The image looked symbolic. After watching John Mobley Jr. struggle through a prolonged shooting slump, Ohio State coach Jake Diebler put his arm around the sophomore guard as the two walked toward the locker room.
It was halftime, and the Ohio State men’s basketball team had pushed its lead to 15 points against visiting Grambling State thanks to a no-doubt-about-it corner 3 from Mobley with four seconds remaining. After working extra with him privately, speaking positively about him publicly and generally pushing him to get better, it seemed that the coach was taking a moment to appreciate the payoff.
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After Ohio State’s 89-63 win that closed the book on the mid-major portion of the schedule, Mobley said there was more to it.
“I had let them hit a rhythm shot at the other end,” Mobley said. “(I was) telling him I understand that was me, and I got you next time.”
Mobley’s shot was the start of his most prolific outburst in a month. After going 4 for 9 from 3 in a win against Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 25, the sophomore was connecting at a 39.5% rate from beyond the arc, an improvement on his 38.5% freshman season. Then he injured his right ankle in the next game, sat out the second half of a 67-66 road loss to Pitt on Nov. 28 and generally hadn’t seen the same kind of shooting success since.
Starting with that Pitt game, Mobley had gone 8 for 27 (29.7%) from 3 in Ohio State’s next five games, all against high-major competition. Against Grambling on Dec. 23, he finished with a team-high 20 points thanks to a 5-for-8 effort from deep. It marked the sixth time in his career and second this season that he has made a career-high five 3s in a game, and his ability to reestablish his perimeter shooting touch was arguably the most noteworthy development from Ohio State’s 26-point win.
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“I felt good about today, just showing the work I put in is working,” he said. “My touch is coming back. It’s a good feeling. I’m definitely bringing that confidence back up.”
As Mobley has gone from freshman to sophomore, Diebler has repeatedly pointed out Mobley’s all-around game impact aside from just his 3-point shooting. In his past six games, Mobley has 12 assists against five turnovers. Both last time out against North Carolina and against Grambling State, the sophomore finished with four assists and no turnovers.
Ohio State guard John Mobley Jr. reacts after being fouled against Grambling State on Dec. 23.
Ohio State turned it over 14 times against Grambling, but of the seven players to see at least 10 minutes of playing time Mobley was the only not to turn it over.
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“In a game where there were a lot of turnovers and they were ultra-aggressive to turn you over, for him to have four assists and no turnovers is good,” Diebler said. “His assist numbers the last couple of games have been better. That’s part of him breaking through is being the compete player that he’s capable of. Really proud of him. He earned the right to shoot well and play well.”
Now he’ll go into a holiday break and 10-day layoff in between games with a little extra confidence after seeing so many shots go in.
“For him, you really felt like he needed one good one to go in for it to open up because he’s so dynamic,” Diebler said. “This is now multiple games in a row where I think he’s played a good floor game.”
The Buckeyes have won 32 consecutive games against non-high-major competition dating back to the first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Oral Roberts in 2021.
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Here are three other takeaways from the win against Grambling State.
Other guys have to get going from 3, too
Mobley’s strong shooting game was not matched by the rest of his teammates. While he finished 5 for 8 from deep, the rest of Ohio State’s roster shot a combined 1 for 10 from beyond the arc. Freshman Amare Bynum was 1 for 3 while Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal both missed three shots and Gabe Cupps missed his only attempt.
That 33.3% mark from 3 was still Ohio State’s best percentage since it was 15 for 31 (48.4%) against Mount St. Mary’s, but it remains an area in need of improvement.
“All I want for Christmas is for us to get back to shooting at the level that we’re capable of,” Diebler said. “You can choose to look at it and say we’ve hung in some really tough games without shooting anywhere near the level we’re capable of. That’s the way I choose to look at it. You can look at it some other way and say something’s wrong, but the exciting thing for us is we have not offensively quite gotten to where we’re capable of yet.”
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Thornton’s percentage has dropped even as his scoring has not. He finished with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting but has gone 1 for 14 (7.1%) from 3 in his last three games. After going 25 for 45 (55.6%) from 3 through Ohio State’s first nine games, he’s dropped to 44.1% (26 for 59) on the season.
Senior Santa Clara transfer center Christoph Tilly, who is just 4 for 34 (11.8%) this season from deep after shooting 31.5% last year for the Broncos, did not attempt a 3-pointer for the first time in a game this season.
“What I told him is let’s maybe not start off firing 3s,” Diebler said. “Let’s get some rhythm to the game and maybe let them happen later in the clock unless we design some stuff. That’s the conversation. It’s not shoot less, it’s let’s be intentional about what we’re doing.”
Ohio State Buckeyes forward Amare Bynum (1) shoots the ball in the first half of the NCAA men’s basketball game Value City Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio.
Amare Bynum staying in the starting lineup
There were a few pointed talks from Diebler due to a few first-half errors, but freshman Amare Bynum looks poised to remain in the starting lineup after supplanting sixth-year Wright State transfer Brandon Noel two games ago. Bynum had 11 points and six rebounds in the one-point loss to North Carolina, then finished with 12 points and nine rebounds against the Tigers.
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“It felt great, seeing the work paying off that I’m putting in,” he said. “My first start, it felt great against North Carolina. It was a great game. Everybody was being aggressive. Here at home, this felt great because this is home, Buckeye Nation here.”
Diebler said Bynum’s inclusion in the starting lineup helps the Buckeyes bring more energy from the opening jump, something that has been an issue at times this year. It also allows Noel to play with a more well-defined role, one that it seems he will continue to fill as the season progresses.
Since scoring 29 points at Northwestern on Dec. 6, Noel has scored 15 points in his past four games. He was scoreless against North Carolina but had 6 points, three rebounds and three assists against Grambling State.
“We’ve got to get him going,” Diebler said. “I felt like maybe him coming off the bench as we started to move some our lineups would give him more of an ability to be aggressive. We’re working through some of that and he’s going to break through too because he’s working really hard to get it, so all that. Amare, he’s earned it. He’s playing at a high level.”
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Taison Chatman looked good
The highest-rated recruit on the roster is redshirt sophomore guard Taison Chatman, who was the No. 36 prospect in the class of 2023 according to the 247Sports.com composite. Injuries have held him back during his first two years at Ohio State, but Chatman has started to carve out a role as a first-half reserve. Chatman has gotten some run near the midpoint of the first half in each of the last three games and flashed some of his potential against Grambling State.
Chatman finished with 4 points in 8:53, hitting his only field goal of the game, making two free throws, grabbing two rebounds and recording a steal. After the Buckeyes got no bench scoring in their one-point loss to the Tar Heels, they got 13 points from their reserves in this game.
More: Now healthy, Ohio State men’s basketball’s Taison Chatman ready to play
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“We had nowhere to go but up from last game,” Diebler said. “Those guys just have to stay ready.”
On Dec. 22, one day before the Grambling State game, Diebler said Chatman has started to perform with more consistency in practice recently.
“We’ve been intentional about getting him some run in the first half and giving him some opportunity,” Diebler said. “He’s practiced better. He’s been more productive in practice in the last week and a half. Taison’s a great kid. There’s no issue, it’s just getting over the hump.”
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.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: John Mobley reminds Ohio State fans of his shooting talent: Takeaways
