His name might be circulated in trade rumors over the next couple of weeks, but Luke Ridnour sounds content to be in Minnesota.
Over at HOOPSWORLD, Stephen Litel is running a nice piece after talking with Ridnour about how he's eased into being a veteran leader on the floor - even if it is for the lowly Wolves.
Not sure how many people thought Ridnour would stick in Minnesota, especially after David Kahn drafted Ricky Rubio and Johny Flynn. Yet even with Ridnour making the best of a tough season for Minnesota (he is averaging a career-high in points per game 11.5 points per game to go along with his 5.7 assists) it's still uncertain how Kahn will approach the upcoming NBA trade deadline with veteran point guards in high demand around the league.
But with Rubio's NBA feature still a mystery and Flynn slowly developing (Sebastian Telfair, you still there?), Minnesota would be wise to take Ridnour off the table.
"He's a quiet guy and he speaks when he needs to, but there are two different kinds of leaders," Martell Webster said. "There are the ones that are vocal and there are the ones who lead by example. He's one who leads by example. When the time is needed for someone to speak up, he or I will do it. It's not overkill when it comes to being vocal and he's been doing a great job. I've known Luke since my high school days and have grown up watching him play. He's been doing the same thing since he got in the NBA, but he's just gotten a lot better at it."
photo: daylife
Update: Portland State dropped a Big Sky road game at Sacramento State, 63-55, on Thursday night. Not exactly the way to start a two-game road trip.
Phil Nelson finished with a season-high 12 points. Tree Thomas and Charles Odum had 11 points, and Melvin Jones and Chris Harriel each scored 10. Harriel had seven rebounds and Odum passed for four assists. Portland's State's Mike Lund breaks down the rest of the game from Sacramento....
Update: It may not be a huge reward at the end of the season, but Portland State gets to play spoiler in the coming months as they play through NCAA sanctions.
Tonight, it starts with Sacramento State. The Sacramento Bee's John Shumacher writes today about what exactly is at stake with the Vikings and and Sac. State when the two teams face off:
"Portland State (11-10, 4-5) isn't eligible for postseason play this season but will have a say in who makes the Big Sky field. The Vikings, who beat the Hornets 86-80 Saturday at home, host Idaho State on Feb. 10.
None of the three teams pursuing the last berth have won a road game this season, posting a combined 0-34 record.
Which makes taking care of business at home imperative. Idaho State has four league home games remaining; Eastern Washington and Sac State have three each."
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Since the Vikings went 0-2 on their Big Sky Montana road trip, Portland State rebounded nicely with a close win over Weber State at home (71-69).
Immediately, however, the Vikings lost two more games in a row to Northern Arizona (59-71) and Eastern Washington (51-65) respectively. After another bounce back win at the Stott Center against Sacramento State last week, the Vikings are 11-10 overall and 4-5 in Big Sky conference play.
Portland State is now out on the road to play Sacramento State Thursday night, where the Vikings they are a lowly 1-7.
So, why are they struggling?
Portland State has been unable to average more than 73 points per game and are suffering to score in conference play, where they average just 69 points per game. While they have shown the ability to have big scoring games - in November they scored 102 points against Lamar - they’ve been unable to successfully operate inside the parameter of Coach Tyler Geving’s half court offense.
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Eric Reveno's Pac-10 roots run deep.
That goes for Reveno spending nine seasons as an assistant at Stanford, before arriving at the University of Portland five seasons ago, and even dating back to his playing days for the Cardinal where he helped push #12 ranked Stanford to a 26-7 record and an NCAA tournament bid during the 1988-89 season.
Ah, the good old days where you didn't get overlooked.
Yet despite Coach Reveno and the Pilots gritty free-flowing style and winning record, they continue to play in the shadow of sub-par Pac-10 teams like Oregon and Oregon State. Maybe it has something to do with those programs across the general sports landscape - tough to compete against Matt Court and the President's brother-in-law swagger. Maybe it's simply easy to overlook a faith-based school competing in a market dominated by the Trail Blazers battling to stay around .500 and even now the Portland Timbers ramping up for their inaugural MLS season.
What else do the Pilots have to do to get some love around here?
"I think we get lost in the shuffle, but I don't blame that on anything," Coach Reveno told Beyond the Beat.
OSU is looking to rebound this weekend, but it won't be easy with the No. 20 Washington Huskies traveling to Corvallis on Thursday and the Washington State Cougars visiting on Saturday.
The Beavers suffered two disappointing losses in California last weekend, downed by Cal, 85-57, and Stanford, 70-56, and it's safe to say that coach Craig Robinson's team has not lived up to it's own aspirations this season. On Tuesday, Robinson reminded reporters that turning around a program like OSU's takes time and patience.
"We feel like we're heading in the right direction," Robinson explained. "As long as each year our recruiting keeps getting better, and we feel like we're doing that, eventually we can get there."
Notes
Help In The Paint: In non-conference play, the Beavers' primary problems were mostly defensive, as OSU's 2-3 and 1-3-1 zones were ineffective, costing the team several winnable games against small but quick, good-shooting teams. Robinson adjusted defensively, but the team's lack of a dominant presence in the paint is hurting the Beavers on both ends of the floor in the Pac-10. Sophomore posts Angus Brandt and Joe Burton combined to shoot just 3-19 against Cal and Stanford, making life difficult for the Beavers' young perimeter players. Both Burton and Brandt will improve and may become reliable scorers next season, but if that doesn't happen, Robinson has 6-foot-9 Daniel Gomis, a senior at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, suiting up next fall, and 6-foot-9 Maika Ostling coming to campus in fall 2012. Ostling, from Dayton, Oregon, is the No. 22 center in his class. From near and far, help is on the way.
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Portland Pilots (16-6) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (14-8) – 8pm PST – ESPN2
After upsetting No. 24 Saint Mary's at home on Saturday night, the University of Portland Pilots extended its unbeaten streak in the Chiles Center to 12-0.
That perfect record will be sorely tested tomorrow night when the Gonzaga Bulldogs come into town, however. Portland and Gonzaga have already met once this year, and the game featured the Bulldogs running away with a 74-61 win in Spokane.
But that loss came before the emergence of freshman point guard Tim Douglas. Douglas was recently named the WCC co-player of the week after combining for 40 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists in his first two career starts ever for the Pilots.
