Q&A: New Ohio State assistant Jamall Walker talks move from Grand Canyon, more
Jake Diebler has a number of new faces to work with.
Entering his first year as Ohio State's men's basketball coach, Diebler is in the process of filling out his coaching staff. Since the 2023-24 season ended with a loss to Georgia in the NIT quarterfinals, Diebler has filled all but one of his five assistant coaching positions for the upcoming season.
Diebler has added Dave Dickerson, former head coach of USC Upstate and a former Ohio State assistant and associate head coach. He's added N.C. State's Joel Justus as associate head coach and Baylor's Luke Simons, and he's also brought veteran assistant coach Jamall Walker from Grand Canyon.
Walker’s coaching career started at Redlands Community College in El Reno, Oklahoma, in 2002. Since then, he has steadily worked his way up during a career that includes two stints at Ohio University, an eight-year tenure at Illinois and most recently a four-year run at Grand Canyon with stops along the way at Arizona, Ball State, St. Louis and Murray State. A St. Louis native, Walker played for the Billikens, graduating in 2000 after dishing out 350 career assists.
A relatively new member of Division I, Grand Canyon played its first season at the level in 2013-14. It had reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2020-21 and returned there in 2022-23, but the 2023-24 team became the first to win a game when as a No. 12 seed it knocked off No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s in the first round.
As Walker gets started at Ohio State, he spoke with The Dispatch for a Thursday evening interview. Portions of the interview have been edited for length and clarity.
Q: So how did this Ohio State job come about for you?
A: I think the relationship. I’ve known Jake for a little bit, but also the relationship he has with coach Bryce Drew and the relationship he has with the Drew family. He played for Homer and the Drew family at Valpo and I think that relationship, along with my connections in the Midwest, being at Ohio University and being in the Big Ten for eight years and working with Brad Underwood and John Groce, for (Diebler’s) eyes I hope he thought that was a person he’d want on his staff. Once we talked about what he envisions here for Ohio State, the vision aligned with some of the things I believe in as well, not only from a basketball standpoint but from a personal standpoint.
Jake believes in relationships and connections with the players and empowering them. That’s something I definitely agree with.
Q: How similar do you see Diebler being to members of the Drew family?
A: Our job is to serve these players, and when you do it the right way you impact their lives. I think there is a connection there as far as how the family impacted coach Diebler. He’s also his own person. He has things that he values. You are usually attracted to what you value.
Q: What were your responsibilities at Grand Canyon?
A: The last couple years I’ve been in charge of the guards. I was blessed to have really good guards there in Jovan Blacksher Jr., who was (Western Athletic Conference) MVP of the tournament (in 2021) and Rayshon Harrison who was also a WAC Tournament MVP (in 2023). Then a lot of recruiting. I got a chance to recruit a lot of players on the team, and also the defense. That’s something I have a lot of passion for is defense and schematics. I did similar stuff at the University of Illinois.
Q: How did it feel to make program history?
A: You don’t get a chance to make history at a program often. Yeah, it was special. That school became a Division I school 11 years ago and I came from Illinois, which like a lot of these Big Ten schools has a long tradition of winning and success and they’ve been around a long time so you’re not doing the first there too often. We established a history (at Grand Canyon) that somebody will break, but right now that’s the standard. It was an awesome feeling to go 30-5 and win the first NCAA Tournament game in school history. We came to establish a program that’s not a one-hit wonder and that has sustained success, and I hope to do the same here (at Ohio State). We want a program that has sustained success.
Ohio State has a long history. Maybe we can find a first to do here, with all the history and tradition.
Q: When you’re making history there, what goes into deciding to take a new opportunity at a place like Ohio State?
A: I felt like it was an opportunity too good to pass up. When I started out as an assistant at the junior-college level back in 2002-03, I put a list together one time of schools that I wanted to work at someday and Ohio State was one of them. I get the opportunity to live my dream here and get to coach here, wear that logo on my shirt and wear it proud.
Q: What made Ohio State stand out to you then?
A: I think the power and the influence throughout the country. It’s such a powerful brand. It has tentacles that go beyond just the state of Ohio. You see people wear Ohio State gear all over. I saw it in Phoenix quite a bit when I was there. There’s a lot of snowbirds that go there from Ohio. There’s so many places in college basketball that has power and influence throughout the country and I feel like Ohio State’s one of those places. It’s a great institution in all phases. Every sport here has had unbelievable success, and when you can be a part of that, that’s special.
Q: How much roster familiarity do you have with the Ohio State players?
A: I’m a big basketball fan. Even when I’m not coaching our team, I can watch basketball all day long. Coming from this area and having been a coach in the Big Ten, I watch Big Ten basketball so I’ve got a chance to watch those guys play. I’m looking familiar to getting to know them more. We had workouts today (Thursday) so that’s the start. For me, it’s more knowing them as people. That allows us to coach them to the best of their ability.
Q: You’ve known Brad Underwood for decades. What’s it like to rejoin the Big Ten, where you’ll go against him at Illinois?
A: I haven’t really thought about that. I think it’ll be fun, but I’m so focused in on making Ohio State the best program it can possibly be and maximize the potential of this place. That’s really, really powerful. No offense to those guys: that’s not where my mind goes when I’m thinking about coming here. That’ll take care of itself. You can do special things here. There’s only certain places in the country where I truly feel you have an opportunity to win a national championship. It’s been done here before. It shows that it can be done again.
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Q: What are your immediate priorities when starting at a new school?
A. Number one is to get to know the players. In this age of the portal and retention, it’s important to get to know them so you can maximize their potential as people, maximize them on and off the court. Get to know how they operate. I’m here for them. I’m here to serve them, and the only way I get to do that is by knowing them to see how I can push them and get the best out of themselves.
Q: I’ve heard a lot about Jake Diebler as a recruiter. What’s he like when he’s recruiting you to join his coaching staff?
A: If it’s anything like when he’s recruiting, he’s pretty darn good. I’ve seen him on the phone. I told him today, he has an unbelievable energy about him. He’s been going relentlessly since he got the job and I don’t think he’s going to stop anytime soon. If you sum it up in one word, it’s relentless. I think we’ll see that not only in his recruiting but how his teams play as well.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New Ohio State assistant Jamall Walker talks Grand Canyon, more in Q&A
