last season. Jake Diebler was chosen to be the interim head coach after that decision was made. The Buckeyes responded, finishing the regular season 6-1 and making a late run at an NCAA Tournament berth.
While that push fell short, the Buckeyes thought that the team responded really well, with Diebler leading them. That's why Ross Bjork decided to make Diebler the permanent head coach of this team. Early on this season, it looked like a good decision. Ohio State seemed to play well with his style of offense.
Things have changed since that early season run. The Buckeyes have now lost four of their last five games, including three straight. They look like they are going to miss the NCAA Tournament. With that being the case, did Bjork make the right call hiring Diebler?
Was Jake Diebler the right hire for the Ohio State basketball program?
With just three games left in the regular season, Ohio State is 15-13 overall and 7-10 in the Big Ten. They need a big run in the Big Ten Tournament in order to have any chance of making it. Diebler has not been able to lead the offense any better results in the second half of the year.
The half-court offense is terrible. They have now flow with the team in the half-court offense, and they can't get easy buckets. That's on Diebler. He needs to be able to draw up plays that can lead to some easy baskets. Instead, they have to work hard for every possible shot they have.
Despite all of that, the jury is still out on whether or not this is the right decision. Next year will be the true barometer of whether or not he was the right hire. He has some wiggle room to work with, considering he is just a first-time head coach.
Perhaps this team has one more run in them. If they do, that will be a great coaching job by Diebler, because this team looks lost right now.