Connor Lemons
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With Marcus Johnson’s commitment to Ohio State, Jake Diebler is officially off and running
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo courtesy of Alexi Shigio - USA Basketball
Johnson is the fifth-highest rated recruit in Ohio State men’s basketball program history.
When Jake Diebler was hired as the head coach of the Ohio State men’s basketball team last month, one of the concerns some people had was if the first-time head coach would be able to recruit at the same level as the CEO as he did when he was an assistant.
Rest assured, that fear has been assuaged. On Wednesday afternoon, Diebler and the Buckeyes got a commitment from 2026 five-star guard Marcus Johnson, the younger cousin of Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson and a longtime Ohio State target.
Diebler has been the lead recruiter on Johnson for years now, and that relationship was the biggest reason Johnson committed to Ohio State. He called OSU his “dream school” in an interview with On3, but also said that his relationship with Diebler played a big part. Johnson and his father, Sonny, were in attendance for Ohio State’s win over rival Michigan on March 3, and were also in the house for the Buckeyes’ NIT win over Cornell on March 19 and their NIT loss to Georgia one week later.
Sonny Johnson said that he and Marcus were at the Michigan game “in support of Coach Diebler.” Diebler was still the interim head coach at the time, but the Johnson family was very much in Diebler’s corner. Now that he is the head coach of the program, the decision came quickly. Johnson is the first recruit in the 2026 class to commit.
“It’s easy to make a decision like this when a coach has been the one coming to your practices, coming to all your games, who has been the one communicating with you and built that relationship and now he becomes the head coach,” Johnson’s father told the Columbus Dispatch. “One thing my son wanted was to always feel loved and wanted. You want to go where you’re loved and wanted and somebody has a plan for you, and we think coach Diebler is that guy.”
Currently, Johnson is the No. 24 player in the 2026 class, per 247Sports. He is the No. 4 point guard in the cycle, and the top-rated player in the state of Ohio. This is just the third time since 2020 that Ohio State has secured a commitment from the top player in the state — Malaki Branham was the top Ohioan in 2021, and Devin Royal was the top Ohioan in 2023.
Johnson is 6-foot-2, 170 pounds and is finishing up his sophomore year at Garfield Heights in Cleveland. He also had offers from Alabama, Illinois, Villanova, and a handful of other schools. But with the family connections he has to the program, plus the handful of games he attended once Diebler was promoted to interim head coach (and later head coach), it began to look like a formality that Ohio State was going to eventually lock up its highest-rated recruit in over a decade.
Per 247Sports recruiting rankings, Johnson is the fifth-highest rated recruit in Ohio State history, behind Greg Oden, B.J. Mullens, Jared Sullinger, and William Buford. He is the highest-rated commitment for Ohio State since Sullinger, who signed in 2009 and played at Ohio State from 2010-2012. Johnson is ranked higher than any commitment during the Chris Holtmann era, so Diebler took all of three weeks to land a bigger recruit than Holtmann did in seven years (with respect to Holtmann, he was a big part of Johnson’s recruitment as well — the commitment just did not happen until after he was gone).
When Diebler was first hired, incoming athletic director Ross Bjork said that the standard for the men’s basketball program had to be higher. That applies on all fronts — regular season wins, tournament wins, and on the recruiting trail. Locking in a commitment from a five-star guard within the first three weeks isn’t a bad place to start.
One of the expected benefits of hiring Diebler was the fact that he already has relationships with many high-level recruits in the 2025 classes and beyond, especially right here in Ohio. Johnson was a big get, confirming that Ohio State’s head coach has his finger on the pulse of the Ohio prep circuit right now. With players like Darryn Peterson, Jerry Easter Jr., and Niko Bundalo still uncommitted, it’s hard to believe that this will be the only recruiting splash Diebler will make in the next several months.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo courtesy of Alexi Shigio - USA Basketball
Johnson is the fifth-highest rated recruit in Ohio State men’s basketball program history.
When Jake Diebler was hired as the head coach of the Ohio State men’s basketball team last month, one of the concerns some people had was if the first-time head coach would be able to recruit at the same level as the CEO as he did when he was an assistant.
Rest assured, that fear has been assuaged. On Wednesday afternoon, Diebler and the Buckeyes got a commitment from 2026 five-star guard Marcus Johnson, the younger cousin of Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson and a longtime Ohio State target.
Diebler has been the lead recruiter on Johnson for years now, and that relationship was the biggest reason Johnson committed to Ohio State. He called OSU his “dream school” in an interview with On3, but also said that his relationship with Diebler played a big part. Johnson and his father, Sonny, were in attendance for Ohio State’s win over rival Michigan on March 3, and were also in the house for the Buckeyes’ NIT win over Cornell on March 19 and their NIT loss to Georgia one week later.
Sonny Johnson said that he and Marcus were at the Michigan game “in support of Coach Diebler.” Diebler was still the interim head coach at the time, but the Johnson family was very much in Diebler’s corner. Now that he is the head coach of the program, the decision came quickly. Johnson is the first recruit in the 2026 class to commit.
“It’s easy to make a decision like this when a coach has been the one coming to your practices, coming to all your games, who has been the one communicating with you and built that relationship and now he becomes the head coach,” Johnson’s father told the Columbus Dispatch. “One thing my son wanted was to always feel loved and wanted. You want to go where you’re loved and wanted and somebody has a plan for you, and we think coach Diebler is that guy.”
Currently, Johnson is the No. 24 player in the 2026 class, per 247Sports. He is the No. 4 point guard in the cycle, and the top-rated player in the state of Ohio. This is just the third time since 2020 that Ohio State has secured a commitment from the top player in the state — Malaki Branham was the top Ohioan in 2021, and Devin Royal was the top Ohioan in 2023.
Johnson is 6-foot-2, 170 pounds and is finishing up his sophomore year at Garfield Heights in Cleveland. He also had offers from Alabama, Illinois, Villanova, and a handful of other schools. But with the family connections he has to the program, plus the handful of games he attended once Diebler was promoted to interim head coach (and later head coach), it began to look like a formality that Ohio State was going to eventually lock up its highest-rated recruit in over a decade.
Per 247Sports recruiting rankings, Johnson is the fifth-highest rated recruit in Ohio State history, behind Greg Oden, B.J. Mullens, Jared Sullinger, and William Buford. He is the highest-rated commitment for Ohio State since Sullinger, who signed in 2009 and played at Ohio State from 2010-2012. Johnson is ranked higher than any commitment during the Chris Holtmann era, so Diebler took all of three weeks to land a bigger recruit than Holtmann did in seven years (with respect to Holtmann, he was a big part of Johnson’s recruitment as well — the commitment just did not happen until after he was gone).
When Diebler was first hired, incoming athletic director Ross Bjork said that the standard for the men’s basketball program had to be higher. That applies on all fronts — regular season wins, tournament wins, and on the recruiting trail. Locking in a commitment from a five-star guard within the first three weeks isn’t a bad place to start.
One of the expected benefits of hiring Diebler was the fact that he already has relationships with many high-level recruits in the 2025 classes and beyond, especially right here in Ohio. Johnson was a big get, confirming that Ohio State’s head coach has his finger on the pulse of the Ohio prep circuit right now. With players like Darryn Peterson, Jerry Easter Jr., and Niko Bundalo still uncommitted, it’s hard to believe that this will be the only recruiting splash Diebler will make in the next several months.
Continue reading...