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Before season opener against IU Indy, Ohio State's Jake Diebler enjoyed morning routine
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- Before season opener against IU Indy, Ohio State's Jake Diebler enjoyed morning routine
The crowd waiting around the counter at The Lox Bagel Shop in the Short North hardly looked up as the name was called out.
"Jake!" the server yelled, holding aloft a white bag with a bagel inside. Standing near the door, Ohio State men's basketball coach Jake Diebler inconspicuously waded his way through the people. Wearing a black Ohio State sweatshirt, the coach took his order, a sesame bagel with artichoke spread, and accepted some well-wishes from the employee.
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"Good luck tonight, coach," the man told him. That elicited a smile and polite thanks from Diebler as he headed out the door and into the sunlight. It was nearly 10 a.m., and in 8 ½ hours Diebler would be on the sidelines at Value City Arena coaching the Buckeyes to a 118-102 win against IU Indy in the first game of the 2025-26 season.
First, though, there was the morning pregame ritual to attend to. Breakfast is followed by a quick trip across High St. to One Line Coffee for the necessary caffeine to get things going – on this morning it was an almond milk latte with honey. Normally, food and drink are fuel for a quick walk around the area, a chance to organize the thoughts that have been bounding around his brain.
However, as his second year as Ohio State's coach was getting underway, Diebler instead grabbed a seat at an elevated table at the front of the coffee place. From here, he could watch a steady stream of foot traffic going through the glass door emblazoned with an Ohio outline. Save for a fist bump from one patron, he garnered little attention as he picked apart his bagel.
Normally, his order would be something heavier, a breakfast sandwich of some kind. Not today, though. The start of the season called for something a little bit lighter, especially after he had carved out just six hours of sleep the night before.
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Was it good sleep?
More: As 2025-26 gets underway, here are the keys to the season for Ohio State men's basketball
"Just OK," Diebler said, cracking a wry smile. "Just excited. This offseason has gone by really fast, and really fast in a better way than last offseason. But last night, just really excited."
Things have changed for Diebler. Before the 2024-25 season opened, he was in Las Vegas preparing for an opening-night game against No. 19 Texas and harping on the unknowns. Understandably so, given that it was his first game as the team's full-time head coach, leading a staff he had assembled while simultaneously building a roster primarily featuring new faces.
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Ohio State had a shootaround at T-Mobile Arena that Nov. 4, 2024, morning, many hours before a game against the Longhorns . Diebler, badly in need of a shave, passed some of the time by taking a walk and listening to a church service from the day before.
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jake Diebler watches during the NCAA men's basketball game against the IU Indy Jaguars at Value City Arena in Columbus on Nov. 3, 2025. Ohio State won the season opener 118-102.
That's one thing the two mornings had in common. Diebler always tries to start the day by grounding himself spiritually. Out of habit, he typically wakes up at 6 a.m. and spends some quiet time alone with the Bible.
"For me, my relationship with God is everything," Diebler said. "It helps keep me centered and focused on the right things. If I don't start my day off with that, I just find myself maybe being a little off. I've got some people in my life who can hold me accountable to that, who can tell if I'm not doing that."
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The members of his coaching staff are among those who hold him accountable. They also factor more heavily into things than they did a year ago. Placed in charge of a program that deeply matters to him on a personal level, Diebler's default last year was to put more on his own shoulders . As year two gets underway, his willingness to delegate has changed.
"It was always about outworking people," he said. "It's just kind of all I know. It's hard to turn it off, but we've got great support here. I'm leaning on our staff much better than I was this time last year, which is important."
He feels the difference. The competitive fire is always right there, but he knows his demeanor isn't what it was when he led the Buckeyes to a 17-15 record during the 2024-25 season.
"I do think I've been seasoned since this time last year," Diebler said. "I think having a year together with the people that are around me every single day is helpful in that, too. Not that I thought I could be motivated even more last year, but I feel this hunger to get this program that I care so deeply about back to where it belongs, and I think we've got a group equipped to do that."
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For Diebler, there's not really a shutoff valve for that. It's why there's a cadence for gameday, from time in reflective prayer to breakfast, coffee and a walk before heading into the arena for prep work, a workout and then team preparations and shootaround.
"That's what I use this time for mostly is get moving a little bit and allow me some space to think," he said. "For me, I don't know if this is a problem or maybe a sickness, but my mind never stops running. Even when I'm driving, when I'm walking back and forth to get coffee, I'm constantly thinking about games, messaging for the team, thinking about plays, visualizing stuff that could happen, making sure we're ready for anything we could see."
Ohio State basketballcoach Jake Diebler talks to his wife, Jordyn, as he prepares to take a family photo after his introductory press conference on March 18, 2024.
Break time never lasts long. Diebler finished up his final few bites of food, took a few more sips of his latte and headed back out the door and across High Street. The four-mile drive to the arena beckoned, as did the demands of the day.
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Chief among them: living up to the expectations Diebler said he feels from the handful of fans who recognized him during his morning travels.
"When people say, 'Good luck, coach. We're excited,' ... it's a constant reminder to me that people really care about Ohio State basketball and every time it's another jab, a reminder of, we've got to get this thing going," he said. "It consumes me, the responsibility of trying to get this program back to where it belongs."
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: Ohio State's Jake Diebler enjoys a calm morning before season opener
