The offseason is here for the Ohio State basketball team after its season abruptly came to an end last Thursday in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament. Jake Diebler now enters another critical offseason to continue building his program.
This will be Jake Diebler's third offseason as head coach in Columbus, and in the first two, we've seen him go two different routes in putting together a roster. The first year, he brought in transfers from high-major programs that were former five-star recruits, but just didn't quite fit in at their prior school. This past offseason, Diebler attacked more experienced players at mid-majors who have proven their worth.
The past two offseasons have had pieces that hit, and then some that weren't the right fit. This third offseason, I think Jake Diebler should approach it like TJ Otzelberger did coming into this season at Iowa State.
Otzelberger's blueprint was returning his main core of point guard Tamin Lipsey, wing Milan Momcilovic, and forward Joshua Jefferson, along with key bench pieces in Nate Heise. An impact freshman in Killyan Toure. Then address the other needs in the transfer portal, and their addition was center Blake Buchanan from Virginia.
Ohio State has the pieces on the roster for next season, where Jake Diebler can follow this exact same blueprint as Otzelberger. Return the core of John Mobley Jr, Devin Royal, and A'mare Bynum, plus bench pieces like Taison Chatman. Have an impact as a freshman coming in with Anthony Thompson. Then attack the portal for another guard and big to fill around the rest of the roster.
Iowa State, following that blueprint this season, had them as one of the best teams in College Basketball. They earned a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they're still dancing. They're currently in the Sweet 16, preparing for a matchup with Tennessee.
Having experience on the roster is important in college basketball, especially when that experience is from the same system. I'm not saying this plan guarantees Ohio State getting to the Sweet 16 next season, but it sets them up to be in a position to progress in the right direction.