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The Ohio State basketball team fired head coach Chris Holtmann halfway through last season, and assistant Jake Diebler took over as head coach for the remainder of the year. The Buckeyes were one of the worst teams in the Big Ten when Diebler took over, but then they looked like a completely different team and almost made a run to the NCAA Tournament. Diebler was officially named the new head coach in the offseason, and he has done a good job so far getting some transfer portal talent. One key player coming in is Duke basketball transfer Sean Stewart.
Sean Stewart just finished up his freshman season at Duke, and he should be a good contributor for this Ohio State basketball team next season. A big reason why he decided to come play for the Buckeyes is because he already had a relationship with Jake Diebler.
“I had a pre-existing relationship with Jake Diebler,” Stewart said, according to an article from College Hoops Today. “He recruited me out of high school. Ohio State has a bit of a hole at the power forward spot and that’s the role I see myself coming in and filling.”
Diebler didn’t just lightly recruit Stewart, he was giving it his all. The two of them talked frequently and Diebler wanted to land his commitment badly. Stewart decided to go to Duke after high school, but now, Diebler has that commitment that he was looking for.
“Me and Diebler picked up our previous vibe from the first time recruiting me,” Stewart said, according to an article from The Columbus Dispatch. “He was the lead recruiter when I was in high school. We talked almost every day leading up to my decision day, so to have that call when he called me the first day when I entered the portal, it was exciting to talk to him again. He kept reiterating how crazy it was that this came full circle that he recruited me as an assistant coach and now he’s a head coach. It’s a lot of chemistry since the first day he started recruiting me.”
Sean Stewart has high expectations for Ohio State basketball
Sean Stewart wouldn’t have committed to Ohio State basketball if he didn’t think that it would make him better, and that the Buckeyes would win. Stewart wants to show the country how good he is, and he thinks that Ohio State is going to be very good.
“I just want to show people what I can do; really help my team win,” Stewart said. “We have a really talented team. I know we can make it far, so I just really want to be a focal point of the team to help us get to where we want to go. I’m going to be in the gym, working as hard as I can to help us get there.”
Stewart already had a relationship with Jake Diebler, and he also has a relationship with Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton. The two of them played AAU basketball together.
“I’ve been talking to him (again),” Stewart added. “Me and Bruce, we’re really close and we talk a lot. He’s going to be really excited when he hears the news.”
Ohio State has sent a lot of players like Stewart to the NBA, and they will also likely need Stewart to play right away. Both of those things made this decision easier on him as well.
“Ohio State, they’ve had a lot of versatile 4s come through there and show what they can do on the next level and ultimately gone onto the NBA,” Stewart said. “I’ve watched guys like E.J. Liddell and Keita Bates-Diop, guys like that who were very versatile that Diebler was able to work with, be in the gym with. Seeing those guys, being able to show my full skill-set, that’s something that Diebler really saw me do a lot in high school, which is why he believed in me to come into the program and help them. I feel like they need some depth at the forward spot, so I’ll get a chance to help right away.”
All in all, the Ohio State basketball team is a perfect fit for Sean Stewart. He is excited about the move, and so his dad, Michael.
“One thing that’s super important is coach Diebler’s a young coach, and the opportunity for them to grow together,” Stewart’s dad said. “They had a previous relationship. He’s an assistant coach. Now he’s the head coach. Hasn’t coached many games. Sean, I guess, big-time high school recruit. Didn’t play a lot of minutes. Now they’re paired back together with an opportunity to grow together to do some really special things at Ohio State University. I’m looking forward to that piece of the story.”
A new era of hoops is beginning at Ohio State with Jake Diebler as the new head coach, and he has hit the ground running.
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