The Ohio State basketball program has already had an eventful offseason. They have had players come and go from the transfer portal. They also decided to hire Jake Diebler at the expense of John Calipari. Now that Diebler has the job, he is hard at work filling out his coaching staff for next year and beyond.
Diebler is a first-time head coach so he needs to surround himself with as much experience as possible. He is becoming a coach in the Big Ten, which is one of the toughest conferences in the country so he needs all the help he can get. That’s why he recently added a coach who just went to the Final Four in Phoenix.
Ohio State basketball program is adding Joel Justus to the coaching staff
Joel Justus is joining Diebler’s staff as his top assistant. He will be the associate head coach for the Buckeyes. Justus had been with NC State as they made the run to the Final Four this year. He also spent a year with Arizona State and seven years as an assistant under Calipari at Kentucky. He has a ton of experience with big-time programs.
Diebler is going to use Justus to help continue his work in the transfer portal. The Buckeyes are not done with their work in the portal. With Zed Key leaving, they need more depth at the center position. They also need some help at the forward spot with Jamison Battle gone as well. The portal will be Ohio State’s friend.
This is a new era of Ohio State basketball. Diebler has a lot to prove now that the Calipari news came out. He needs to start out strong in his first year. The expectation for this team is to make the NCAA Tournament every single year. A Tournament appearance in his first season would start things off in the right way.
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