LeBron James congratulates Jake Diebler on being named Ohio State basketball head coach
New Ohio State men’s basketball coach Jake Diebler received a public shoutout from one of the university’s most prominent fans.
Sunday afternoon, NBA legend and Ohio native LeBron James congratulated Diebler on being promoted from interim to head coach with a post on his Instagram page. At his @kingjames account, James shared a post made by Ohio State’s account featuring a smiling Diebler with the caption “HEAD COACH” below the word “INTERIM” that had been crossed out with a scarlet line.
“CONGRATS DIEBS!!!!” James wrote on the post, following that with seven emojis of hands clapping before sharing it to his 159 million followers.
The official Ohio State men’s basketball Instagram page is one of 446 that James follows.
The Buckeyes were among the finalists for Bronny James, a four-star shooting guard in the 2023 class who visited Ohio State but ultimately committed to USC. They have also offered a scholarship to Bryce James, a three-star shooting guard in the 2025 class who has taken an unofficial visit to Ohio State. Diebler has been involved in both of their recruitments.
Ohio State wears Nike gear with James’ logo and keeps a locker for him inside Value City Arena. The Buckeyes periodically receive customized gear from James, who has famously said that he would’ve attended Ohio State had he been required to go to college.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: LeBron James congratulates new Ohio State coach Jake Diebler
