Oller: Jake Diebler survives close call in debut as Ohio State men's basketball head coach
Jake Diebler’s debut as Ohio State’s freshly minted men’s basketball coach nearly turned into the middle school student who shows up the first day of class with toilet paper stuck to his shoe.
If Diebler had lost to Cornell, well, you know how insensitive middle schoolers can be. Lots of pointing. Lots of laughing. Lots of bathroom humor and jokes about Oral … Roberts.
Remember Oral? Losing to Cornell would not have matched that embarrassment – the Buckeyes were a No. 2 seed that lost to No. 15 ORU in the 2021 NCAA Tournament – but it would have put the upset in the “You’ve got to be kidding me” team picture.
Anyway, I know a few fans who might as well be middle schoolers. Had Ohio State lost, the “I told you so” crowd would have pointed and laughed. Diebler, with no head coaching experience beyond the eight games he served as interim after OSU fired Chris Holtmann Feb. 14, needed to begin the Buckeyes’ NIT journey on a positive note. Or else.
Or else what?
Or else you would hear cracks like, “I wonder if coaching hires are like airline ticket purchases? You get 24 hours to change your mind.”
And, “Beginner’s luck is not supposed to blow up in the face of the beginner.”
And, "Diebler must have played his high school ball at hiccUpper Sandusky."
You get the picture. When more than a few fans wonder why incoming Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork hired Diebler in the first place, instead of a big name and/or proven program builder, it is unwise to give them more ammunition.
Never mind that Cornell is sneaky good, that the Big Red play classic Ivy League basketball by outsmarting you with backdoor cuts and switching defenses. It’s still Cornell, best known athletically for 1971 Heisman Trophy runner-up Ed Marinaro and academically for producing, among others, Bill Nye the Science Guy.
Ohio State claims Archie Griffin and Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia (It’s true. Wiki it). Advantage, OSU.
Put it this way, Diebler did not want to lose his first game as head coach to the second best team in the Ivy League. To a team missing its leading scorer due to an ankle injury. To a team with the same nickname as a chewing gum.
But that is exactly what was happening Tuesday night at Value City Arena, where Cornell held a 81-79 lead with 44 seconds remaining, until Jamison Battle buried a 3-pointer from the left baseline to put OSU ahead 82-81. From there, OSU survived the final nervy 30 seconds by making enough free throws to secure the 88-83 win. No wonder Diebler exhaled at the horn like a man spared from the firing squad at the 11th hour.
In the end, it turned out to be no harm, no foul. The Buckeyes won. Didn't blow it. Showed toughness when it mattered. Nothing to see here. A surprising nail-biter like this was bound to test Diebler's job training sooner or later. And he survived. Now it's on to a second-round home game against Virginia Tech. If nothing else, the close call gave Diebler an early taste of what he can expect when Ohio State struggles against less-talented opponents, or really any opponent. Tough crowd for a football school.
Did Diebler feel different as the guy in charge of the program compared to before the interim tag was removed?
“Not once the game started,” he said. “Leading into the game? It was a little bit different feeling. I tried to keep the routine I’ve been doing before games the exact same. But, yeah, is it OK to admit a little of vulnerability, that it felt a little different? Yeah.”
Diebler’s actual sideline performance showed some fire, unlike during Friday’s loss to Illinois, when he went easy on the officials despite the Buckeyes getting whistled for 27 fouls to just 13 for the Illini. Against Cornell, he rode the refs hard at times. (The players have yet to feel his wrath. It will be interesting to watch if that changes?)
As for in-game strategy, the Buckeyes mostly looked a step slow against Cornell’s backdoor cuts that led to easy layups. Pin that on a lack of preparation, though in their defense the Buckeyes had only one day to practice for an offense not seen in the Big Ten.
“They play a unique style, from the standpoint of their spacing and amount of guys who can shoot, and their cutting and their passing,” Diebler said. “On a quick turnaround, not a lot of time to prepare, I was really proud of how our guys made some adjustments throughout the game, to ultimately get the win.”
Funny thing about explanations. They become excuses when you lose. Had Cornell shocked the Buckeyes, Diebler would be blamed for his lack of head coaching experience.
Welcome to the hot seat, coach. Or at least warmer than it was as an interim. Is Diebler ready for the second guessing that comes with sliding over from the assistant’s chair to the head coaching throne? One bad bounce, one missed layup is all it takes to turn a coaching brainiac into a bozo in the eyes of fans and media.
Diebler was thankful that for one game he avoided becoming the latter, but he also was grateful for a chance to learn something from a five-point win that a blowout victory would not have revealed.
“I’m sure when there’s time to look back and reflect, we’ll say, ‘That was a great experience,' ” he said of coaching under pressure. “But in that moment it’s all about that moment.”
Fortunately for the Buckeyes, and especially for their new coach, time ran out on Cornell’s upset bid. And not a moment too soon.
Get more Ohio State basketball news by listening to our podcasts
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State men's basketball survives scare against Cornell Big Red
