How a mantra of 'family' has powered Ohio State's turnaround under Jake Diebler
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – It might’ve been the smallest of changes that’s made the biggest difference.
Without the time or ability to make drastic alterations, Jake Diebler has had to make the most of whatever tweaks he could make during his month as Ohio State’s interim coach. Little things are different here and there, tiny embers helping fuel what has been a drastic late-season turnaround. Every individual focus for the Buckeyes, though, boils down to a six-letter word that has become the program’s mantra.
It was repeated just before the final pregame huddle broke and Felix Okpara headed out for the opening tip at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Buckeyes shouted it when they broke their huddle with 9:09 left after the Scarlet Knights called timeout in a vain effort to stop a second-half run after a Scotty Middleton 3-pointer. Perhaps the loudest came about 10 minutes after the final horn sounded, when the glass doors leading into the visitors’ locker room were thrown open in jubilation after a 73-51 win.
Okpara, after outplaying Rutgers center Cliff Omoruyi on his senior day, had just led his teammates in their victory song, an abbreviated version of “Buckeye Battle Cry” that’s more chant than chorus but one that culminates in rapturous cheering. On the road, Ohio State makes sure to open the door so the cacophony can clearly be heard.
That’s nothing new. It’s a tradition Chris Holtmann, who was fired on Feb. 14, helped institute after his arrival in 2017. On this Sunday, almost seven days to the minute that the NCAA Tournament will officially be seeded, the newly emphasized change instituted by Diebler was front, center and audible.
It came after the chorus. The Buckeyes circled up, arms outstretched to the air, and counted down before breaking the huddle with the one word that’s gone from given to mantra during the last month.
Family. With each huddle this Ohio State team breaks under Diebler, that’s the one word they chant each time.
It’s not a new defensive game plan, a surprise roster addition or even a tangible change. In finding reasons why the Buckeyes have gone 5-1 under Diebler, shaken off a proceeding stretch of nine losses in 11 games and put themselves in position to challenge for a spot on the NCAA Tournament bubble, it might be the one that best explains why this Ohio State team has been able to do what it’s done.
“That was one of those little things to me that I felt like we needed to do right away from the first meeting was, we’re family,” Diebler told The Dispatch. “That doesn’t change. We’ve been dealt some adversity, but that family piece doesn’t change. We’ve got to lean into it at a higher level.”
The numbers in this stretch are glaringly different. From Jan. 6 through Feb. 13, when Ohio State was 2-9, the Buckeyes were 82nd nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and 150th defensively. They were scoring an average of 112.0 points per 100 possessions and allowing 104.1 while plummeting to 13th in the Big Ten standings.
Now, starting with a 73-69 home win against No. 2 Purdue on Feb. 18, Ohio State is 51 and 10, respectively, in adjusted offensive (116.9) and defensive (94.2) efficiency. During that stretch, the Buckeyes rate as the No. 18 overall team in the nation while playing much tougher defense.
To flip the script so drastically, Diebler has tried to emphasize the meaning of playing for Ohio State.
“It means everything,” sophomore guard Roddy Gayle, who led four Buckeyes in double figures with 14 points in the win against Rutgers, said of breaking each huddle with the word. “We were always family, always connected, always unselfish but I feel like with this change and the kind of direction that we were going that we needed to be even more of a family. I feel like we’ve answered the bell when it came to that, so this is just the results of that.”
Imploring players to love their teammates isn’t a novel idea. In 2017, Ohio State coach Thad Matta hung a sign inside the locker room borrowing the mantra of Will Ferrell’s character in the movie Semi-Pro: “Everybody Love Everybody.” Under Holtmann, the Buckeyes would break their huddles with different words like “team” or occasionally family, but the word was always something similar.
Since Diebler took over, former players including Aaron Craft, Mike Conley Jr. and Michael Redd have stopped by practice to show support and speak with the team. During the week leading into the Rutgers game, 2007-08 captain Matt Terwilliger became the latest to do so. Gayle said their messages have been similar.
“Stay the course,” he said. “It’s easy for us to be satisfied right now. We’ve got a few games to go. It’s easy for us to be satisfied and sidetracked but we’ve really got to stick to our key values and be able to keep going. We’re not finished.”
During the week between beating Michigan and closing the regular season at Rutgers, sophomore captain Bruce Thornton said the players allowed themselves a moment to reflect on the journey. There was a recognition that doing what the Buckeyes are trying to do against the backdrop of their coach being fired midseason is not normal.
It also helped hammer home the point that all they have is each other.
“It’s really good because we’ve been going through it together as a family,” Okpara said. “It says a lot. I feel like this group has gotten a lot more closer and connected because of this adversity that’s happened. It’s made us more strongly connected.”
That much has come straight from Diebler. From the moment athletic director Gene Smith asked him to lead this team, Diebler has repeatedly said his primary focus has been to best serve his players and represent a program that matters deeply to him and his family.
Meanwhile, new athletic director Ross Bjork is amid a search for Holtmann’s full-time replacement. With each win, the 38-year-old Diebler complicates Bjork’s decision by a greater degree.
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That’s a conversation for somewhere down the road, just like reflecting on the significant wins the Buckeyes have checked off in the last four weeks. Thinking about all that, Diebler shrugged and pulled at his black sweater with the Ohio State logo affixed to the left breast.
“I don’t want to diminish (those accomplishments), but right now is the time for locking in even more,” he said. “As a staff, I’ve been so impressed with how they’ve stayed locked in and served those players and served this program. That’s our focus.
“It’s been fun. I cherish every moment I get a chance to wear this logo. We’ve talked to our players about how this is bigger, you’re part of a family, we’re part of that family too as a staff and I’ve really enjoyed it.”
The best might be yet to come.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State thriving as Jake Diebler brings 'family' to forefront
