The Ohio State basketball program lost a significant amount of talent after the season ended. Most of the talent left in the Transfer Portal, but the Buckeyes also lost Bruce Thornton to graduation. They were able to bring some key players back this season, though.
After initially declaring for the NBA Draft, John Mobley Jr. decided to return to the Ohio State Buckeyes. In addition, Amare Bynum also returned. Those two starters are key guys to what the Buckeyes like to do offensively. Jake Diebler knows how important it was to get those guys back.
Diebler spoke on Monday to the media for the first time since the 2025-26 season ended. He talked about a variety of topics, including the new additions to the coaching staff. He also revealed that other schools tried to tamper with his two best returning players.
Jake Diebler reveals other schools tried to take John Mobley Jr. and Amare Bynum from Ohio State
Diebler made it clear that both of those players had an opportunity to jump into the Transfer Portal. In fact, he let it slip that other teams were trying to get them to abandon the Buckeyes.
"If John Mobley or Amare Bynum would have been in the Transfer Portal, they'd be some of the best players in the country right now. And there were plenty of teams that tried to push them into the Transfer Portal."
These stories are getting more and more frequent as NIL has become a thing. Teams are tampering with players from other programs, using the allure of higher payments to make them leave. Yet, there are very few cases of coaches calling out other schools by name.
Diebler should have called out other schools by name to make it clear that they are breaking the rules. The Buckeyes are not one of the premier basketball programs in the country anymore, so they need to protect the guys they have on the roster at all costs.
Ohio State is looking to improve on making the NCAA Tournament last season
For the first time in four years, the Buckeyes made the NCAA Tournament. It was nice to see them finally playing meaningful basketball in the month of March, but that's still not good enough. The Buckeyes need to be winning games in the NCAA Tournament and advancing.
Diebler understands that is the next step for him as a head coach. That's why he's so happy that he was able to bring back Mobley Jr. and Bynum. Those two guys, along with five-star freshman Anthony Thompson, will be the backbone of the roster next season.
Ohio State's schedule will be more robust next season. Diebler also mentioned that there is still a big-time non-conference matchup that they are trying to finalize. All of those games will, in theory, toughen the team up before conference play. However, the Big Ten is one of the best conferences in the country.
Diebler's recruiting has been solid as a head coach. Now, he needs to get the talent to play well enough on the court to make some real noise.
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