Gibsonburg native Jon Diebler set a few basketball goals for himself as a young boy, and the results speak for themselves.

• Win a high school state basketball championship. As a sophomore, Diebler scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Upper Sandusky (27-0) to a 94-86 win over Wooster Triway in the 2005 Division II state title game.

• Finish his prep career as the all-time leading scorer in Ohio high school history. Diebler, who was named Ohio Mr. Basketball in 2007, led the nation in scoring at 41.2 points per game as a senior and ended his career with state-record 3,208 points.

Gibsonburg native Jon Diebler

• Earn a Division I college scholarship. Diebler just completed an outstanding four-year career at Ohio State, leading the Buckeyes to last year's Big Ten regular season and tournament titles and a No. 1 national ranking. Diebler led the nation in 3-point shooting (50 percent) and set the Big Ten record for career 3-pointers (374).

• Get drafted by an NBA team. Last Thursday, Diebler became the Portland Trailblazers' second-round pick (51st overall) in the NBA draft. The Blazers' first-round pick (21st overall) was point guard Nolan Smith of Duke.

All that remains for the 6-foot-6 Diebler, who turned 23 on June 22, to accomplish on the basketball court is to make the Trailblazers' roster.

Diebler, who as of Wednesday night was still in Portland, was profiled on Trailblazers TV last weekend and appeared at ease answering viewers' questions. (The interview can be seen on www.trailblazerstv.com).

“I love it; it's a nice city,” Diebler said. “It's my second time ever being to Portland. The first time was for the workout I had here. It was a short stay. I love the facilities and I'm loving the people here. I'm just happy to be here. I'm happy for this opportunity and I'm blessed to have the opportunity to hopefully play at this level and be a part of the Portland organization.”

Diebler put himself on the NBA's radar as an OSU senior. He averaged 12.6 points and shot 51 percent from the field and 81 percent from the free throw line for coach Thad Matta's Buckeyes. On March 1, Diebler connected on 10 straight 3-pointers to break an Ohio State single-game record en route to scoring a career-high 30 points in the Buckeyes' 82-61 win at Penn State.

Basketball runs in the family
Father Keith Diebler's 26-year head coaching career has included stops at Gibsonburg, Fostoria and Upper Sandusky. Last season, he was an assistant under former Clay coach Joe Guerrero at Bowsher, and he plans to return to the Rebels next season. Keith had the opportunity to coach all three of his sons – Jeremiah, Jake and Jon - in high school.

Jeremiah, 29, played for his father at Gibsonburg, and this season he finished a three-year coaching career at Lindsey Wilson College, an NAIA school in Kentucky.

Jake, 24, played for his father at Upper Sandusky and was a senior on the Rams' 2005 state championship team. He went on to play college ball at Valparaiso (Ind.), where he is now an assistant coach.

Jon told Trailblazers TV viewers that Jake has been his biggest inspiration. Jake, who is Ohio's all-time leader in career steals (578), career assists (835) and single-season assists (294), worked out with Jon at Valparaiso prior to the NBA draft.

“My brother Jake is the hardest worker I've ever seen,” Diebler said. “I'm just amazed at how hard he works at everything, not just basketball but just in everyday life. Just to see his determination is what gets me going and fires me up to want to do well.

“Growing up in a basketball family, my dad was my high school coach … so I've been around the game my whole life. I used to be a manager for my father when I was younger. I just remember being in a gym ever since I could walk. Even my mom (Renee) played basketball, so it runs in the family. Having Pops as a coach and two older brothers, you just kind of grow up around basketball.”

Keith Diebler said Jon has dreamed of playing in the NBA since he was 6 or 7 years old.

“That's the dream of every basketball player growing up,” he said. “Jake and Jon and Jeremiah have been around basketball since they were born. I would say (Jon thought about the NBA) back when he was pretending to be (Cleveland Cavaliers guard) Mark Price. Back in the days at Gibsonburg, we had one of those things set up where Jake was Michael Jordan and Jon was Mark Price.”

Hard work pays off at Ohio State
Diebler certainly didn't look like an NBA prospect as a freshman at Ohio State in 2007-08, when he averaged just 5.9 points a game and shot a pedestrian 29 percent from 3-point range.

He continued to work, however, and averaged 11.2 points on 42 percent shooting from 3-point range as a sophomore. As a junior he averaged 13 points and shot 42 percent from beyond the arc.

“Ohio State has an excellent staff,” Keith Diebler said. “Their individual skill work is second to none and that helped Jon tremendously. Coming out of high school there was a lot of doubt if he could play. He continues to prove the critics wrong. He got off to a rough start. The mental adjustment was a big thing. I don't think it was physical. He didn't shoot well and it tested him faith-wise and it tested him, period.”

In 2010-11, Diebler led the nation in 3-point field goal accuracy and played a major role in the Buckeyes coming within one 3-point basket of reaching the Final Four.

“He stayed true to his faith and beliefs that he could do it, and he worked himself out of it,” Keith said. “Coach Matta believed in him and so did his inner circle. Jon's always been humble. He's never been one to take the credit. He kind of worked his way out of it along with the staff.”

Diebler scored 16 points in his final game as a Buckeye, a 62-60 loss in the closing seconds to Kentucky in the NCAA East Regional semifinals. Diebler hit a long 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to tie the game at 60-all, but the Buckeyes, the No. 1 overall tournament seed, couldn't hold on.

No one will argue that Diebler's 3-point marksmanship was his ticket to the NBA, and there's nothing wrong with that, his father said.

“Thad Matta said it best that in the NBA, 7 percent are stars and 93 percent are role players and specialists,” Keith said. “At Jon's size, we groomed him to be a point guard (at Upper Sandusky). He has always shot threes, and we always emphasized that with him because of his size. You have to have a skill to get in the NBA. Obviously he has some skills, along with some other skills, but that was his specialty. You have to work at the game.”

Diebler told Trailblazers TV viewers that he understands what role Portland will want him to play. He said he compares his game to that of Kyle Korver of the Chicago Bulls and J.J. Redick of the Orlando Magic. Korver and Redick have been in the NBA for seven and five years, respectively, and are known for their long-range shooting skills.

“What I do best is shooting threes,” Diebler said, “so that's what people are going to recognize me for. I'm also a very good teammate. I love to win and I love to compete, and I think I have a pretty high basketball IQ. Those are the things I like to hang my hat on, just competing and working hard.

“There's definitely a spot for a shooter (in Portland). I'm definitely excited to have the opportunity. I'm going to come in and work hard. The main thing for me is gaining the trust of my teammates and gaining the trust of the coaches, coming in and trying to be a great teammate and do what you're supposed to do and just try and play your role to the best of your ability. I'm just going to try to come in and fill my role ... do what I'm supposed to, playing defense and stretching the floor.”

Portland is a long way from Toledo
Keith Diebler said his family had no preference which NBA team drafted Jon, who got married in June. Portland is, however, 2,349 miles from Toledo.

“At that level of play, when you consider only 60 people were picked (in the draft) out of the entire world, he felt blessed he got a chance to go to Portland,” Keith said. “Greg Oden (former OSU center) is there and Jon knows Greg real well. When Jon went there for a workout, he loved the city. He just wanted a chance and he feels blessed with who picked him.

“We're excited for the three communities we've been in. When you look at Gibsonburg, we were there the majority of our lives. Moving to Fostoria and Upper Sandusky, our boys look at all three communities as theirs.”

Jon wanted to be with his family on draft night, so the entire Diebler clan gathered at the family's lake house in Marblehead. Jon stayed in touch with his agent from there.

“The boys went jet skiing during the first round,” Keith said. “We thought he had a 50-50 chance to get drafted, and we knew which teams he fared well with in his workouts.

“If he didn't get drafted, he was free to look at other teams or look at (playing in) Europe. Jon was never worried. He has always felt blessed and we feel blessed with what he's accomplished and where he's played. We feel good things happen to good people.

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