48 COMMENTS

  1. i’m guessing they have CBI-like attendance tonight. i’m actually calling a win though. double double for moreland and the three falls for starks/nelson. i kinda like watching the beavers this year if only for the fact that they provide an effective if not depressing drinking game.

  2. Dan Dakich just had an accurate rant during the halftime show for SU@UA. He says only a couple coaches in the NCAA do anything different from “set a bunch of ball screens then pull it out to your guard as the shot clock winds down and take a late shot.” He was complaining about 60 to 70 points being the norm for scores nowadays when it used to be 80 or so back when there was no shot clock or three point line.

    Btw… Bill Walton has to be toking during time-outs. In that first half, I heard about a game in which he played where they experimented with scoring increases from further distances on the court (e.g. 10 points for a shot past half court, 25 for three-quarter). Apparently GP scored 95 points in that “weird and wonderful experiment.” I also got the playlist for the Dead’s second set in Tuscon on April 11, 1969… which is good since my tape of that show just happened to be void of titles.

  3. Burton has had one of his best nights as a Beaver. 16 points, 10 boards, 7 assists and just 1 turnover. Him and Nelson have combined for 42 points.

          • I think because a lot of his turnovers in the first half of the season made people want to scream because they were the result of high risk passes that didn’t seem necessary. These are glaring when compared to the typical turnover where a guy gets the ball batted out of his hands or someone is making a basic pass that gets picked off. I think he’s really going to be missed next season.

          • I like his high risk passes. The things I don’t like about Joe is his boxing out, help defense and stupid fall away shots. His facilitation on the offensive end is a plus.

          • I like that he’s added the sky-hook. And he does shoot an actual sky-hook. That shot is really a high percentage shot. But it’s like the underhanded free throw. It looks out of place in today’s game even if it is one of the most effective shots ever developed in the history of the game.

  4. I agree that Robinson needs to win right now, but I think that Kerry was wrong about the freshmen, particularly LMW and Reid, who have contributed when put in the games. Both need a lot of work in the weight room, but these two have given quality minutes when they get in. Olaf needs to develop an offensive game and anybody listening to CR’s post-game last night will know that Robinson has said so. I can’t comment on Butler because he really hasn’t played, but sounds like Mr. Eggers hasn’t been to a lot of games or tuned in to the TV. I take some of his articles with a grain of salt depite the fact that he went to school with Riley and has lots of “connections” within the athletic department.

    I’d like to see an end of the season discussion on the basketball program on this site as this is the only OSU-related forum I check on a regular basis. Maybe Angry or Jack can give an assessment on how hot CR’s seat really is.

    • Craig’s seat isn’t remotely hot. I think it will get hot next year if he doesn’t produce, but he’s fine this year in regards to that. Btw, when you Butler you mean Victor Robbins right? I think LMW will end up being the best of them. His outside shot is coming along, once he continues to improve his outside shot and improves his ability to drive and finish, I think he’s going to be pretty good. Reid needs to at least get himself a decent mid range J. It will force teams to not just ignore him on the offensive end. He can finish at the rim, just needs the mid range J so teams have to guard him outside 5 feet. Olaf has a chance to be a really good shooter. He needs to work on that and be consistent, also would like to see him develop a post game and passing. Having a big guy who can score inside and out is invaluable. Only one who can do that is Brandt and he’s out with the injury. Need some more versatility and Olaf with some added strength can do that, I believe.

    • Eggers is wrong on the levels of recruiting by far. CR’s first class was good. But it wasn’t great. JC was obviously a steal. But it took Angus until late last season to become an aggressor. Only in league play this year has Joe become a consistent, blue collar player. And the same can probably be said of Berto, except he is 1.5 years behind due to academics.

      So Berto is right on track given his experience. The rule of thumb for a hoops prospect is like that of a quality O-lineman. It takes two years to become the player you’re going to become unless you are a monster blue-chipper. The difference is that in hoops you need that time to be on the floor in order to gain the necessary experience.

      LMW is looking smoother as he gets more time. I think it was a mistake to not put him in the ular regrotation until league play began. But once he got minutes, he was obviously skilled enough to be there.

      Reid has hit a skid precisely because he doesn’t have a mid-range game. He’s a lot like JC his frosh year, except Reid manages to get to the rim… even if he does miss too much.

      Olaf has the skills to be a special type of player. When he played in Europe, he had a bttb and a step back game. He has been so focused on perimeter play probably because the American game is so much faster and physical inside. But he has started to show up inside on defense. So maybe he starts to take his offense to the key more? He needs some weight room work, but not too much. I think he needs to build himself out like a Nowitzki type player.

      Robbins has the talent. He just needs to screw his head on straight. It would be a shame to waste that talent.

      But they’re all still frosh who aren’t expected to be the primary contributors to this team. It’s hard to figure out your game with spot minutes as a role player. by this time next year, they will all be much more developed.

      Same goes for Barton. Give the kid the ball and tell him to go get it, and he starts to figure it out. The team is so much more calm when he’s on the floor it’s scary. Why did it take this long to start him? He should have been working out the kinks during the “soft” non-con schedule so he could be battle-tested for league play.

      That’s my biggest gripe with CR, and it always has been. His personnel decisions have had me pulling out my hair for the last five years. I understand the concept of thinking experience gives you the best chance to win right now. But withholding that experience from the more talented, younger players delays your plans for future wins.

      I would liken this concept to what Andy MacPhail did with the Twinkies in 1985. He cleaned house and just brought up what seemed like the entire AAA club. They lost a bunch at first, but then they went and won two world titles with that same core group. Sometimes you just have to have faith in talent.

      And Eggers should probably know that N’diaye is a mountain and Cooke gets stuff like this written about him about once a week.
      http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/-6828665914840668306/st-anthony-46-at-east-brunswick-37-boys-basketball/

      And that 6-for-11 performance is below his season average from beyond the arc.

      Ouch!

      • Jack,

        Don’t know if you get SI, but Hallice Cooke is going to be featured in the Faces in the Crowd section. Guess the kid is shooting 62% from 3-pt land and Bob Hurley says that he is ready to play the point in college. My guess and hope is that both Barton and Cooke beat out Starks next year.

        • That’s pretty cool.

          I’m firmly in the camp who thinks Starks needs to be the utility guard coming off the bench getting his minutes according to how well he changes the flow of the game for the better. Berto and Barton need to lead the way, and LMW needs to be out there as a G/F combo since he can score from anywhere and defend anyone.

          • Hopefully, he’s just having a down year, but he does need to get a better shot selection vs. casting off. He did not look sharp the other night at all.

  5. Yes! I meant Robbins. I somehow want to call him Butler after the OSU football player from a few years ago. I think Olaf will show up within time, it’s just that he needs to get a better shot selection. LMW is my favorite frosh so far, but they all need work, but have had their moments. Reid had a good game against San Diego this year and I thought bailed the team out of a possible loss and LMW has hit some key shots particularly against WSU and Cal.

    The problem with Kerry Eggers is that he’s an NBA guy and having spoken to him, he’s made no bones about it that Lester Conner should have been the next coach at OSU. That would have been a bad idea because he:

    1. Doesn’t have a college degree, which is a minimum requirement for a college coaching job
    2. Doesn’t have college coaching experience
    3. His head recruiter would have been his old JC coach who is in his 80s.

    I don’t know of any recent alums from other D-1 programs that have been successful at their alma mater as the only two I can think of were Matt Dougherty at UNC and Clyde Drexler at Houston and those didn’t turn out too well. Lester was a great player, but I think he would have been a terrible coach at OSU.

    • Bob Huggins at WVU is the only one who has had a lot of success at his alma mater. It just seems to rarely work out and giving a guy the job who has no experience coaching at college level is insane. Eggers seems like a guy who let’s personal feelings influence his writing and analysis of teams.

  6. Of course I forgot about Huggy Bear at WVU!! Shame on me! However, Huggins was a proven winner and inherited a good program from John Beilein. I agree about Eggers, but I will say that he is right about Robinson needing to win at OSU soon though, it’s just that Kerry is delusional thinking Lester Conner should have been the guy.

    I watched the game in person last night, I saw Craig more animated than I’ve seen him all year, especially when Roberto got slugged in the gut. Last time I saw Robinson get that mad was when he got thrown out his first year at Arizona. I think the thing that bothers people most is the lack of fundamentally sound basketball that has been played this year, at least that’s what bothers me.

    True, it’s hard to judge against Utah whether OSU has turned over a new leaf because the Utes don’t have a lot of talent, but the thing is that the Beavers aren’t getting blown out this year either. It’s just the finishing the game strong has been their problem and that may be because Angus and Gomis are out, Cunningham is in the NBA and Moreland got suspended earlier this season, but I think it comes down to playing smart and making adjustments. The players have to improve on playing smarter over the rest of the season and beyond while Robinson must improve his coaching. I still think there will be changes on the staff this offseason, which may help CR if they happen. It’s no secret Robinson knows his shortcomings as a coach (read the Barometer article from a few weeks ago), but it’s also up to him to decide if he will work on these weaknessess and improve them. I hope he will for OSU’s sake.

  7. Oregon loses their 3rd straight game tonight to Colorado, 48-47. In final 4:28 the Ducks went scoreless going 0 for 3 with 4 turnovers. That 2nd half they shot 8 of 27 from the field. It was as bad of offense as I’ve seen from any team all year. Ugly, ugly game.

    • I thought the TCU win against KU was some bad hoops. But this had to be one of the worst games I’ve seen in a long time. It’s not like these guys weren’t getting open looks.

      Well… ok.

      It’s not like both teams weren’t getting open looks when they were actually holding on to the ball. Dribbling off their own legs… passing it ten feet over your own players’ heads… dribbling the ball with Frankenstein arms in front of defenders.

      I did watch the IU at Illinois game earlier. And hoo-boy! That final play had me out of my seat it was so pretty.

  8. I see the fans on O-Live are turning on Altman, calling him incapable after last night’s loss. Looks like their pipe dreams of a Pac-12 title might crumble. (fingers crossed)

    • They weren’t going to win the title this year. But they were going to be better than last night’s horror show while Artis was healthy. One player does make a difference.

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