We’ve been waiting on one big piece of news for the Ohio State basketball program because it has a pretty significant impact on next season, and that’s whether or not star shooting guard John Mobley Jr. will be returning for his junior year.
Mobley surprised some by entering his name in the NBA draft, but made it known that if the feedback he received through the process didn’t line up with what he wanted, he would be returning to Columbus to don the scarlet and gray again. On Monday, Mobley made a lot of Buckeye fans happy by deciding to return and be a part of the squad Jake Diebler is putting together for next season.
It wasn’t Mobley himself who made the announcement, but the Ohio State basketball social media team via a pretty sick trailer that was released on X. The trailer is a little over a minute long, and it’ll remind you how deep the Reynoldsburg product’s range is and how many big shots he has hit already through two seasons.
Year 3 loading ⏳@jmobleyjr | #GoBuckspic.twitter.com/seRGEqY8yA
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) May 18, 2026
The Ohio State basketball roster should now be complete, barring a surprise, and it is shaping up to be a good one. Mobley will join other returners Amare Bynum, Josh Ojianwuna, and Ivan Njegovan. Five-star wing Anthony Thompson should add some flair and scoring as a potential future NBA lottery pick, and OSU was also very aggressive in the portal. Head coach Jake Diebler and staff brought in guards Justin Pippen (Cal), Jimmie Williams (Duquesne), and Curtis Givens III (Memphis), along with forward Andrija Jelavic (Kentucky).
We’ll have more on what all this means for Ohio State and what the roster is shaping up to look like in the coming days, but this can only be categorized as very good news for the Buckeyes‘ chances of building on an NCAA Tournament appearance last year.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State basketball guard John Mobley Jr. makes decision on future