Ohio State didn’t have to look far for its next men’s basketball coach.
Jake Diebler has been promoted to the full-time position after he was the interim coach. He took over for Chris Holtmann during the season after the latter was fired with only seven games left.
As evidenced by social media, LeBron James is a big fan of the move.
How’s that for an endorsement? 👀@KingJames | @JakeDiebler pic.twitter.com/0HhyKOyU4A
— Ohio State Hoops 🌰 (@OhioStateHoops) March 18, 2024
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Diebler went 6-2 in his eight-game stint as interim coach and it was enough for the school to promote him. Ohio State finished the regular season with a 20-13 record but will try and add to its win total when it faces off against Cornell in the NIT.
Holtmann was fired a little over a month ago when the Buckeyes were playing some terrible basketball. At the time, they were 14-11 overall and had lost nine of their last 11 games.
Holtmann finished his tenure with a 137-86 record. Before he coached the Buckeyes, he coached the Butler Bulldogs for three seasons and the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs for three seasons.
Time will tell if the Buckeyes made the right decision by promoting Diebler.