Former Ohio State great William Buford is back with the Buckeyes as he joins Coach Diebler’s coaching staff for the 2026 season.

William Buford is no stranger to basketball, the state of Ohio, or Ohio State. The former Buckeye started his playing career at Libbey High School in Toledo, Ohio, where it was immediately evident that he knew the sport well.

He was one of the many Buckeyes to be named Ohio Mr. Basketball when he earned the honor in 2008. As a Junior in high school, he averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds per game. As a senior, Buford put up 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 62 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range.

Buford was also a three-time Toledo City League Player of the Year, a Jordan Brand Classic participant, and was named a McDonald’s All-American. He caught the eyes of Thad Matta and the Ohio State staff and joined the team for the 2008-09 college basketball season.

Born to be a Buckeye

The crafty shooting guard was a very consistent and reliable player for Matta over his four years in Columbus, averaging similar stats each year. He averaged 11.3 points per game as a freshman before averaging 14.4, 14.4, and 14.5 points per game his final three seasons. In his junior year, he shot 44.2 percent from three, and everyone remembers his long two that won it at Michigan State.

He is one of the best scorers in program history, notching 500 or more points three times, a feat that has been accomplished four times, including Bruce Thornton last season. His 215 career made three’s ranks fourth in program history, and he is also the third all-time leading scorer in program history.

The three-time All-Big Ten honoree was part of three Big Ten Championship teams and helped lead the team to their most recent Final Four back in 2012. Although he went undrafted in 2012, he made a name for himself in the pros during a 14-year career that involved stops in Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Turkey, and Spain. 

He has also had stops in Brazil, the G League, and the TBT Tournament that features former Buckeye greats. Burford helped the alumni team with The Basketball Tournament (TBT) in 2019 while also taking home Tournament MVP honors.

Returning To Columbus

Even after all the stops abroad, Buford has maintained his Ohio and Columbus roots, staging involvement with workouts at the Jerome Schottenstein Center and earning his degree. He has also been part of the scouting team and will remain involved with the players in his new role.

William Buford has joined Jake Diebler’s staff as a program analyst, a role that will evolve throughout the Ohio State 2026-27 season. This is his first big step into the coaching stratosphere, but Buford has said how surreal and excited he feels about this new experience. He will be doing a little of everything for this Buckeye team, which features many young but talented basketball players.

This will be Head Coach Jake Diebler’s third season with the team after reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years last season. The Buckeyes will have similar postseason expectations this year, and Buford will look to make an immediate impact with this group.