Ohio State Buckeyes Men's Basketball Hires Joel Justus As Associate Head Coach

The Ohio State Buckeyes' new head coach Jake Diebler continues to add pieces to his staff.

Mar 5, 2022; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils assistant coach Joel Justus against the / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Ohio State Buckeyes announced the hiring of Joel Justus as associate head coach on Monday.

Justus is the latest addition to new head coach Jake Diebler's staff and is fresh off a Final Four run this season with the NC State Wolfpack where Justus worked under Kevin Keatts.

Mar 5, 2022; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils assistant coach Joel Justus against the / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

“Joel is someone I have known for a while and I’m excited to have him join our staff,” Diebler said. “He is a well-rounded coach with great experience in the development and recruiting spaces, while winning everywhere he's been. His vision for building a program and developing a winning culture is something I was looking for and I can’t wait for him to get started.”

Before joining the Wolfpack in Raleigh, Justus worked under Bobby Hurley at Arizona State and spent seven seasons at Kentucky.

While in his first year at Kentucky, Justus helped guide the Wildcats to both the SEC regular-season and tournament championships and an Elite Eight appearance. He also had a hand in recruiting, where Kentucky had the Recruiting Services Consensus Index's best-ever recruiting class in 2017 and the No. 1 overall class in 2020.

Justus played for UNC-Wilmington where he helped the Seahawks take two Colonial Athletic Association championships and make three postseason appearances at the 2001 NIT and the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and 2003.

Justus will join Diebler in his initial season as the head coach after going 6-2 with the interim title.

"Throughout the search, every time we analyzed what was best for the program, our decision kept leading right back to Jake," Senior Advisor for Intercollegiate Athletics Ross Bjork said in a statement. "The way he has led the program since February 14 has been exemplary and is only the beginning of what lies ahead for Buckeye Basketball. The future is exciting, and I cannot wait to watch him lead this program."