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Pac-10 men's basketball previews -- No. 3, Oregon State
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Calvin Haynes/Photo Victor Decolongon/Getty Images
Maybe we are just caught up in the whole Oregon State first brother-in-law thing, but the more we look at the Pac-10, the more we see Oregon State finishing third. With a chance to get even higher.
We have already taken a look at six other Pac-10 teams, as we release team previews in inverse order of projected finish. The top two teams in our projections will be released soon, with the Stanford preview coming last. We are revealing teams in inverse order of their predicted finish. (See Washington State story here; see USC here, see Oregon here, see Arizona State here, see Arizona here, See UCLA here.)
Now, we take a look at the Beavers. It’s hard to imagine we have them picked ahead of UCLA, and we could be way off on Oregon State, because there are plenty of reasons to believe it will finish lower. Afterall, the Beavers, for all the credit they received last season, were only 7-11 in Pac-10 play. And now, after seeing the Beavers’ unusual style for a season, Pac-10 teams will be better prepared to deal with the Beavers’ Princeton offense. The Beavers have a center who plays 20 feet from the basket, and it’s hard to imagine a team competing for a Pac-10 title like that.
In addition, the Beavers lost their final three conference games, including a loss to last-place Oregon, then lost to ninth-place Stanford in the Pac-10 tournament, so there are still questions. Rising expectations will add pressure to a program that is not used to it, and the talent level is still not championship level.
Having said all that, we still think the Beavers will improve significantly.
First off, coach Craig Robinson, known more for being President Obama’s brother-in-law, is an outstanding coach, and Oregon State’s understanding and execution of the Princeton offense should improve in Year Two. That offense, when run well, can bedevil opponents no matter how many times they have seen it, as Princeton proved over the years.
Second, the Beavers return every significant player except for Ricky Claitt, and added several talented freshmen, most notably guard Jared Cunningham.
Calvin Haynes is one of the top offensive players in the conference, and Roeland Schaftenaar is the best big man in the conference. OK, Schaftenaar plays more like a 6-11 guard than a center, and the Pac-10 has no other big men of note this season, but he is perfect for Robinson’s system and is a difficult matchup for any Pac-10 team.
Finally, the Beavers had the opportunity to play six postseason games last season, providing added experience that will pay dividends this season. Granted, it was only the odious College Basketball Invitational Tournament, but the Beavers won the thing, beating UTEP on the road in the deciding game.
The Beavers’ nonconference season is not terribly challenging, so the Beavers should come into conference play with a pretty good record.
There is still some uncertainty whether last season was just a fluke, and a tumble back to reality is certainly possible. But a further rise is also possible, especially this season, with the conference being so weak and vulnerable to an upstart.
For more Bay Area college sports, see jakestakeonsports.com.
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