Ohio State basketball coach Jake Diebler believes first-year freshmen will add “real value” to Ohio State

Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart are promising young players who will contribute immediately; Meechie Johnson Jr. will start at guard and Micah Parrish has a good chance of starting on the wing.

However, they are not the only new additions that could be important for the Buckeyes this season, as freshmen Juni Mobley and Colin White are also making a first impression for Ohio State’s new coach.

“I really like both of our freshmen,” Diebler said Tuesday. “I think both of them will be able to add real value to this team. How that will look in November and maybe January, because that will change as they get older, that remains to be seen. But both guys love Ohio State, which I think is really valuable.”

Although, as Diebler noted, it will still be a “transition” as Mobley vie to become an immediate key part of the Buckeyes’ backcourt rotation and White impresses Diebler in practice, the Ohio State 2024 duo are taking their first steps just months into their careers in Columbus.

Mobley is the more promising of the two prospects, a four-star prospect ranked No. 51 and No. 5 among combo guards in the 247Sports Composite. Originally from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, he transferred from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas to Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, before beginning his senior year of baseball after averaging 20.1 points per game in his junior season with the Gaels.

Wasatch plays in the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference, a Nike-sponsored high school league that includes top teams such as Montverde, Long Island Lutheran and IMG Academy. Mobley averaged 21.5 points, 5.4 assists and two steals per game for the Tigers, leading the way in all three categories.

Shooting is perhaps his greatest skill. Dubbed “The Sniper” in 247Sports’ 2024 recruiting class superlatives, Mobley sank 41.5% of his 3-pointers in 23 games on Nike’s EYBL tour last summer and earned an invitation to the High School Rockin’ Protein Men’s 3-Point Shootout.

“June Mobley was, in my opinion, one of the very best shooters in the country, regardless of his class,” Diebler said in June.

Like White, Mobley will need some time to adjust to the spacing and speed of the college game, but Diebler noted that Mobley’s ability to create space for his shots is as impressive as his shots themselves.

“Juni’s ability to get a shot off and create space has been impressive as well, as he’s moved up a level now,” Diebler said. “They’ll have to adapt to the speed we want to play at, the tempo and physicality of things, for sure. But I’m impressed with both of them.”

“June Mobley was, in my opinion, one of the very best shooters in the country, regardless of his class.”– Jake Diebler

Mobley could have a big weight on his shoulders early on. While Ohio State is considering signing a veteran guard through the transfer portal, a season-ending injury to Taison Chatman means Mobley is currently one of three true scholarship players on the Buckeyes’ roster, alongside Johnson and returning two-year starter Bruce Thornton.

“(It will) create more opportunities for guys like June,” Diebler said of replacing Chatman. “I would add Colin White to that list; could open up some opportunities. And then with Evan (Mahaffey) and Devin (Royal), and I’ve told them this, I’ve challenged them to improve their game in the offseason to be able to do more of those things on the perimeter. I guess by committee, yeah, that’s going to be part of it. But I’m not worried about it, some guys just need to try a little harder.”

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White graduated from high school as a three-star prospect, ranked 153rd overall and 30th nationally as a small forward, but his accolades in high school for Ottawa-Glandorf in Ottawa, Ohio, speak to his potential for something bigger.

A two-time first-team All-State selection, White joined the likes of Devin Royal, Malaki Branham, Kaleb Wesson, Jared Sullinger, William Buford, Jon Diebler and even Jim Jackson on the Buckeyes after his 2023-24 season won Ohio Mr. Basketball, averaging an impressive 25.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, three assists and 2.6 steals per game in his senior year.

Now that he’s on campus, his approach to the game has already impressed his new head coach.

“I was impressed with Colin’s physicality,” Diebler said. “I think both guys are smart basketball players. They have a high basketball IQ. But Colin’s physicality for a freshman was impressive.”

White accomplished something during his prep season that only LeBron James could, starting Ohio State in the Final Four in each of his four seasons with Ottawa-Glandorf. The Titans finished as runners-up in 2022 and 2023.

Mobley’s performance was such that Wasatch finished 8th in the USA his senior year and tied for second place at the Nevada state championships his sophomore year with Bishop Gorman.

“They both won in high school. For Colin to be in the state semifinals four out of four years is, I mean, incredible. That’s great,” Diebler said. “And for Juni to then play in probably the best high school league in the country and have the success he’s had this year is really going to benefit him.”

“For Colin to be in the semifinals of the state championships four out of four years is, I mean, unbelievable. It’s awesome.”– Jake Diebler

With the transfer portal perhaps shaping the world of college basketball even more than football — given the number of players who can move from season to season — Diebler has stressed that recruiting will continue to be an important part of his Ohio State program. While it’s unrealistic to say there won’t be more player turnover than in the past, he still wants multi-year additions who can mature within the walls of the Schottenstein Center.

“We still want — development is really, really important to me,” Diebler said. “It still goes back to the growth that I talked about. We still want guys that can develop in our program, and I think we have some guys on our roster where you’ll see that. Certainly from last year to this year, but also over the course of this season and ultimately a few guys from this year to next year.”

He expects both Mobley and White to make great progress in their first year.

“The two freshmen we brought in are good players,” Diebler said. “They both come from good programs and have been coached well, which makes the transition easier. They’re both very competitive and they both love Ohio State. And you can see that in the fact that they came here ready, ready to go, ready to work.”