From LeBron James to Buckeyes, a Coach Brings His Shooting Touch DAYTON, Ohio - When second-seeded Ohio State bulldozed Iona in its West Region opener Friday, shooting 48 percent from the floor, one Buckeyes assistant took no small amount of personal satisfaction. Chris Jent, in his second season on Thad Matta's coaching staff, is Ohio State's shooting guru. His credentials - a former Ohio State star, 10 years playing professionally, 8 seasons coaching in the N.B.A. - appear almost impeccable. But there is one notation that especially stands out to the players: for four years, from 2007 to 2010, Jent was the personal shooting coach for LeBron James. "Yeah, that qualifies him," guard Aaron Craft joked. As an assistant coach and director of player development with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jent worked out daily with James, playing the role of a personal trainer who would show up whenever James called. And he would call a lot. "Anywhere he went, I went with him," Jent said. We worked on everything. The relationship began during the summer after Jent's first season, when Cleveland lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the N.B.A. Finals. James and Jent found each other working out simultaneously in the auxiliary gym at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. A relationship developed, and soon James trusted Jent enough to restructure his jump shot. The next season, James shot 48.4 percent from the field, a career high to that point, while averaging 30 points per game. Jent said he worked mostly with James on his spacing and footwork. "We'd watch a lot of film," Jent said. We'd talk about the game, talk about areas of the floor. We tried to use what he was doing with the Cavaliers and where he was on the floor and improving those areas. Different spots going left, different spots going right. James would call Jent in two hours before a shootaround on game days to work on his shot. On days off on the road, James and Jent would normally work out twice a day. "That's what amazed me," Jent said. We'd work in the morning and then he'd show up in the gym at night and he'd have as much energy as he did that morning. It was just mind over matter. Incredible. As a 6-foot-7 forward, Jent helped Ohio State earn three trips to the N.C.A.A. tournament from 1990 to 1992 before playing two seasons in the N.B.A., five in the C.B.A., and others in Australia, Italy, Spain and Greece. He was long and left-handed - not unlike Ohio State's current star, the junior Deshaun Thomas, who has flourished working with Jent the past two seasons and praised Jent's efforts on his footwork. "You've got to plant your right foot and he talks about it a lot," Jent said. A lot of guys try to hop into their shot. He says to plant your right foot and get your legs into it. He always preaches that. Thomas added that knowing Jent's relationship with James made it especially important for him to listen and learn. "It felt good hearing from a coach who used to coach LeBron," Thomas said. He knows the things needed to get to the next level. Jent brought drills from Cleveland that he incorporates in practices and in individual work with the Buckeyes, mostly focused on footwork and strong hand/weak hand training. He said he also learned as a coach from working with James, whose work ethic and drive he said were unparalleled. "I had to be prepared every single day," Jent said. I never wanted to step on the court and have him think I didn't have a focus of what we were doing that day. It made you think I better be fresh and new sometimes. I need to keep him engaged. It helped me. Now it is helping the Buckeyes, who averaged six 3-pointers per game shooting 35.1 percent from beyond the arc, both figures considerably up from last season. "He'll be the first one to say that the guys he works with are responsible for their success, but he has a big key in it," Craft said. We're very fortunate to have him.