With Outkast's "Ms. Jackson" playing over the speakers and a brand new scoreboard hanging over center court, coach Jake Diebler bounded into the arena.
All around him, the 15-man 2026-27 Ohio State men’s basketball team was making its way onto the main floor at the Schottenstein Center for the first official day of preseason practice. It was Sept. 21, and the Buckeyes were in a bit of a hurry. A public exhibition game against Cincinnati loomed in 16 days and, judging by Diebler’s enthusiasm, there was little time to wait.
Before blowing the first whistle to get things going, the coach made his way across the court to seek out each player individually and offer a few words of what looked like encouragement. Now entering his third year as the head
of the program, Diebler’s enthusiasm for the start of the season was as evident as ever.
Then things got started. Whistles blew, the tone of his voice changed and the Buckeyes got to work.
“This is a big day for us,” Diebler said roughly an hour before practice started. “We’ve had a great offseason. We have tried to make this the hardest fall that we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Here are three primary questions for the Buckeyes as they begin the preseason:
Is this the year Ohio State increases the tempo?
Almost every coach in America will spend the preseason preaching about how his or her team will be faster and more up-tempo than the one that preceded it. This year, there could be some real truth to it when it comes to the Buckeyes.
For four years, Ohio State’s tempo has centered on the steady, deliberate pace of all-time leading scorer Bruce Thornton. No player had the ball in his hands more than Thornton during any of the past four years, and it all adds up to a specific style of play that, while often effective, was not always the most fastest or most aesthetically pleasing. Words like “bulldog” and “linebacker” were more likely descriptors for the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Thornton than “speedy.”
That’s not a knock on Thornton as much as it’s simply an honest evaluation of his talents, and it affected how fast the Buckeyes could realistically play. Although John Mobley Jr. and Amare Bynum are back for their third and second seasons, respectively, the ascension of Thornton to the NBA gives them and their teammates a chance to forge a different identity.
“Both offensively and defensively, we want to play with great pace,” Diebler said. “When you look at our style last year the ball was obviously in Bruce’s hands a lot.
More tempo does not guarantee better play. The Buckeyes have finished in the top 200 in adjusted tempo twice in the last 11 seasons according to KenPom.com, and in both of those years they went 17-15 and missed the NCAA Tournament. But with a faster backcourt led by Mobley and Cal transfer Justin Pippen and an emphasis on advancing the ball past midcourt on a pass rather than a dribble, it’s clear the Buckeyes think they will be able to increase their tempo this season.
If they can remain among the nation’s most efficient offenses – Ohio State has finished 30th and 17th in adjusted offensive efficiency in Diebler’s first two seasons – it could portend a significantly different attack.
“I think we’ll be less predictable, and our guys have bought in,” Diebler said. “It took some time to get them to play with the pace we want to. We’re still not all the way there. There’s a conditioning requirement for that but we’re getting closer to that. Our guys have bought into passing the ball down the floor, running hard.”
Who will emerge at the center position?
Yes, basketball is more positionless than it’s ever been. While speaking at the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association’s annual clinic Sept. 20, Diebler detailed how his team’s transition offense this season features four players who are interchangeable and one center. The other four can occupy any spot in the plan while the center has a specific position and role regardless of who else is where on the court.
It seems likely that Ohio State’s starting guards and forwards will each average more points per game than whichever player ends up earning the center spot. That doesn’t mean that the position is irrelevant when it comes to figuring out how far the Buckeyes could go this season, though. Ohio State will need its bigs to protect the rim, attack the glass, distribute the ball and be available options within the framework of a retooled offense that won’t revolve around Thornton.
Diebler has options, and for the first time in years Ohio State has multiple players with size who figure to impact the position. Fifth-year Baylor transfer Josh Ojianwuna, who missed last season with a knee injury, is 6-10, 270 pounds and started 23 games for the Bears in 2024-25 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Third-year Ivan Njegovan is the biggest player on the roster at 7-2, 260 and saw his playing time tick upward last year in his second season with the program.
Diebler added Kentucky transfer Andrija Jelavic in the transfer portal, and the 6-11, 240-pound Croatian started 20 games for the Wildcats last season. Then there’s freshman Vuk Lazarevic (7-1, 230) and small-ball center options Amare Bynum (6-8, 245) and Lee Aaliya (6-9, 235).
There’s a lot of possibilities in that group of players. It’s up to Diebler to figure out the best one(s).
“I love that in our frontcourt no two players are alike,” he said. “We have a lot of different options depending on matchups.”
How quickly can Lee Aaliya make an impact?
Ohio State added its final roster piece in late August when Aaliya was announced as the 15th player on the roster. He’d long been committed to the program but was not able to enroll until the end of the summer, giving the Buckeyes a player with professional international experience as well as age.
The start of practice also marked Diebler’s first public comments on the 21-year-old forward who will be expected to play multiple frontcourt positions – namely, power forward and center.
“Lee’s really smart,” the coach said. “He’s picked things up quickly. He’s got versatility.”
Aaliya was not with the Buckeyes during the summer and was not part of their exhibition trip to Puerto Rico, but Diebler said his late addition to the roster has not negatively impacted the locker room.
“What I’ve been impressed with is just how quickly he’s blended in and jelled with the team,” he said. “I value chemistry, and we have great chemistry. When you insert somebody, you never know fully how that’s going to go but it’s been great. He’s been acclimated well.”
Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social, on Instagram at @cdadamjardyor on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 3 pressing questions as Ohio State men's basketball starts practice
