Former head coach Thad Matta and former Buckeye players return to Ohio State to talk to, practice and work out with the men's basketball team during "Vet Week."
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Some of the current players who returned for Wednesday's practice and workouts include Greg Oden, David Lighty, Jared Sullinger, Brice Sensabaugh, Jae'Sean Tate, Evan Ravenel, Keyshawn Woods and Scoonie Penn.
“That’s been a long time coming,” Diebler said of Matta. “His influence on me as a coach and as a man, I’ve spoken about that before. He means the world to me and my family. He means a ton to our basketball family. Being able to get him back here says something about just how close this basketball family is. He’s in the rafters. He’s in the record books. I’ve talked about the peaks of our program, and he’s certainly been a part of some of those. For him to be here means a great deal to me personally, but it also means a great deal to our program because he’s a guy we celebrate around here.
“When you take over a program, you can either hide from the success and the tradition or kind of keep it behind the curtain, or you can celebrate it," he continued. 'You can strive to get the program back to that level,” Diebler said. “That’s the route I’ve chosen because I care deeply about this program. I’ve seen what it’s meant to my family and my brother. I’ve watched those peaks as a fan; I’ve watched those peaks with great investment when my brother was playing. I absolutely want to celebrate that.”
While Wednesday consisted of a practice and workouts, current and former Ohio State players will take part in a scrimmage on Thursday, with additional former Buckeyes joining the ones from Tuesday for the scrimmage.
"This is some of my favorite days of the entire year, and the dinner (with everyone) tonight will be special," Diebler said.