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Men's Basketball
Diebler’s Hot Hand Hurting, Not Broken
By Brandon CastelJon Diebler’s hand was still hurting a day after Ohio State’s 72-53 rout of Illinois, but it wasn’t from his hot shooting.
Jon Diebler launches for three against Illinois. Diebler scored a game-high 18 points on six of 11 shooting from three point range.
Photo by Jim DavidsonThe 6-foot-5 junior knocked down six threes as the Buckeyes handed the Fighting Illini their worst home loss in decades. He was so en fuego from long distance that at one point he was heat-checking his heat checks.
“It felt like the hoop was the ocean,” said Diebler, who was hitting walk-off threes without even watching the ball go through the hoop.
“It was just one of those nights. My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball and I thought Dallas (Lauderdale) and Kyle (Madsen) did a great job of screening.”
The streaky sharp-shooter splashed down six threes in that Champaign ocean, but now the big question becomes whether he will be able to do it again Wednesday when the Buckeyes face No. 4 Purdue in Columbus. While consistency has always been Diebler’s biggest battle at Ohio State, this time it’s more about being available than being capable.
After scoring 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from behind the arc, Diebler hit the floor hard late in the game against Illinois and landed awkwardly on his right wrist.
“I know I shouldn’t do this, but I tried taking a charge and I put my hand down,” Diebler said of the play where he was run over by burly point guard Demetri McCamey.
“Stupid mistake. I’m all right, I have tough bones. I drink a lot of milk.”
Diebler was holding his shooting hand as he came off the floor with just over two minutes to play in the game, and the Buckeyes were not going to take any chances, not after the fluke injury to David Lighty last season.
“We X-rayed it last night when we got back and then they did another X-ray today and the X-ray was negative,” Matta said during the Big Ten coaches teleconference Monday.
“They’ve got him in a splint immobilizing it today, but everything is full-go and hopefully, as the day wears on, we’ll get him in for treatment and more movement.”
The Buckeyes won’t know until Tuesday at the earliest whether or not Diebler will be available for their game against the Boilermakers (6:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network). If he’s not, it would be a big blow to the offensive chemistry of a team that has won nine straight games in conference play.
“Right now we’re playing with a lot of confidence and we’re hitting the strides when we need to,” Diebler said.
“Obviously there’s still a lot of things we need to work on, but we feel very good, and we need to come in with a mindset every day in practice.”
With Diebler draining shots from behind the arc, the Buckeyes shot 50 percent from long range against Illinois and 53 percent from the floor despite the fact Evan Turner was just 1-of-6 shooting in the first half.
“When we’re making shots, it’s hard to stop us,” Lighty said.
“When we have Evan coming off a ball screen you have to trap him or double team him or something or he’s going to get a pull-up jumper or go all the way to the rack.
“With Jon, myself and Will (Buford), when we’re on it’s hard to stop.”
Especially Diebler.
The Buckeyes have proven they can win without him having a big night. They’ve had to learn how because of his inconsistency at times and because opposing teams are often willing to play four-on-four with one defender dedicated to mirroring Diebler’s every move.
But when he’s on, the Buckeyes are borderline unbeatable.
While Turner is certainly Ohio State’s best player, nothing makes life easier on him as a scorer or a passer than when Diebler, Lighty and Buford are knocking down shots from the outside.
“We have so many guys that can create going to the basket. When we’re making shots, it’s kind of pick your poison,” said Diebler, who leads the Big Ten in made three pointers (77) and trails only Minnesota’s Blake Hoffarber (.493) for the best percentage (.440) from behind the arc.
“Do you want to take away the three or do you want to clog up the paint?”
Illinois chose to clog the paint and Diebler made them pay. Thad Matta is hoping he will be on the floor Wednesday to help force Purdue into making that same decision.
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