While Centerville grad Gabe Cupps worked out with the guards, Wright State transfer Brandon Noel put up shots with the big men.
Credit: Marcus Hartman/STAFF
Credit: Marcus Hartman/STAFF
They are two of the new pieces Jake Diebler brought in over the past few months in hopes of improving on the 17-15 record the Buckeyes put in his first season as permanent head coach.
Cupps, who spent two years at Indiana but took a medical redshirt last season, is joining a backcourt that includes All-Big Ten point guard Bruce Thornton and sharp-shooting sophomore John Mobley Jr. as returning starters and reserve Taison Chatman, a top 40 prospect two years ago who has been slowed by injuries.
The 6-foot-2 Cupps helped lead Centerville to the Division I state championship in 2021 and was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball in 2022 when he averaged 14.2 points and 6.8 assists per game and shot 44.3 percent from 3-point range.
Credit: Marcus Hartman/STAFF
Credit: Marcus Hartman/STAFF
How he fits into Diebler’s rotation with Thornton, a scoring point guard, remains to be seen, but the coach suggested he could play off the ball more and benefit from having to run the offense all the time.
However that ends up looking, Diebler is happy to have the son of an accomplished coach like Centerville’s Brook Cupps in his gym now.
“One thing I know about Gabe is he’s really tough,” Diebler said. “He knows the game at a high level — and his intangibles. The way he can impact the game may not always show up with stats. However, he also can produce.
“He can make shots. He knows how to read the game coming off ball screens and zoom actions, which we’re going to be doing a lot of.”
Diebler, who played for his father, Keith, at Fostoria and Upper Sandusky before going to Valparaiso, also said he sees some of himself in Cupps.
“He’s better than I was, but I’ve just always seen a lot of who I was as a player in him, I just like that, and I think it impacts winning. I think it’s important. I think it’s impactful,” said Diebler, whose team faded down the stretch last season and ended up missing the NCAA Tournament.
“We felt like we needed to raise kind of our team internal leadership, and I think he certainly does that,” Diebler said. “I think (forward Devin Royal) getting older and John getting older helps with that, but we needed to bring some outside voices in, too, to help with that and help Bruce do that. So he’ll provide all of that stuff. I’m really excited.
“He’s been great from what we’ve seen so far, but I think as far as the specifics, that’s got to play out over time.”
Noel will be part of a remade frontcourt that also includes Santa Clara transfer Christoph Tilly and Baylor transfer Josh Ojianwuna, who are all seniors.
“I think Brandon and (Tilly) both are really smart,” Diebler said. “Combine that basketball IQ with their skill level, being able certainly to make shots, but pass, make decisions, dribble.
“That combination I think really is going to help that transition for them.”
The veteran newcomers will have an opportunity to make a big difference after young, high-profile transfers Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart didn’t work out last season and left the program after one year.
“We need them to be impactful — there’s no question about it,” Diebler said of the new big guys. “I don’t think we need either of them to be the same player they were (at their previous schools).
“It’s not that they haven’t played on good teams, but this is the best collection of talent that they’ve played on, and I think that they’ve got to make an adjustment to that, too. But the guys we have coming back have got to make an adjustment to that because they’re going to be important pieces for us.”
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