Adam JardyColumbus Dispatch
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A bundle of relationships stretching back more than a decade led to a career-altering text message for Talor Battle.
After his third season as an assistant coach on Chris Collins’ staff at Northwestern, Penn State’s all-time leading scorer was sitting on his couch getting ready to take his daughter to school when a message arrived on his phone from an old friend. It came from Jake Diebler, Ohio State’s new coach, who wanted to see about adding Battle to his coaching staff.
It was the kind of opportunity that Battle, 35, couldn’t turn down, even after having made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in Northwestern history. Monday, he was announced as the final member of Diebler’s five-man coaching staff, adding another chapter to a relationship that stretches back to Battle’s playing days.
“Things were great at Northwestern,” he said in a Tuesday phone interview as he was leaving Value City Arena. “I wasn’t unhappy. Chris was great to me, but an opportunity to be at Ohio State and be with someone that I know … If I didn’t strongly, strongly believe, I would not be here. That goes without saying. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
The challenge is to get Ohio State back toward the upper echelon of the Big Ten. In March, incoming athletic director Ross Bjork promoted Diebler from acting head coach to the full-time job with a five-year contract paying him $2.5 million annually. Since the season ended with a loss in the NIT quarterfinals, Diebler has been rebuilding the roster while also turning over the coaching staff in preparation for his first season as a head coach.
The shared history between Battle, Diebler and some of Ohio State’s biggest stars dating back to his time at Penn State from 2007-11 all played a factor in joining the Buckeyes. Evan Turner, whose No. 21 jersey hangs in the rafters at Value City Arena, is among Battle’s closest friends. Turner and former teammate Jon Diebler remain tight, and when Battle was playing professionally overseas he would spend time in Columbus during the summer working out (and playing Call of Duty) with them.
Along the way, he developed a friendship with Jake Diebler, Jon’s older brother. In 2018, Battle played with Jon Diebler and several other Buckeyes as part of Ohio State’s Carmen’s Crew alumni team in The Basketball Tournament.
So while Ohio State is the only school Battle never beat while playing for the Nittany Lions, a detail he cites unprompted, there has long been a level of familiarity with the Buckeyes.
“I joked with Jake that because I played on that Carmen’s Crew team for TBT a few years back it’s like I’m the adopted son out here with the Buckeyes even though I played at Penn State,” he said.
Tuesday, Battle said he walked out of the Ohio State locker room and ran into former Buckeyes William Buford and Aaron Craft, both of whom were among his teammates on Carmen’s Crew.
The move wasn’t just about being around friends, thought. Battle said he shares Jake Diebler’s goals for Ohio State and his plans to get there which, coupled with their longstanding relationship, made the move the right one for him.
“I know this is his first time as a head coach but I really believe in him, really believe in his vision for the program,” Battle said. “For him, it’s to get Ohio State back to where it belongs: winning Big Ten championships and making deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. Alongside the relationship there’s goals. His goals align with mine, wanting to compete and compete at a high level.”
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While at Northwestern, Battle helped coach a backcourt that featured two-time all-Big Ten guard Boo Buie, his brother, and Chase Audige, a second-team all-league pick and member of the league’s all-defensive team in 2022-23. At Ohio State, he will have a hand in helping further develop a position group headlined by Bruce Thornton and Meechie Johnson. Thornton was named third-team all-Big Ten last year and Johnson was a second-team all-SEC pick at South Carolina.
“I think our guys got better (over time),” he said. “At Northwestern, we didn’t always get maybe the cream of the crop of high school players but we had to really develop them and I think we did a great job as a staff developing Boo Buie and Chase Audige and all those guys into all-league players. Brooks Barnhizer and Ty Berry and Matt Nicholson, guys who developed.
“We’ve got a lot of great kids on this (Ohio State) roster. I just want to play a small part in helping them grow on and off the court. If we can do that, we can accomplish some great things.”
ajardy@dispatch.com
