| 18 February 2011
Remember those preseason whispers of being a sleeper team in the conference? Long forgotten. With only 5 games remaining before the Pac-10 tournament tips off, the OSU Beavers are in need of their first conference road win of the season.
But it won't be easy on Saturday, when the Beavers tip off at 1 p.m. against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene. OSU coach Craig Robinson acknowledged his team's challenge when he spoke with reporters on Tuesday.
"[The Ducks are] going to be playing their first Civil War game in the new arena, so there's going to be some motivation there," Robinson said, referring to Matthew Knight Arena. "They'll be going for the season sweep of us, so there's going to be a lot of motivation there. We've got our work cut out for us."
Notes
Looking for Offense: The Beavers have scored more than 61 points only once in the last seven games -- a 68-56 win over Washington on Feb. 3 -- and they'll need more than that to take down a Ducks team that has played very well of late, especially at home. The Ducks have lost only once at Matthew Knight Arena, a Jan. 15 loss to a very good, often overlooked UCLA team. The Ducks held off a second-half surge by the Beavers in the first Civil War game of the season, a 63-59 UO win at Gill Coliseum on Jan. 22.
Offensive Keys: The pressure on OSU guards has grown throughout the Pac-10 season, as play in the post has virtually disappeared in recent weeks. In OSU's wins over Arizona and Arizona State, power forward Joe Burton shouldered some of the offensive burden, scoring 16 points and grabbing 5 rebounds against Arizona to follow-up 17 points and 9 boards against ASU. He shot 66% over the two games, which helped put the Beavers atop the Pac-10 to begin conference play.
The Beavers need this kind of play inside for guards Jared Cunningham, Calvin Haynes, Ahmad Starks, and Roberto Nelson to find room to drive, pass, or knock down shots.
Burton Returning: Sophomore forward Joe Burton, who has been in a serious slump of late, was benched for OSU's last game, in UCLA, for an unspecified violation of team rules. He'll be back against the Ducks. While Robinson might do his team -- and Burton -- well to have Burton on a short leash some games, the Beavers need his defense against Ducks forward Joevan Catron, who leads his team in scoring at 15.7 per game.
Chris Brown Emerging: We've been high on freshman center Chris Brown for some time now, and he's showing signs of progress on the floor of late. The 6-foot-11, 270 pound big man has a 7-foot-6 wingspan, and he showed impressive skills on the block against UCLA last weekend. Late in the game, Brown got deep strong side position on Joshua Smith, used his left shoulder to keep Smith back, and put up a shot quickly off the glass and in. A few possessions later, Brown threw down a monster two-handed dunk that probably registered on some Southern California seismometers.
Criticism Growing: Naturally, OSU basketball fans have been disappointed this season, and Robinson has taken some heat for his team's play. But more bloggers and writers are picking up the chorus, too. Senior Sports Illustrated writer George Dohrmann wrote the book on OSU freshman guard Roberto Nelson, literally; his book, Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine (Oct. 2010) takes a close look at Nelson's family as the writer aims to shed light on the high-pressure, big-business basketball world that often takes advantage of young ball players. (Move that title up your reading list.)
Add Dohrmann, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and great basketball mind, to the list of unhappy OSU supporters. Dohrmann wants to see Nelson play well, and he provides Nelson's father, incarcerated in a federal prison, with updates on his son at OSU. Said Dohrmann in a blog entry this week: "Oregon State has to be one of the worst major conference teams in the nation. […] No discipline, poor fundamentals, a lack of leadership, and a coach on the sideline who doesn't appear to have any answers."
I don't agree with all of Dohrmann's assessments, but it's an interesting read. He overlooks one key problem for the Beavers: a lack of consistent post play on offense, which contributes to the other problems outlined in the blog entry.
Dohrmann makes three recommendations: 1) Play man-to-man defense; 2) Give the younger players a longer leash, and sit seniors Calvin Haynes and Omari Johnson; 3) Run, run, run.
If you've followed Hardwood Notebook at Beyond the Beat, you know I agree with about half of Dohrmann's assessments, specifically situational man-to-man and more running. To be fair, OSU does try to run, but it's hard to do that when guards need to crash hard on the defensive glass every possession. And lately, OSU's defense isn't the team's problem.
Robinson Responds: The Oregonian's Paul Buker asked Robinson for his response to Dohrmann's blog.
"My response would be, I don't have a response," Robinson told the beat writer.
Fair enough. Coaches probably shouldn't take time to respond to such criticism, no matter where it's coming from.
Obama Stays Supportive: Speaking in Hillboro on Friday, President Barack Obama plugged his brother-in-law's team: "They're a young team, but they're on the move."
A road win against the Ducks on Saturday would show a good deal of growth.
photo: ethan erickson
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