The Ohio State basketball program decided to keep Jake Diebler as the head coach of the Buckeyes after he was the interim head coach once they decided to can Chris Holtmann. Diebler coached the team to the point where they almost made a late-season run to the NCAA Tournament.
Diebler has had some problems closing out some games multiple times this season. Had they been able to close out even two of those games, they would have punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament already. As it stands, the Buckeyes still have to win at least one more game to keep themselves alive.
When Diebler got the job. He knew that the expectations were to make the NCAA Tournament. Some fans think he's failed to hit those expectations. Not athletic director Ross Bjork. He thinks Diebler has lived up to them so far in his first full season as a head coach.
Ross Bjork thinks Ohio State basketball coach Jake Diebler is living up to expectations
Recently, athletic director Ross Bjork thinks that Diebler is doing a fine job. Speaking on Morning Juice on 97.1 the Fan, Bjork gave a full endorsement for what Diebler has done so far.
"We're in the mix, right? And that's what we said. We got to be in the mix."Ross Bjork
Bjork thinks that Diebler is doing a good job, so that's all that matters. Unfortunately, the expectations for the Ohio State basketball program have slipped in the past decade or so. Perhaps they need to be a big higher, even from the athletic department. "Being in the mix" should not the the standard.
That doesn't mean that Diebler is doing a bad job. He deserves some time to learn on the job and figure out how to close games with a little more regularity. Once he does that, the Buckeyes should be firmly in the NCAA Tournament conversation year after year.
Diebler is not on the hot seat by any means, nor should he be. It would be nice to see the Buckeyes back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years, though.