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Former Ohio State assistant Jeff Boals bringing Ohio Bobcats to Columbus in exhibition
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- Former Ohio State assistant Jeff Boals bringing Ohio Bobcats to Columbus in exhibition
The 10th year of Jeff Boals' coaching homecoming will bring him back to his other home to close out the preseason.
Before he was named head coach of the Ohio men's basketball program in 2019, Boals spent seven years on Thad Matta's coaching staff at Ohio State. Go back a few years further, and Boals was a two-time captain and four-year letterwinner for the Bobcats from 1991-95, helping the program reach the 1994 NCAA Tournament.
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On Oct. 26, those two significant schools in his life will meet at Value City Arena when the Buckeyes host the Bobcats in a preseason exhibition game in the final tune-up for the regular season for both teams .
Jeff Boals' Ohio Bobcats exhibition: Ohio State men's basketball to host Jeff Boals' Ohio Bobcats in public exhibition
It won't be Boals' first time back on campus since leaving Ohio State in 2016 to take the head coaching job at Stony Brook , where he worked for three years before taking the job at his alma mater. It won't even be his first time back on campus this year – Boals was on hand Sept. 13 to see the Buckeyes beat the Bobcats 37-9 in football. But each time he's back at Ohio State, Boals said he's reminded of something.
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta (left) and assistant coach Jeff Boals during the first half as The Ohio State University Buckeyes faced The University Of North Carolina- Wilmington at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio on November 20, 2010. (Dispatch photo by Ed Matthews)
"I was very, very fortunate to work with great people, Thad Matta being the head coach, but great assistants, great managers, great players, great people," Boals said. "When I came back for the football game, you just run into so many redcoats and facilities people, compliance people, administrators that are still there. They say it all the time, but the people make that place."
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One of those familiar faces is Ohio State coach Jake Diebler, now entering his second year leading the Buckeyes. Diebler's first stint at Ohio State came as video coordinator from 2014-16, which overlapped with Boals' time as one of Matta's assistants.
"He's a mentor of mine," Diebler said. "He taught me a lot. It will be unique to see him because of his history for Ohio State. He's a great coach. Been a huge influence on my coaching."
If not for Ohio State, Boals said it's not clear how his career would have unfolded.
"It shaped my career," he said. "I obviously got my first head coaching job from there and I wouldn't be here today without that experience."
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Led by preseason first-team all-Mid-American Conference pick Jackson Paveletzke, a senior guard, Ohio was picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason coaches' poll. The Bobcats dealt with injuries last season and finished 16-16 overall, dropping a 90-85 overtime MAC quarterfinal game to Toledo to end their season. This year's team features three new Division I transfers including Toledo's Javan Simmons (a Gahanna native) and Appalachian State's Dior Conners (a Pickerington North product).
Ohio State went 17-15 and came one win shy of reaching the NCAA Tournament in Diebler's first year. Boals said he expects to see the Buckeyes to take a step forward this year.
"(Diebler) weathered a lot of storms and made the adjustments and changes he needed to," he said. "The team they have on paper now, I really like it. You've got a core group of guys back with experience, you've got some really good transfers coming in, some really good freshmen coming in. I think this year will be a lot different than last year."
Ohio State played a closed scrimmage Oct. 18 at Tennessee as its other preseason game . Ohio took a 63-57 loss to Wright State at Dayton on Oct. 20 in a charity exhibition.
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"You want to go in and play your guys and play to win, but it's a great opportunity to try different things and play different lineups and play multiple guys to get them experience and see what they're like when the popcorn's in the air," Boals said. "We've got seven new players and there's a lot of things we've got to better at and we need to see."
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Likewise, Diebler said the Buckeyes will use the exhibition as a chance to learn about themselves in a standard 40-minute game.
"It'll absolutely be a good test because Jeff does a great job and they're a good team," he said. "It'll be unique because that game is going to be about us growing as a team and getting ready for the next one, but they're absolutely going to have a great season."
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It will also be the first official return for Boals, but far from his first time back in Value City Arena. Last year, Ohio State hosted Ohio in its closed "secret" scrimmage, so Boals knows where the visitors' locker room is located.
As it turns out, he was already plenty familiar with it from his time with the Buckeyes.
"I would go over there after our games sometimes when I coached there to see if anyone left a scouting report or anything written on the board," he said. "Anything we could (learn). We found a couple scouting reports, but it's always interesting to see what people say and how they prepare for you."
Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @ cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @ AdamJardy .
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: After coaching at Ohio State, Jeff Boals returns with Ohio for game
