Ross Bjork fields questions on why he decided to hire Jake Diebler
Thank you you you’ve talked throughout this process about head coaching experience being important and then you talked about all the things that that Jake met as you went through this process can you elaborate on all the other things that you think make up for the one thing that might be missing
Which is lack of head coaching experience yeah look I I think what we saw the last eight games has it been eight games and there’s another game where he subbed in I think when uh when coach was and so look either you have the wherewithal or you don’t he out
Coached coaches that have been doing this a long time strategy substitutions timeouts so as You observe that you say okay do you have that wherewithal clearly he has a Whisperer has his dad in his ear and sort of that born to coach mentality so as we looked at all the characteristics
As we looked at where is this program at now what’s what’s coming down the pathway in terms of the next couple classes here in the state of Ohio which are really deep in recruiting I sat down with uh folks that know recruiting in this landscape and to connect all the
Dots that he has there’s value in that there’s value in that in terms of other people that would have to come in and learn that perhaps so we just thought look if we know where we’re going let’s pull the trigger he’s the real deal he knows how to live at the highest level
Of college basketball he’s seen it in action so to me that made up for the lack of of long-term head coaching experience because he just fits with where we are in this program right now Andy Anders 11 warriors uh yeah uh what what else about his broader Vision
You talked about the on court side of it you talked about the recruiting but obviously there’s a lot that goes into this in terms of transfer portal nil staff construction what about those things in terms of his long-term vision for the program stood out to you to me
That’s where as an assistant coach in this modern era you know I I think you actually take his age as an advantage the the relatability piece he recruited most of the guys or was the lead recruiter on most of the guys on the roster he’s recruiting that next
Generation of guys that are you know considering Ohio State so to me you take all that whole package that he offers yeah he may be a certain age but either the wherewithal is there and the DNA is there and and what I think about Jake as
I was going through my process to become an ad he actually reminds me a lot of myself cuzz he’s overprepared because he’s been dreaming about this for a long long time and I think I was 37 when I became an ad Jake how old are you 37
37 so very similar in terms of the preparation just because you’re not the head coach and title doesn’t mean you don’t have a organized plan doesn’t mean you don’t have a vision doesn’t mean you’re not establishing core values for when you might take over a job so he was
Equipped I think a little bit beyond maybe what you see on a resume Dan hope 11 Warriors Ross you talked about the standard here needs to go up in your mind what is the standard for Ohio State basketball I think we should be consistently in the conversation for Big 10 championships
And if you’re doing that then you’re going to be in a postseason run where you have the wherewithal to go to the final four and cut down those Nets we we’ve been to final fours in Rec history right and so we we have that in our DNA
The way I described it to Adam when I talked to him last month was we have a blue blood type program right now we need to be consistent in maximizing those ingredients so to me those are the things that he can activate so whether it’s the recruiting piece whether it’s
The resources whether it’s working with the foundation in the 1870 Society on nil we have to maximize all those resources we need to sell more season tickets right lower ticket prices we’re getting ready to to launch all the season ticket renewals those things all have to be turned on and and this man
Right here has the leadership ability to activate all of those things so those are the ingredients that we have now we have to turn it on and so that’ll be the work that we have to do all of us in this department have to think of basketball at a higher level to achieve
What we want in terms of reaching that standard of uh cutting down Nets Andy Backstrom Letterman row Ross you said that you started this process in Texas when you were still on statical then you got here in Columbus what was what most impressed you I guess about
Jake as a leader once you got here and you got the seat in action I saw it I saw it in that Purdue game and I thought he was actually going to play I think he was on the court a couple times I think
They told him to back off to me you just you saw the energy you saw the connectivity you saw that he was maybe going to open up the style of play a little bit more maybe there’s a little more freedom of of playability if you will that’s what players want to play in
They want to play in a in a structured but yet open style to maximize their talent so you you saw all of those things and then when I came to the game on uh on March the 3 I saw the environment and what it’s capable of I
Saw the way we played I mean we we hammered him in the second half I mean that was awesome to see right and so all of those elements just came together and then you have to sit down and talk so we met with Jake I don’t know two or three
Weeks ago uh when I got here we met in person and then through conversations solidifying what that plan could be what he brings to the table what his blueprint could be for this program in terms of the program identity again it was it was the right decision for all of those reasons Pat
Murphy 247 Sports Ross similar to to kind of what you were just saying but when you have an interim coach you often see a bump how do you distinguish between the pressures off guys are playing free under a different guy verse sort of what you were just talking about
With Jake as the coach knowing that this will be a different situation come November next year well I think that’s what you have to test him on and that’s what the conversations were about right this isn’t just five weeks right this is okay this is a long-term vision and do
You have the plan are you prepared to make the right kind of adjustments that we need to make knowing that we have a a really good foundation but are you prepared to make those and that’s through conversation you you test that willpower that he has and
Again people are born to do this and there’s leadership there’s innate leadership abilities that you that you see manifest in conversations in interactions the way he carried himself in in the media he never he never made it about self-preservation that he’s doing everything to manipulate it to get the
Job he was doing everything what’s best for the program in this time so all of that comes with a maturity level where you know that this is sustainable and that that came through in the process Tim May the Tim May Show and Letterman row thanks Jerry uh Ross did it hit you
In Minneapolis when did it hit you that this was the mo I mean this was the right call this was your decision honestly yeah Dan and I I don’t know the exact date guess I got here on March 2nd I’m trying to think what date we first
Uh sat down and met with Jake honestly I walked out of the room and I said this guy could do the job there is no question that he could do the job he’s got the ability he’s got the leadership skills he’s got the connectivity and then as I really research more the
Recruiting pieces of it the leadership pieces of it spending more time with him I’m watching him in person I went to a practice last week you see how that’s organized you see that energy again you kind of know it when you see it and so that piece of it
Really came together over the last couple weeks and then I told everybody that I talked to about this that this is a key weekend selection Sunday transfer portal even though it’s been open here on our campus for for a while the transfer portal starts today we wanted
To make a postseason run run but I knew that you had to have some kind of clarity going into this weekend and going into this week there’s a lot of jobs open right and so if we honed in on the right person let’s just pull the trigger and let’s make it happen and
Let’s provide the clarity for our roster let’s provide Clarity in recruiting let’s provide Clarity in the transfer world that this is our guy and let’s go and tomorrow night we tip off at 7:00 under his leadership permanently Rob Aller Columbus Dispatch he said said uh he kind of has a lot of
Intangibles and players have said he’s got the it factor maybe you already spoke to this but what do you what do you see as an IT factor in him honestly it it’s really the moment that we had like in the kitchen living room at the debler house like it is
About family values it is about faith it is about togetherness if you have those characteristics SS in your home life that’s going to carry over to your professional life and then you see the way he connects with our current players with our former players the way he connects with our
Donors all of those things just stand out in a meaningful way that it’s not it’s not fake one of the one of the things I’ve learned in the last couple weeks is there’s not pretense here at Ohio State and if anybody signifies that it’s Jake debler so that’s just real and
Genuine and and to me that carries over over to whatever realm we’re going to be in whether it’s recruiting whether it’s interacting with the public whether it’s out campaigning for season tickets or donations it’s the personality that matters and and leadership ability is leadership ability really I I look he’s done it for
The eight games eight or nine games as the head coach but now you’re moving over people talk about ambass you’re moving over the 18 Ines and it’s such a big difference so what our job to will be is to help him help him understand the magnitude of that this is a big
Place it’s a massive place I called it a public trust when I got introduced right so that that’s a big deal that comes with the stature of that and so having the ability to handle that until you’re in it but again he’s going to go back to
His faith he’s going to go back to support that he has from his family we’re going to have to help him through that so that’s really the growth that all of us go through as Leaders until you’re in it it’s hard to really know what it looks like and that’s where all
The support will uh will come into play got two more questions for Ross uh first Spencer hook let himman R Ross uh correct me if I’m wrong but your your hiring track record doesn’t truly suggest like hiring from within does it make it a little easier to hire with
From within when you can put nil backing and other resources that maybe weren’t available in college Athletics four or five years ago now you can put those behind a guy and and help him as he learns how to be a head coach for the first time you you always do what’s best
For the institution and so you go on information that you have so whatever whatever you’re alluding to I’m not quite sure but you go with the best information at the time you have it Jake debler is the right guy no matter if he’s promoted within down the hallway or
We hired him from another program support matters in modern-day College athletics so what we’ve said here is that we embrace all of it from buying a t-shirt to raising dollars for capital projects to nil to the working with the foundation all of that matters so embracing that he’s already been doing
That since he’s been back here and so to me that’s a piece of the puzzle but it comes down to leadership and that’s what Jake possesses and final question for Ross uh Steven means cleveland.com you kind of mentioned it already the recruiting aspect that he’s recruited
Mostly guys on his roster he’s from here he’s got a brother who’s played it seemed like some of the other options reportedly were outside hires but maybe with outside hires you may be starting from scrats especially in this world how much did that matter when you decide to
Go with Jake in a situation where it doesn’t seem like because of all his other elements he’s not necessarily starting from scratch even if he’s yeah again the profile the characteristics was he matching all of those the answer was yes the added bonus of this is the timing he’s already been hitting the
Ground running from a recruiting standpoint he’s already got those built-in relationships so the added bonus where he has a head start that was an attractive piece of it but he had to fit the other things first if he didn’t match the other characteristics and you only went with that was that
Sustainable the leadership and the wherewithal has to be sustainable and so that was the first thing this piece right here that’s where you can really flip it quickly and that’s where you can get back to the standard that we expect and so that that’s the attit bonus of
Having those ties to the state of Ohio and his legacy here in this state
Soon to be Athletic Director Ross Bjork met with reporters on Monday to field questions on why he hired interim coach Jake Diebler on a full-time basis.
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