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You’re Nuts: What would Jake Diebler need to accomplish this season to earn the head coaching job?
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
With four games left plus the Big Ten Tournament, how far would Ohio State need to go for Diebler to get the “interim” tag removed?
First and foremost, congratulations to the Ohio State men’s basketball team, which set the program record last night with its 17th-straight road loss. The Buckeyes fell to Minnesota 88-79 last night, falling to 15-12 overall on the season and 5-11 in the Big Ten.
Ohio State is now 1-1 since Chris Holtmann was abruptly fired last week, and interim head coach Jake Diebler is, by all accounts, a legitimate candidate for the full-time job. However, with no head coaching experience, he looks like a longshot candidate at best, barring a miracle run here in the final few weeks.
This week, we’re discussing what exactly such a run would need to look like if he was going to keep the job.
Last week, Connor and Justin each picked one popular candidate for the Ohio State job and explained why that particular coach would be a bad choice.
68% of the readers sided with Connor, who said Mick Cronin would not be a good fit at Ohio State. 20% sided with Justin’s choice of Dusty May — who is in very early talks with Ohio State about the job, per the Columbus Dispatch. The remaining 12% said that either Cronin or May would be a phenomenal hire to replace Holtmann.
Connor- 68
After Ohio State upset Purdue last weekend, there was a good chunk of fans saying that they should remove Diebler’s interim tag and make him the head coach right away. But after falling to Minnesota on Thursday night, many people seem to have done a 180 on that, and are no longer interested in the longtime Ohio State assistant leading the program.
There has to be a line somewhere, right? If he wins the whole thing, he probably gets the job. What about a Sweet Sixteen? Just making the NCAA Tournament? Finding a way to get to 20 wins?
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25300244/usa_today_22560984.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Diebler inherited a team that was 4-10 in the Big Ten and had lost six of its last seven games when Holtmann was fired. If he’s about to figure it out and take that team to the NCAA Tournament, I think he deserves to keep the job.
But at this point, the only way Ohio State is getting to the NCAA Tournament is by winning the Big Ten Tournament. Even if they were to win out, the Buckeyes would be 9-11 in the Big Ten — but let’s face it, they’re not winning the final four games. Ohio State has lost 17 consecutive road games, so why would we even entertain the idea that it would win at Breslin and at the RAC?
No, they’re not going to win their final four games. That means Ohio State will have to accomplish this year what it fell just short of last season — winning five games in five days at the Big Ten Tournament. If they can do that and punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, then Diebler probably gets the job.
Inspiring a group of players and rallying a locker room from where they were last week to cutting down nets in Minneapolis would be one of the more impressive coaching jobs we’ve ever seen. Even if people don’t think that’s enough right this second, everyone will feel a lot different when Bruce Thornton is climbing down a ladder with pieces of net weaved into a “Big Ten Tournament Champions” hat on March 17.
No Big Ten team has ever won five games in five days to win the conference tournament, and I don’t think that will change this year. Therefore, I don’t think Diebler will get the job. But everyone has their line in the sand, and that is mine.
My answer is to win a national title, because if they do that, you will have no choice but to give him the job. In any other circumstance, Diebler will not get the job.
I love Coach Diebler, and in the few interactions we have had, he has been awesome. I hope he stays on the staff as the top assistant for the next guy, because he is an elite recruiter and solid coach.
However, I believe Ohio State is not the place for anyone to have their first head coaching job, and one win over Purdue doesn’t change that.
Finding a new coach is a toss-up in general. It is hard to predict who will succeed and who will not live up to the expectations. Chris Holtmann was a great hire at the time. He turned around Gardner Webb and took Butler to the Sweet 16. But he could not quite get Ohio State over the hump.
This is why Sean Miller and Greg McDermott are my top candidates for the job. Two guys who have had years of success in the Power Five conferences. Even the top mid-major guys like Pat Kelsey and Dusty May scare me because they have not been head coaches in the top conferences.
Again, I believe Diebler will be a head coach sooner rather than later, but where this program is, they need an experienced head coach at the Power Five level.
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
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
With four games left plus the Big Ten Tournament, how far would Ohio State need to go for Diebler to get the “interim” tag removed?
First and foremost, congratulations to the Ohio State men’s basketball team, which set the program record last night with its 17th-straight road loss. The Buckeyes fell to Minnesota 88-79 last night, falling to 15-12 overall on the season and 5-11 in the Big Ten.
Ohio State is now 1-1 since Chris Holtmann was abruptly fired last week, and interim head coach Jake Diebler is, by all accounts, a legitimate candidate for the full-time job. However, with no head coaching experience, he looks like a longshot candidate at best, barring a miracle run here in the final few weeks.
This week, we’re discussing what exactly such a run would need to look like if he was going to keep the job.
Last week, Connor and Justin each picked one popular candidate for the Ohio State job and explained why that particular coach would be a bad choice.
68% of the readers sided with Connor, who said Mick Cronin would not be a good fit at Ohio State. 20% sided with Justin’s choice of Dusty May — who is in very early talks with Ohio State about the job, per the Columbus Dispatch. The remaining 12% said that either Cronin or May would be a phenomenal hire to replace Holtmann.
After 140 weeks:
Connor- 68
Justin- 53
Other- 15
(There have been four ties)
After Ohio State upset Purdue last weekend, there was a good chunk of fans saying that they should remove Diebler’s interim tag and make him the head coach right away. But after falling to Minnesota on Thursday night, many people seem to have done a 180 on that, and are no longer interested in the longtime Ohio State assistant leading the program.
There has to be a line somewhere, right? If he wins the whole thing, he probably gets the job. What about a Sweet Sixteen? Just making the NCAA Tournament? Finding a way to get to 20 wins?
Today’s Question: What would Jake Diebler need to accomplish this season to earn the head coaching job?
Connor: Win the Big Ten Tournament
Diebler inherited a team that was 4-10 in the Big Ten and had lost six of its last seven games when Holtmann was fired. If he’s about to figure it out and take that team to the NCAA Tournament, I think he deserves to keep the job.
But at this point, the only way Ohio State is getting to the NCAA Tournament is by winning the Big Ten Tournament. Even if they were to win out, the Buckeyes would be 9-11 in the Big Ten — but let’s face it, they’re not winning the final four games. Ohio State has lost 17 consecutive road games, so why would we even entertain the idea that it would win at Breslin and at the RAC?
No, they’re not going to win their final four games. That means Ohio State will have to accomplish this year what it fell just short of last season — winning five games in five days at the Big Ten Tournament. If they can do that and punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, then Diebler probably gets the job.
Inspiring a group of players and rallying a locker room from where they were last week to cutting down nets in Minneapolis would be one of the more impressive coaching jobs we’ve ever seen. Even if people don’t think that’s enough right this second, everyone will feel a lot different when Bruce Thornton is climbing down a ladder with pieces of net weaved into a “Big Ten Tournament Champions” hat on March 17.
No Big Ten team has ever won five games in five days to win the conference tournament, and I don’t think that will change this year. Therefore, I don’t think Diebler will get the job. But everyone has their line in the sand, and that is mine.
Justin: Win a National Championship
My answer is to win a national title, because if they do that, you will have no choice but to give him the job. In any other circumstance, Diebler will not get the job.
I love Coach Diebler, and in the few interactions we have had, he has been awesome. I hope he stays on the staff as the top assistant for the next guy, because he is an elite recruiter and solid coach.
However, I believe Ohio State is not the place for anyone to have their first head coaching job, and one win over Purdue doesn’t change that.
Finding a new coach is a toss-up in general. It is hard to predict who will succeed and who will not live up to the expectations. Chris Holtmann was a great hire at the time. He turned around Gardner Webb and took Butler to the Sweet 16. But he could not quite get Ohio State over the hump.
This is why Sean Miller and Greg McDermott are my top candidates for the job. Two guys who have had years of success in the Power Five conferences. Even the top mid-major guys like Pat Kelsey and Dusty May scare me because they have not been head coaches in the top conferences.
Again, I believe Diebler will be a head coach sooner rather than later, but where this program is, they need an experienced head coach at the Power Five level.
Continue reading...