Mailbox: Will Ohio State ever invest in making basketball great?

Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com. Letters are lightly edited for clarity.

On Ohio State football, basketball

To the editor: Rob Oller’s column about football schools winning basketball championships was well done. Most of the OSU fans are football and only football fans. The media – Dispatch and talk radio − confirm this statement. Just look at the column inches and the minutes on talk radio that the football program received even weeks after the national championship. I am not complaining about the media. They are just giving their readers and listeners what they want – football 24/7.

The OSU administration will not seriously invest in basketball because the donors aren’t pressuring them to have a strong program. Not that long ago, OSU decided to give a young assistant coach with no head coaching experience the opportunity to run the football program. How long did Luke Fickell last? Now they hired a young inexperienced head basketball coach, and the results were predictable. Yet Diebler’s job seems safe because most of the fan base doesn’t care about basketball and would rather see more money poured into assistant football coaches’ salaries. Rob ends his column with: “The basketball side of things needs to figure things out. Quickly.” Very true, but very unlikely to happen.

Raymond D’Angelo, Westerville

To Raymond: One of Diebler’s biggest challenges is to get rid of the relative apathy fans have for Ohio State basketball. The Buckeyes aren’t bad. But being merely competitive and therefore lacking a real hoops-crazy home-court advantage won’t cut it with a fan base with high expectations fueled by football success.

On Ohio State football

To Brian: We all can agree that Ryan Day had a well above average last season. It is unfortunate that his record in spring games is abysmal, and I believe I speak for a very vocal minority of OSU fans in stating that if he does not win on Saturday, we really should look elsewhere.

What have you done for me lately?

Steve Wilson

To Steve: I know this letter is outdated by the time it runs both in print and online on Sunday, but I’m running it anyway because it’s among my favorite emails of the past year. Thanks.

To the editor: The OSU football powers should be ashamed for not paying a football living wage to their student (should be employee) athletes. Each week the football players risk life, limb and permanent pain and suffering on the gridiron and OSU is awash in money. The OSU football program was a cash cow in fiscal year 2024, according to the report filed by OSU. The report stated football ticket sales were over 47 million dollars and media revenue for football over 39 million dollars.

It is only fair and just that OSU distribute at least 25% of its gross football revenues on a per capita basis to each football player who sustains the aches and pains of big time football. This is over and above the NIL money that individual athletes earn. Without the elite football players, OSU is just an Otterbein with a big stadium, and this fan would like to see each individual football player get a piece of the golden pie that they generate.

Michael Oser, Columbus

Buy Ohio State books, posters, gear from CFP title win

On college basketball

To Brian: At 24 years old, Kerr Kriisa has transferred from Kentucky to play college basketball at Cincinnati next year. He’s also played for Arizona and West Virginia over the last five seasons, but given the free COVID year as a freshman and injury-shortened season this year, he still has eligibility.

I wonder where the young man from Estonia stands toward getting a degree after spending the best five years of his life on college campuses. Once upon a time, playing a sport was just extracurricular activity for students who were also focused on academics. But that hasn’t been the reality for some sports for a long time, as 66,602 paid big money to fill a football stadium Monday night to watch a basketball game.

Dennis Singleton, Dayton

To Brian: I’m sure Austin Parks and his parents had high hopes for a memorable experience at Ohio State. Why is he leaving? a.) If he’s healthy and wants to start, that may be wise. b.) Injury has slowed his development. But, likely, c.) the “win it now” system often favors the experience of incoming transfers.

Compare today with OSU’s more recent success under Thad Matta back through Jim Jackson and other highlights, then down to the ’60s. Maybe there’s just a lull, though UConn’s recent feat ( NCAA, ’23-24) seems almost an anomaly. Michael Arace tenderly covered yesteryear’s champions Lucas, Havlicek, Nowell, et al; teams under Fred Taylor with the full package: Coachability and individual skills at the core. Leadership, discipline and character raring to blossom – a specialness measured only in years.

Chris Holtmann was the last to win successive seasons (five) before early NBA exits sped up his decline and OSU’s “demise.” As you conveyed, the portal-expansion era emphasizes the need for player retention. Can Diebler combine the best of now and then?

Larry Cheek, Dublin