Diebler’s Summer Command: “Winning Over Everything” as NIL Storm Swirls Around Buckeyes

Jake Diebler waited until every last player had laced up, the music in Value City Arena thumped to life, and the first summer practice whistle echoed off the rafters before stepping in front of the cameras. He didn’t waste time on pleasantries.

The directive landed like a starter’s pistol for a program determined to sprint past last season’s growing pains. Behind Diebler’s sharpened rhetoric is a roster finally under his full control, a fan base hungry for relevance, and an NCAA landscape where seven‑figure endorsement rumors threaten to hijack every conversation. Here’s how the second‑year bench boss plans to keep the Buckeyes from getting swept away.

Diebler introduced the slogan “Winning Over Everything” during his end‑of‑season review but admitted it didn’t fully take root until players returned to campus earlier this month. “The goal is to cut out distractions and prioritize the things that matter,” he explained during a 25‑minute availability on June 18, framing the mantra as a daily litmus test for every decision the team makes.

The timing is deliberate. Name‑Image‑Likeness cash has rewritten off‑season priorities nationwide, but Diebler insists Ohio State will not mortgage cohesion for a quick deposit. “If the deal helps a young man and doesn’t fracture the locker room, great,” he told boosters privately last week, according to a program source. “If it pulls focus from the work, we pass.”

The sentiment echoes athletic‑department policy, yet Diebler’s hard line is unusual in an era where coaches often celebrate every high‑profile endorsement as proof of momentum. By making “no distractions” the standard, he has turned NIL into a character test: can the Buckeyes chase both dollars and the Final Four without losing each other in the process?

Ohio State’s reconstruction sprint began the second the portal opened. Diebler’s staff secured four veteran transfers—Gabe Cupps (Dayton), Brandon Noel (Wright State), Christoph Tilly (Santa Clara) and Josh Ojianwuna (Baylor)—then locked in freshmen A’mare Bynum, Mathieu Grujicic and Myles Herro. That leaves one scholarship in reserve for late‑cycle surprises or emergency depth.

The coach is betting experience outweighs star power. Noel and Tilly averaged a combined 28 points per game against mid‑major competition last season, but Diebler stressed he doesn’t need identical production in Columbus: “With more talent around them, their efficiency is what matters,” he said.

Crucially, every newcomer arrived before the first summer workout—no staggered reporting dates, no waiting on academic clearances. That early cohesion, Diebler believes, lets chemistry form before individual NIL pursuits accelerate in July.

Injury updates underscored the optimistic mood. Third‑year guard Taison Chatman, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL, practiced without a brace and showed “no apprehension,” according to Diebler. “If you walked into the gym, you wouldn’t see a guy coming off injury,” he said, praising Chatman’s aggressiveness in full‑contact drills.

Conversely, 6‑10 Baylor import Josh Ojianwuna continues rehabbing his own ACL tear. There’s “no timeline yet,” but medical staff report no setbacks. The expectation is a November return, giving the Buckeyes a potential rim‑protector infusion when Big Ten play looms.

Mathieu Grujicic’s absence is purely administrative as the Serbian freshman finalizes his visa, another reminder that paperwork—not NIL chatter—is today’s most pressing off‑court hurdle.

Ohio State’s collective, The 1870 Society, is flush with donor cash, and insiders whisper that multiple Buckeyes could top mid‑six‑figure endorsement totals this year. Yet even boosters acknowledge Diebler’s posture is calculated: keep the dollars flowing, but off the practice floor.

The coach’s stance dovetails with Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti’s recent warnings against “locker‑room imbalance.” That theme resonated in Columbus last winter when rumors swirled that an upperclassman skipped a late‑season practice to shoot a commercial; the incident never confirmed, but Diebler’s first spring as interim coach ended with a lukewarm 17–15 record and no postseason berth. The lesson was searing: the margin between a bubble bid and irrelevance is thin enough without sponsors tugging at sweatbands.

By pre‑emptively defining NIL as potential “distraction,” Diebler shifts the burden onto players: choose deals that fit the culture or risk the bench. One team source said the guideline is simple—endorsement shoots only before 1 p.m., no missed lifts, no cellphones at film. “If you violate it, you’re volunteering to run,” the source laughed.

Pace & Voice – Diebler barked through every drill, his voice a metronome. Guards sprinted through 5‑on‑0 secondary breaks, wings drilled corner threes off flare screens, and the frontcourt hammered “seal & flash” footwork until sweat pooled at the elbows.

Accountability in Real Time – Freshman shooter Myles Herro missed a defensive assignment on a shell drill. Diebler stopped play, pointed to a clock: “That’s thirty seconds we just lost. Get it back!” The team reset and executed perfectly on the next rep, a microcosm of his zero‑distraction policy.

Leadership Moments – Junior point guard Bruce Thornton, now the elder statesman, guided newcomers through play‑calls between water breaks. A summer ago Thornton was the newcomer learning on the fly; now he’s Diebler’s on‑court lieutenant—proof, the coach hopes, that culture can compound faster than NIL numbers.

Ohio State will compete in an August exhibition tour of Spain—a chance to stress‑test roles before campus buzz peaks. By then, many players’ NIL contracts will be public. Diebler isn’t pretending money doesn’t matter; he’s betting character and clarity matter more.

If the formula works, the Buckeyes enter November deeper, healthier, and mentally cleaner than any Ohio State team in five years. If off‑court noise creeps in, the accountability metrics—practice minutes, travel roster spots—will speak louder than slogans.