Watch Ohio State’s John Mobley Jr. talk Buckeyes return, summer goals
Ohio State sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. discussed returning to the Buckeyes, his freshman season and more in this June 23, 2025 press conference.
Ohio State guard John Mobley Jr. is working to improve his game after a tiring freshman season.Mobley focused on physical conditioning, nutrition, and recovery during the offseason.He is participating in the Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp and has shown improved consistency and decision-making.
The conversation took place sometime after midnight arrived both on the clock and Ohio State’s season.
Buckeyes coach Jake Diebler was sitting in a conference room, unable to sleep after a first-round Big Ten Tournament loss to Iowa in Indianapolis that extinguished any real hopes of securing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. had struggled, finishing with 8 points on 2-of-10 shooting to give him a fourth single-digit scoring output in the final six games of the year.
Mobley was there to grab a water, but the coach and player struck up a conversation about a season that saw him thrust into a starter’s role and eventually wear down by the end.
“He got so fatigued at the end of last season,” Diebler said. “We sat there and talked for a while and he was like, ‘I get it now. I understand why you’re on me about sleep and nutrition and recovery.’ ”
For a player with a work ethic renowned like Mobley’s it was a stark revelation that more would be required for him to become the player he hopes to be. It also gave the 6-foot-1, 175-pound guard a blueprint for what his offseason would need to look like.
Starting July 29, Mobley was one of 12 college basketball players invited to the Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp running through Aug. 1 in Las Vegas. The full list of camp participants has not yet been disclosed, but Purdue’s Braden Smith and Omer Mayer, Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz and Missouri’s Anthony Robinson II have been announced as attendees.
The season doesn’t start for more than three months, and Ohio State still has a week and a half of summer workouts on the schedule, but Diebler said Mobley has shown the necessary approach to put him in position for a sophomore jump.
“I think he’s gotten leaner and bigger, which was important,” Diebler said. “He’s worked really hard on his body … but I think the thing that I’ve been really excited about is there’s been a consistency to his approach.”
As a freshman, Mobley averaged 13 points and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 38.9% from the floor, 38.5% from 3-point range and 88.2% from the free-throw line. He played 27.8 minutes per game but 29.3 in Big Ten games, assuming an even more prominent backcourt role when Meechie Johnson Jr. left the team after 10 games. Prior to Johnson’s departure, Mobley was averaging 20.9 minutes per game.
It took a toll. This summer, Diebler said the two have talked a lot about the margins and how he can get an edge on his opponent despite not being blessed with a 6-6 frame or a 6-9 wingspan. The answers included outworking others in nutrition, sleep and recovery in addition to the time in the gym and film room.
Diebler is already seeing a renewed focus in those areas star to yield dividends in addition to improvements on the defensive end and his decision-making with the ball.
“Last year, I had to get on him all summer because he’d stop playing when he made a mistake and I only had to do that once this year,” he said. “That’s a little example of growth. I think he’s had a really good summer. I’m really excited about what takes shape for him on the court as far as production goes because I think he’s primed to make a real jump.”
That’s also something one of Mobley’s many Columbus-area mentors has advised him about. Trey Burke, a Northland grad whose jersey will be retired by Michigan this year, went from Big Ten freshman of the year in 2011-12 to the national player of the year and the No. 9 pick in the NBA draft following the 2012-13 season.
The two have worked out together since Mobley was young, and after putting up 34 points in the Kingdom Summer League on Sunday Burke said his sophomore leap was more about what he did off the court than on it.
“My jump had a lot to do with my obedience to God and what I had agreed with Him, the agreements that I made with Him in what I was doing off the court as well as on the court,” Burke said. “Juni has all the skill sets and everything he needs to make that jump. A lot of it is going to be off the court: how disciplined are you off the court with your routine and things of that nature?
“I wish him the best. That’s (like) my little brother, man.”
Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
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