Big game for the Beavs tonight against the California Golden Bears. OSU is on a 4 game losing streak. It doesn’t look likely OSU will move up from their current #8 spot in the Pac-12 tourney unless they win tonight. It also will be a big opportunity for Cunningham, who is averaging nearly 19 points a game, compared to Guiterrez’ only 2nd best on his own team 13.4 pts a game. Jorge also is only shooting 45% on the year. If Cunningham can outscore him by atleast 4 or so points tonight it should help his case that the scoring gap is far too wide and Jared deserves the Pac-12 POY honor.
I expect Oregon State will hang in this game but I don’t expect them to win it. Craig Robinson is due and he said he may have to make more of a spectacle of himself to get the players to perform better. I don’t care what the forumla is, it is time for a ‘W.’ Craig needs to be fully engaged and an important part of pulling off the upset. Coaching matters and he also must step it up.
In baseball news Oregon State won the 1st game in their double-header against Santa Barbara in the 3-2 in the 8th inning as the opener was only scheduled for 7 innings. Game 2 they rallied in the top of the 9th to come back from an 11-10 deficit to score 2 runs on an off the wall deep ball double. However with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and all of Beaver Nation anxious to seal the sweep, they allowed a high hit ball to float inches over the wall and over the outstretch glove of an OSU outfielder. With the game tied 12-12 at the end of regulation they decided to schedule the rest of the game for 11:30am tomorrow because of darkness.
It has been an up and down day so far but it would be nice to end it with a big basketball victory on the road. It will be great if Cunningham scores atleast 22 points but the whole team has to want to win. My recomendation is to use Collier some more. His field goal % is still at .621. After that Brandt at .556 and Burton at .550 lead the team. I think we have to play the odds more. Starks thinks he is the best shooter on the team but is only averaging .378 from the field. I liked Jared’s comment that they have to look at everything and do some things differently. For whatever reason this team has not gotten over the hump in Pac-12 play to the extent we thought they would. Defense, more leadership and determination are all needed.
Rod Perry is well spoken and seems like he is plenty capable. I wish he had a couple more recruits to work with but hopefully his teaching of technique will lead to real improvements in the secondary.
There has been much talk lately about if Jared Cunningham or Jorge Guiterrez is the stronger POY candidate. I get rewarding a player for team success up to a point but in my opinion the gap between Jared and Jorge is too wide for Jorge to legitimately receive this reward for the conference’s best player of the season. Below are the comparisons…
Jorge Guiterrez is only averaging 13.7 points per game. That is only 1 more point per game than the 12.6 Ahmad Starks is averaging and barely ahead of Collier’s 13.2 PPG even though most of us think Collier is not getting the ball anywhere near as often as he should. Cunningham leads the league in points and steals and EVERY time that has been the case the player has won Pac-10/12 POY honors. This year should be no different. Jorge’s stats just don’t compare and he is also well behind both UW’s Ross and Wroten. Cunningham is the clear leader.
If OSU won more games next year, but hypothetically did not have Jared, and Ahmad lead the Beavers with a 14 point average (greater than Jorge’s), do you really think he would be up for POY? Cal has a great team but no player worthy of the conference’s premier award. Cunningham leads the league in the statistics it has always most valued and should win POY assuming Oregon State gets a couple more league wins or else it will be unprecedented in league history.
Today’s 2:30 game vs. Washington (16-8, 9-3) is among the biggest games of the year so far for OSU. Interestingly UW’s total record is only one game better than ours and if we win today both teams would be 16-9 overall. After the Huskies’ Thursday shellacking by Oregon, California now sits atop at 10-3 in conference. Washington for some reason reminds me of Wart from Mario Bros 2. They wear purple/gold and think of themselves as kings of the NW.
It is hard to imagine UW being blown out 82-57 by the Ducks. Dana Altman is showing he is a coach with plans on making some serious waves in the Pac-12. Wroten’s 14 points compared to Cunningham’s 33 in their last showings set up Jared well. Today’s game is a huge opportunity for Cunningham to beat one of his main POY rivals face to face and jump into the lead. Separation can be gained today and with a big outing and win Jared would have to be the frontrunner because of his stats. Then it may be more between him and Guiterrez down the final stretch.
Most importantly, Oregon State has to win today’s game if they want much shot of the NIT. They still need a couple more high profile conference wins to likely be given the nod. If they fall short today it is too easy to imagine them coming up short. At that point the CBI would be all that is left and that would be a big shame for this team. In order to win Craig Robinson needs to coach a better game. Collier has an unbelievably high FG% at .618. He has to get the ball more regularly down in the blocks. We should use Cunningham and Starks on more drives where they are looking for the dish.
Jared also hit five 3 pointers against Wazzu and is getting to where his shot is looking as good as Ahmad’s. One of the reasons they have Starks shoot more is because we have maximum rebounding ability that way. Still, because he has been firing away a little too quick and often and can be more of a liability on defense, he is a person Craig has to watch more closely. Collier and Brandt both need a few more looks. Starks gets the 2nd most minutes of anyone on the team but his style needs to be more of a true point guard who is getting all his players involved. Roberto Nelson also needs to step up more.
Defensively, OSU has to buckle down and care just as much about their play on that end of the court. Defense wins games and OSU needs to up the ante on their attitude that they won’t allow any easy scores. Every score needs to be insulting. I haven’t seen the Beavers play this way much. The game with Gary Payton in attendance probably being when they most showed that there would be nothing easy all night for the opponent. We have to limit Wroten, Ross, N’Diaye and Wilcox. Don’t allow open threes and hassle them in front of what should be a large and loud crowd in Gill. This game has the makings of an instant classic and Oregon State needs to reward its fans with a big win.
Beaver Byte is not a rose or orange colored glasses site. In mentality, it tries to be straight about the issues facing Oregon State as they strive to have stronger major sports. Angrybeavs had a nice piece a week ago about words that best describe OSU. After last night’s disheartening loss to the Cougs it seemed like a good time to revisit what fans think most describe the current state of OSU Athletics. Perhaps this will make it clearer to BDC the image we are portraying and what areas OSU must work on to be a nationally respected university in the major sports.
Oregon State takes on Washington St. tonight in a 7PM contest at Gill. This one is considered a should win by just about everyone. OSU is a potent team at home and hopefully the Cougs will run straight into a meatgrinder tonight with a suffocating mix of defenses. F Brock Motum is leading the Cougs with over 17 points a game and nearly 7 rebounds. He probably was the biggest reason OSU fell just short against Wazzu in their last matchup in Spokane.
Obviously, I like OSU to control and win tonight’s game. Jared Cunningham is having an impressive year but we are still further down the PAC-12 standings than we would like. We absolutely have to have this game and then quickly get ready for the marquee matchup against Washington on Saturday. I see Cunningham getting around 24 points tonight and perhaps adding 4 steals. Collier, Brandt, Burton and Moreland will provide the muscle and together we should have more than Brock and the Cougs can handle in front of what will probably be 6500 fans tonight.
Cunningham has to stay aggressive because it would be a great honor for himself and Oregon State to win PAC-12 POY. He is right on the cusp and whoever finishes the strongest and also leads their teams to alot of wins is going to take it. Right now it is a coin flip between 3 people with Jorge Guiterrez of Cal and UW’s Tony Wroten the others. I would think a junior in Cunningham should have an edge on a freshman but UW’s record is why Wroten is currently neck and neck with Jared.
Get out to the game tonight if you can. OSU Hoops is showing signs that we are getting this program moving and we need to keep that momentum going. In other news it looks like Riley probably is moving forward with Rod Perry as DB coach without much excitement from Beaver Nation. Oh well, this is just another example of Riley and BDC being out of touch with the winning formulas at most other institutions. Riley has a lot to prove this year and the next if he remains that long. Beyond that I don’t care at this point because if he wants to have a few Golden Years with Perry, that is fine, but it could easily be time soon to move on without him.
Even a Holiday Bowl seems like a stretch for Riley in the next 2 years. I would not be surprised if he didn’t do better than the Las Vegas Bowl in the next 2 years. That is where I lay the odds. I am confident he won’t go above the Sun which is against ACC #4. Even the mighty Holiday Bowl that he has never delivered in over 11 years at OSU is only a matchup against Big 12 #5, nevermind that they only have 10 teams. Riley truly is the definition of mediocre and slow. He wants 20 years and all he likely will do in that time, if we give it to him, is take us to one measely Holiday Bowl.
Tonight’s game should put us in a much finer mood though and baseball is nearly here. It will be nice to see dirt moving on the basketball practice facility this late spring as fans come down to watch OSU Baseball try to return to the CWS this year. We have a strong team and Casey knows how to win.
With the aggressive moves happening all over the conference and recruiting battles becoming increasingly competitive, the need for a completed Reser is as great as ever. One can easily imagine Sarkisian telling Cleveland Wallace how beautiful the new Husky Stadium would be that he will get to play in for the majority of his career. Similarly, no doubt Tedford pitched a beautiful finished $321 million Memorial Stadium that will be ready by fall. It is not just the pitch they can make about their own schools that is effective. What they also must be doing is saying things like “OSU has only an awkward half-finished stadium. One half looks like it belongs on Friday Night Lights.”
Thus, immediately after the basketball practice facility our priority must be on getting serious about fundrasing for Reser Phase 3. Pat Reser supposedly is ready to make a donation when BDC decides he wants to start moving the project forward. The logistics take atleast a few years so I would like to hear publicly OSU is starting the fundraising by the end of this year. There are great fans in Beaver Nation and we deserve a product greater than the one we are getting. Some simple improvements can easily be made like having an introduction for the team that is closer to what they do at South Carolina.
Our current recruiting class, despite some costly misses at CB, does have the potential to move us in the right direction but we have no idea yet if it will be a slow crawl or more tangible winning.
That is why we need a multi-faceted approach that we can break down into 2012 and 2013 action plans that will strengthen our major athletics and raise the profile of OSU.
2012: Begin Basketball Practice Facility, Improve Football Intro, Sell-out Reser at 97.5%+, announce Reser Phase 3 fundrasing week before bowl game, College World Series (CWS)
2013: Implement Tier-1 branding for all sports, Make better bowl than in 2012, make NCAA in basketball in Cunningham’s senior year, CWS, officially announce year Reser Phase 3 will be complete
These are the priorities and if done right OSU Athletics will see a distinct raising of its national profile. Then we should be looking forward to construction, beginning by 2015, of Reser Phase 3 if we stay focused. A 55K horseshoed Reser will be very loud and no longer the butt of Sarkisian and Tedford jokes. It will be a gem for OSU Athletics and the engine to drive our sports programs. Football accounts for 70+% of the overall budget and we need to be driving a fine-tuned German car and not the Kia Spectra we are right now.
There is no excuse for the Spring Game to be a scrimmage any longer. We are in the Pac-12 to compete and generate excitement for OSU Athletics. It doesn’t take much planning to get 10-13K at a Spring game if you promote it as the Orange vs. the Black. It might even be fun to split the fans into two factions and each side having its own cheering section.
Why these simple fixes are only looked at at a snail’s pace is beyond most of us. Somewhere you can imagine BDC asking Riley what’s on the agenda and him telling BDC, “We are going to hire a 60 year old who if the recruits love now should love even more come 2019.” Meanwhile Wilcox and Heyward get their pick of the West Coast litter.
As the search for a new DB coach draws out many Beaver fans are wondering if Riley has gotten one or two “thanks, but no thanks” so far. Riley is currently #2 on the Coaches Hot Seat rankings. Perhaps there are not that many strong candidates who want to put their trust in Riley. Part of me also wonders if De Carolis is now in cost-saving mode to some extent so that if he has to dump Riley in the next couple years he can. The days of “aw shucks” pulling the wool over Beaver Nation and that Riley deserves longterm status controlling OSU seem to be dwindling. After all, the Joe Pa era is now a thing of the past and no other program is exactly rushing to fill the vacancy.
As of December, 21 2012 we also enter a new Mayan epoch that is supposed to bring lasting world changes as a new era begins. We can only hope BDC allows Oregon State to evolve fully into the 21st century when we see those hoped for uniform and branding changes in 2013. The new epoch is not a time to be conservative. Yet, as of right now one gets the sense that with this next DB hire Riley may again have OSU going the wrong direction as most the conference smiles in disbelief. I say that because I have the feeling Riley is going to hire somebody too old for DB coach. UW was very smart and brought in Justin Wilcox as DC and added another capable recruiter with Heyward. They are selling vitality, freshness and the hip factor of cool and confident personalities. They are currently far more likely to be setting the trends then the wallflower that is OSU.
Oregon State simply can’t afford to be hiring anyone over 50 in this position as far as I am concerned. It won’t do any favors to recruiting otherwise and each year will only make our entire staff seem even more stale and old timerish. These are death blows to a successful image that has any hopes of making BCS Bowls. The more I think about it, giving Riley 2 more years to make a Holiday Bowl is more than generous. There is absolutely no way we can afford any more that that without tangible bowl results. If Riley hopes to stay longer than that then he better realize we have to keep the staff younger and more interesting for top recruits. Brennan and Brasfield have helped in this regard and we have to keep going in this direction. We will only hurt ourselves if we bring in some 55 year old in the fading limelight of his career and put him to pasture like Riley.
If we want to be successful, OSU needs vibrant energy in the program to galvanize both players and fans. The trends across the conference and national landsdcape show that younger coaches are becoming increasingly influential and driving the sport forward. 18 year old recruits like being able to more closely relate to their mentors. They want coaches with some attitude and the drive to win every week. Ultimately, they want to be a part of something they believe in and that showcases their own generation. Riley’s career will be waning soon if he doesn’t realize he is behind the curve and start making needed changes. Like Gary Payton so clearly stated, “Recruits want new stuff, they don’t want old stuff.”
There are 7 games left for Oregon State in the Basketball regular season. When the non-conference ended many Beaver fans thought 20 wins was a realistic target that OSU might reach. Currently at 15-8, 5-6 OSU will need to win 5 of their last 7 to obtain this goal. 20 wins also may give them outside consideration for an NCAA appearance and especially if we win 2 games in the Pac-12 tourney. Below are the games that remain for OSU.
Which games do you think Oregon State is most likely to win in order to hopefully get to that solid 20 win level? From that level, even if OSU were to miss out on the NCAA, the NIT would be guaranteed.
Oregon State played much better today at Utah against the 2nd worst team in the league. As Craig Robinson said in the pregame a victory assured winning 4 of the last 5 and 2 of their last 3 road games. More importantly we have two big games next week against Wazzu and Washington. Oregon St. has a chance for a sweep that would go a long way to protecting their NIT expectations and a better matchup in the Pac-12 tourney where they can have an outside shot to win it all. I am very confident we atleast split next week and put the odds of a sweep at about 55%. Just below the 60% odds I give us to beat UW next Saturday at Gill since beating Wazzu won’t be automatic.
Big game for the Beavs tonight against the California Golden Bears. OSU is on a 4 game losing streak. It doesn’t look likely OSU will move up from their current #8 spot in the Pac-12 tourney unless they win tonight. It also will be a big opportunity for Cunningham, who is averaging nearly 19 points a game, compared to Guiterrez’ only 2nd best on his own team 13.4 pts a game. Jorge also is only shooting 45% on the year. If Cunningham can outscore him by atleast 4 or so points tonight it should help his case that the scoring gap is far too wide and Jared deserves the Pac-12 POY honor.
It has been an up and down day so far but it would be nice to end it with a big basketball victory on the road. It will be great if Cunningham scores atleast 22 points but the whole team has to want to win. My recomendation is to use Collier some more. His field goal % is still at .621. After that Brandt at .556 and Burton at .550 lead the team. I think we have to play the odds more. Starks thinks he is the best shooter on the team but is only averaging .378 from the field. I liked Jared’s comment that they have to look at everything and do some things differently. For whatever reason this team has not gotten over the hump in Pac-12 play to the extent we thought they would. Defense, more leadership and determination are all needed.
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Rip City Project
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Golden Bear Lair
Reign of Troy
The Husky Haul
