From a former player to now a head coach, Jake Diebler is sharing his value with Ohio State. The team has adapted to new strategies and worked their way around strong defensive gameplay, winning 4 of their first five games of the 2024-25 campaign. Thanks in part to his 8-year experience with the Buckeyes and another to the roots in his family.

Having a running history of a basketball centric family has inspired Diebler a lot. His brother, Jon Diebler, is also a former basketball player known for his powerful shooting, while his father, Keith, is the one who introduced them to the game. Playing alongside him helped the Ohio HC work on his movements and develop a sense of team gameplay. He has carried it with him through his many roles.

Jake Diebler’s running history with Basketball

Diebler began his journey under his father, Kieth, who coached Ohio high school basketball for 4 decades. Both Jon and Jake started at Fostoria High School and followed their father to Upper Sandusky during the latter’s senior year. He would prove to be an exceptional student, holding Ohio high school career records in both assists (835) and steals (578) while also earning District Player of the Year Honor in 2003, 2004, and 2005.

He would move to Valparaiso University then, playing there for 4 long years. He finished his college run, averaging 5.1 points, 2 assists, and 2.5 rebounds. He also ranked in the top 10 in 3-pointers made and steals during his senior year. But a professional league wasn’t the next step for Diebler. He continued at his college as a student coach in 2009, because that was the aim he had carried after watching his father all those years and himself experiencing the impact during his playing days.

“It just kind of hit me and I was encouraged there by the staff when I played,” he had said.

Diebler takes on coaching, carries teachings from his father

During his assistance, the Valparaiso team has seen new heights. They secured the Horizon League regular championship title by scoring a 26-8 record, leading to earning a place in the NCAA tournament. This was huge! From the CIT-NIT-NCAA tournament, the growth was remarkable.

But the very next year, Diebler would move to Ohio State, beginning as a video coordinator. Then coach Thad Matta saw Greta’s potential in him. Jake crafted the gameplay for professionals like D’Angelo Russell and National Defensive Player of the Year in 2014, Aaron Craft, during his 3 years of tenure with Ohio.

Later again in April 2016, he made his way to Vanderbilt as an assistant coach, impressing the management with his experience. “Coach Diebler has great experience in basketball well beyond his age,” Bryce Drew had said. But the wasn’t a successful run for the young aspirant. The team had failed to make it to the post-season twice, resulting in the firing of the coaching staff in 2019. But that was only the beginning for Diebler.

He returned to Ohio in 2019 as an assistant coach and worked with one principle — his team is a family. His credits his father for imbibing the sentiment in him, for teaching the value of passion, energy and—most important—building relationships with players. Buckeyes forward Aaron Bradshaw had even admitted to finding the coach to be a father figure. Perhaps it played a role as he was appointed the next head coach after Chris Holtmann was fired mid-February.

Way up from interim to head coach

On this journey to being the 15th HG for Ohio State, one thing that can’t be missed is the immense support from his wife and family. Jake has once mentioned, “But my wife reminded me that we should probably take a moment to celebrate this and just like, thank God, like we’ve said a prayer. We said thank you for just the provision and the guidance and the calling that he’s put upon us.”

Not just for the fans but for the team, his appointment as the head coach went very positive. His close-knit relationship with the players reflected colors in securing achievements. The Ohio State, under his interim coaching, secured a 5-1 record in 2024.

An in-depth understanding of players from his team helps to build both on-court and off-court bonding. He doesn’t treat the team and players’ success riff-raff, rather curving their fall outs is what he works on. He believes in reviving the Ohio State gameplay through the 2024-25.

His recruiting sight for players has always been strong. Ques Glover’s inclusion to the team has secured high pointers for the game. Being an all-time strong defensive player, his defensive focus for the team brushed up their intensity.

“And, you know, we have ideas of what that needs to look like and how we’re going to do that,” conveys Jake’s vision for the success of the team. His history lies under the umbrella of long-run coaching expertise, which opens the door to more outstanding development for Ohio State.