Current Sagarin conference rankings

Heading into the conference season I thought I'd take a look at how the conferences stack up. I like the Sagarin ratings from USA Today. Here's the top-16:

Jeff Sagarin NCAA basketball ratings

CONFERENCE CENTRAL MEAN SIMPLE AVERAGE TEAMS

 1 BIG TEN          = 83.07  82.59  ( 1)   11
 2 ATLANTIC COAST   = 81.93  82.22  ( 2)   12
 3 BIG EAST         = 81.16  81.80  ( 3)   16
 4 SOUTHEASTERN     = 80.85  81.14  ( 4)   12
 5 MISSOURI VALLEY  = 80.39  79.97  ( 5)   10
 6 BIG 12           = 80.04  79.87  ( 6)   12
 7 PACIFIC-10       = 78.70  79.15  ( 7)   10
 8 ATLANTIC 10      = 77.44  77.15  ( 8)   14
 9 MOUNTAIN WEST    = 75.95  76.26  ( 9)    9
10 WESTERN ATHLETIC = 75.82  76.06  ( 10)   9
11 MID-AMERICAN     = 75.54  75.15  ( 11)  12
12 COLONIAL         = 75.05  74.77  ( 12)  12
13 HORIZON          = 74.12  74.20  ( 14)   9
14 WEST COAST       = 74.03  74.75  ( 13)   8
15 METRO ATLANTIC   = 73.36  73.11  ( 16)  10
16 BIG SKY          = 73.29  73.20  ( 15)   8

The Pac-10 is 7th. Not sure how the Missouri Valley conference is 5th. The other surprise is that the ACC is second. Hopefully the low Pac-10 ranking means the Beavers will get to 8 wins again in conference.

Here's the Pac-10 as a whole and how they rank this pre-season:


HOME ADVANTAGE= 4.63     RATING    W   L  SCHEDL (RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30
 11 Washington          = 88.13   10   0   67.94 ( 322)    0   0  |   1   0
 16 UCLA                = 86.86   10   1   75.73 (  97)    0   1  |   2   1
 30 Arizona             = 84.24    7   3   77.51 (  45)    0   1  |   0   2
 64 Washington State    = 80.70    7   2   71.94 ( 248)    0   0  |   0   1
101 Southern California = 77.89    8   2   68.11 ( 321)    0   0  |   0   0
112 California          = 76.82    6   3   69.80 ( 299)    0   0  |   0   0
124 Oregon              = 76.00    5   5   72.18 ( 240)    0   1  |   0   1
133 Oregon State        = 75.44    6   4   72.72 ( 223)    0   0  |   0   0
155 Arizona State       = 74.34    6   3   68.76 ( 315)    0   0  |   0   0
200 Stanford            = 71.05    4   4   69.03 ( 310)    0   0  |   0   0


Washington at 10-0 doesn't look nearly as impressive when you take into account that they had one of the easiest pre-season schedules in the nation. But I do think they will be good. Meanwhile Arizona and UCLA had one of the toughest, which makes their records all the more impressive. No one else in the conference has any excuses for their average records, including the Beavers. The Pac-10 is only 3-5 against top 30 teams and 0-3 against top-10 teams. Looks like the Pac-10 is a bit down this year.

Some new articles about the OSU baseball

Baseball season isn't here yet, but the buzz around the upcoming season is already starting. I'll mix in some baseball articles as things get closer, but here are a couple of articles to wet your whistle.

First, an article about Tyler Graham and Bobby Pfennigs, an OSU wrestler, from their hometown newspaper.

Great Falls Tribune - CMR graduates find success at Oregon State

Last spring, Graham became the only Great Falls native ever to play in the College World Series. A 14th-round draft choice of the Chicago Cubs, Graham might also be the only Electric City ballplayer to ever turn down a pro contract.

"The Cubs offered a great deal, but I thought coming back I could have a lot better year," said Graham, who hit .307 with 24 RBIs and 21 stolen bases last year at Oregon State. He played leftfield and batted second, but will move to centerfield and hit leadoff this season.

"I know what I have to do to get drafted in a higher round, and I plan to do it," said Graham, who worked out all summer on his strength and speed. "I've put in a lot of hard work already and I'm going to continue to do it."

And the Beavs are ranked #3 in the first preseason poll!

CSTV.com - Preseason Collegiate Baseball Division I Poll

1 Texas          56-16 496 1
2 Florida        48-23 492 2
3 Oregon State   46-12 490 7
4 Nebraska       57-15 489 6
5 Rice           45-19 487 16

Beavers beat Texas-Pan American and look good doing it

Nice win by the Beavers last night. I have definitely seen improvement from the early part of the season. The effort level is higher and the guys are sharper. DeWitz and Fontenet are coming around and Cuic has started hitting his shots. It will be interesting to see if the Beavs can pull off an upset this weekend at Mac court. That would be a huge win.

Articles about the game:

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Beavers secure an easy victory

The Oregonian - Oregon State 78, Texas-Pan American 54 Cuic fuels Beavers off bench to third win in row

Pac-10 Hoops Preview from Tuscon

Here's a nice article from Arizona giving a few pre-season grades on the upcoming Pac-10 men's basketball season starting this week.

Arizona Star - Analysis by Brian J. Pedersen : Preseason tells little, means less

What is the difference between Washington's 10-0 record — its best start in 30 years — and the 4-4 mark Stanford has posted so far? Or between the nine wins in 11 games recorded by USC and the six victories in 11 tries by Oregon?

Absolutely nothing.

The only record that matters now is the one each Pac-10 team has in league play, which for everyone is 0-0 heading into Thursday's openers.
...
Oregon State (6-4): Though still unable to play well outside of Corvallis, the Beavers might have found their go-to guy in senior guard Chris Stephens. He had a monster run at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu and is shooting great (53.1 on field goals, 92.7 on free throws). Grade: C plus

I think most Beaver fans would generally agree with that grade. Inconsistency has killed them. However, I think Chris Stephens is back after a year taking a back seat to everyone else.

Cheap tickets available for Dec. 28th OSU Men's Basketball game.

The OSU Men's basketball team is in action tomorrow night (Wednesday) against Texas-Pan American. Don't know much about them, but it is the last pre-season game before the Pac-10 gets started this weekend in Eugene.

For those looking to go to the game, check out this deal:

$5 Tickets Available for Dec. 28 Game

Last-minute holiday shoppers have the opportunity to pick up excellent tickets to the Dec. 28 men’s basketball game between Oregon State and Texas-Pan American at Gill Coliseum, as some tickets will be made available for just $5 each.

Because student attendance for the game is expected to be low, these tickets are for general admission seating in section 11 (which is ordinarily student seating).

Tip-off for the game is at 7 p.m. Visit the ticket office in Gill Coliseum or call 1-800-GOBEAVS to place an order.

Come on out and watch the Beavs!

Oregon State football team notes

The Trib has some news on the junior college recruits that Oregon State landed recently during the early JC signing period:

Portland Tribune - Oregon State football

Dorian Smith, a 6-3, 255-pound defensive end who had about two dozen sacks at College of the Desert the last two seasons, should contend for a starting spot. Coye Francies, a 6-2, 195-pound cornerback who had 10 interceptions at American River this fall, should push returning starters Keenan Lewis and Brandon Hughes. Joey LaRocque (6-2, 230), from College of the Canyons, had 11 1⁄2 sacks this fall and is capable of winning a starting outside linebacker job.
Clinton Polk, a 6-2, 220-pound tailback from Scottsdale CC, will provide insurance behind Yvenson Bernard and could see more time than the reserves did last season.
Defensive ends Alex Fa’agai and Keith Robertson of Foothill College are expected to sign with OSU on Feb. 1, the date high school players can do so. Fa’agai should be available for spring practice, but Robertson’s arrival may not come until summer because of academic issues. If that’s the case, he may redshirt next fall.
The Beavers also received a verbal commitment from Tom Hansen, a 6-2, 220-pound high school linebacker from Sacramento, pushing their list of signees or commitments to 21. OSU coaches do not expect to sign Ismail Abdunafi, a defensive tackle from Bakersfield College who told a scouting service last week he was coming to Corvallis.

I'm glad that Dorian Smith already signed. He should be a monster.

Another disconcerting part of the article shows that Lamar is transferring. A week ago he was just thinking about transferring. I still think they should swtich him to RB in an effort to keep him. Or at least WR. I wrote about this a week or so ago: Lamar Herron should change positions to....

Too bad that recruiting is all we have to talk about, but maybe the extra time will allow our coaches to do a better job with it. Go Beavs!

Bowl season is nearly upon us, check out the staduims using Google Maps

I found this site that, has direct links to each stadium site for all the college football bowl games this season. It's a pretty cool use of Google maps.

Check it out:

Stadium NaviGator - Rose Bowl

Look down the right side for all of the bowls this year.

Here's another one:

MergeTek.com - Map of 2005-2006 College Bowl Stadium Locations

It's the season of giving and a local Portland girl needs help.

Read this story about Nikolette Harris and see if there's anything you can do to help. This reminds me a bit of the Austan Pierce story. Read on.

ESPN.com - Message boards spark fundraising campaign

Twelve-year-old Nikolette Harris' favorite sport is soccer. Her favorite college is Oregon State. But as the little girl lays in a Portland, Ore., intensive care unit, fighting leukemia for a third time, her likes and dislikes are quickly starting to change.

That's because of the swell of support she's receiving from college football fans across the country.

Nikolette suffers from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common cancer found in children. According to the National Cancer Institute, 80 percent of children afflicted with ALL will recover from the disease. But Nikolette has already done this. Twice.

Problem is, Nikolette's body has grown resistant to chemotherapy treatments and she needs a life-saving bone marrow transplant. But the cost to her family -- after insurance -- is expected to top $125,000.

...

But that's nothing compared to what's happening on college football message boards across the country. In a place where most fans gather to complain about play calls, gripe about coaches, gossip about recruiting and trash upcoming opponents, fans have gathered to try and help save a little girl's life.

It all started on the Oregon message board, EDuck.com, where Susan Flad, a longtime Ducks fan, posted a message explaining Nikolette's story and asking for donations. Flad's mother, Betty Holden, was an instructional assistant at Nikolette's elementary school, watching up close as the child battled leukemia as a first- and third-grader.

"I still remember my Mom talking to me [about her] trying to keep from crying as this third-grader explained what chemo was, why she was bald and everything else," Flad said. "So I wanted to help. When I originally tried to gather donations in my office I got a total of five dollars. So I thought I'd give this a whirl."

The idea took off, with Oregon fans donating more than $4,000 in less than a week. Another fan saw the posting and, with the Ducks scheduled to face Oklahoma in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on Dec. 29, challenged Oklahoma fans to beat Oregon's donations. After 14,000 page views and 225 posts on OUInsider.com, Flad said Sooner fans have raised close to $12,000 for Nikolette.

Check out her website here:
www.curenikolette.org

They have raised about $45,000 so far, but still need more help.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Football Attendance by conference

FanBlogs had a nice post on the Football attendances for each conference in 2005. I'm always interested in how the Pac-10 compares to the rest of the nation.

SEC Leads Nation in Football Attendance : Fanblogs College Football Blog

Conference	G	Total Attendance	Total Capacity	Average	Percentage
SEC	75	5,593,699	5,741,371	74,583	97.43
Big 12	72	4,204,574	4,425,186	58,397	95.01
Big Ten	69	5,007,067	5,333,226	72,566	93.88
ACC	72	3,762,511	4,150,596	52,257	90.65
Pac-10	60	3,448,759	4,063,411	57,479	84.87
Big East	46	1,812,406	2,170,505	39,400	83.50
Mountain West	48	1,693,216	2,154,584	35,275	78.59

In 2005, a total of 5,593,699 fans attended 75 games hosted at SEC institutions, an average of 74,583 fans per game, which is also best in the nation. SEC stadiums were filled to 97.43 percent of capacity for each home game in 2005, which was also best in the nation. The SEC has led the nation in percentage of capacity since the statistic was first kept in 1983.

The question is, who is dragging down the Pac-10?

Stanford with their 50% capacity. Thank goodness they are downsizing. Next worst is UCLA at 70%. That's rough considering the USC factor and the Rose Bowl is huge.

Here's the full list:

Attendance Report

Nice article on a new Beaver volleyball recruit from Salem

For those interested in volleyball (Washington just won the National Championship) here's a story on a local recruit:

StatesmanJournal.com - Cochran rises to the top

The 6-foot-3 Cochran was such a dominating force this year that she was named first-team all-Valley League, the Valley League player of the year, first-team all-Class 4A state tournament, first-team all-state and is the Statesman Journal All-Region volleyball player of the year

OSU Men's Basketball gets a quality win

That was a good win for the Beavs. The guys are starting to look more like they did a year ago. DeWitz dunking and hitting 3's, Fontenet driving and hitting 3's, and Stephens sniping from the outside. Stephens simply pulled them to victory. That's what he used to do two years ago and kinda got away from it last year. He needs to start driving a bit more and trying to make things happen like last night. I think the key was that Stephens got hot and they rode him.

Since I still don't think they have a true #1, but a lot of guy who can score, they need to ride the hot hand. If DeWitz is going off on his man, feed him. Any number of guys could get hot and score in bunches on this team. Stephens, DeWitz, Cuic, Marcel, Tsakarakis, or Fontenet could all score over 20 on a given night. It's about matchups and exploiting the best matchup on any given night.

The defense stepped it up as well and played a bit better. But again the other team was more aggressive on D. Oh well. The Beavs need a really good showing in Hawaii to get some precious wins back in an effort to get to post-season play.

The Oregonian - Beavers cash in on Stephens

Corvallis Gazette-Times - A sorely needed victory

“Today was the first time I was able to say we had a competitive effort for a full game,” John said. “We talk about a buzz word for us, and it’s energy. And at times earlier in the season you wouldn’t see it, a will to win. Today was the first time I saw that collectively in the kids’ eyes, a will to win that won’t be denied.”

Interview with Tim Euhus from Rochester

Here's a little interview with Buffalo Bills tight end Tim Euhus. Tim, an Oregon State star, has become a steady contributor to the Bills. Here's a bit about what he is doing lately.

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Bills Q&A: Tim Euhus

What keeps you motivated when you're on a 4-9 team that isn't going to the playoffs?

"To me it's still going to work every day and proving that I belong here. As far as not going to the playoffs, we didn't go last year so it's not like I've had that taste in my mouth. So I'm going to just keep working hard until I can get that taste."

...

Have you had much success on eBay with any great deals or steals?

"I went to Oregon State and we're the Beavers, so my wife doesn't know about it yet, but I just got a beaver pelt that I'm going to hang up next to my college helmet. I just finished refurbishing my basement — my major in college was construction engineering — so I just built the basement and had a blast doing it, and I have a little trophy area down there so I'm going to hang the beaver pelt."

...

What do you think you will do once your football career is over?

"I've thought about that a lot. I'd like to coach high school basketball at some point, whether that's when I'm 35 or I'm 50. I haven't put the idea of coaching tight ends in college out of my mind; I think that would be something cool to do if I get in the right situation. But I'm also not afraid to put to use my degree in construction engineering and maybe get into that industry."

Great job Tim! You represent Oregon State well and you make us proud!

Oregon State Men's Basketball vs. Georgia

The Beaver basketball team is playing in the biggest game of their
preseason today. The Georgia Bulldogs aren't top-25 material yet, but at 7-1 and a strong freshman class they will be a tough opponent.

Beavers Face Georgia at Rose Garden on Saturday

The game will air on FSN at 2:30pm. Technically, it's a home game. But it's at the Rose Garden so who knows which Beaver team will show up.

Some articles around the game:

The Oregonian - OSU remembers a season of basketball glory
Even the fans find it hard to forget when Charlie Sitton and the 1980-81 Beavers were ranked No. 1

The Macon Telegraph - Bulldogs enjoy surprising run

Dawgs return to court: Oregon St on tap

Corvallis Gazette-Times - OSU’s Marcel Jones elevates his game

Lamar Herron should change positions to...

OK, so this is a little old but I wanted to make a comment about it.

Portland Tribune - On Campus

Lamar Herron, a part-time starter at safety and Oregon State’s kickoff return man as a sophomore this fall, is considering a transfer. Herron is upset he lost his starting job to true freshman Al Afalava midway through the season. OSU coaches were considering moving Herron to outside linebacker last fall, but he wants a shot at receiver.

First, I think Lamar is way too good of an athlete to let go. Just from his kickoff returns it's obvious there is some major potential for offensive prowess. Even his high school coach thought his worst position was defense. I've seen a lot of people suggesting that he switch to wide receiver. I say make Lamar a RB. Wide Receiver is much harder than running back. Sure Bernard is at RB, but there are a lot of talented WRs on the team already. Especially if Marcel Love is able to come back next season. WR routes can take a while to learn and not everyone can catch everything.

After watching Lamar return kick offs so well I think he is best when there are people in front of him that he can go around or through. He would be a perfect downhill runner. I think he could be a huge stud a RB. What do you say Coach?

Fall Sports Roundup - How did Oregon State perform this fall?

Beaver sports this fall could be summed up as the slow fade. OSU's football, men's soccer, and women soccer all had hot starts and looked poised for post-season play. However, all faded down the stretch and just missed postseason. The Volleyball team had a successful rebuilding year going 7-11 in conference and 11-13 overall. The womens cross-country team is steadily improving as they finished 12th out of 30 at the NCAA west regional.

Even though the teams didn't perform quite as well and Beaver fans would have hoped, all the teams were very competitive and many individual players stood out. Achedemically, the Beavers fall sports excelled as they nabbed the 4th most number of players on the All-Academic team for the Pac-10. Only Stanford, Cal, and ASU had more than the 37 the Beavers had. That's a lot of players.

Ashland Article - 37 Oregon State University Athletes Named To All-Academic Teams

Individually, there were some great performances this fall season. Here's a look at who excelled on the field or court:

Football:

* Mike Hass: Fred Biletnikoff Award winner (best wide reciever), ESPN.com All-America team, Walter Camp All-America team, All Pac-10 First Team
* Alexis Serna: Lou Groza Award winner (best place kicker), American Football Coaches Association All-American Team, All Pac-10 First Team
* Trent Bray: All Pac-10 First Team
* Keith Ellison: All Pac-10 First Team
* Sam Paulescu: All Pac-10 First Team
* Sir Henry Anderson: All Pac-10 Second Team
* Derrick Doggett: All Pac-10 Second Team
* Jeremy Perry: Pac-10 Co-Freshman of the Year
* Keenan Lewis: Rivals.com All-Freshman second team

Men's Soccer:

* Robbie Findley: NSCAA Far West All-Region first team, All-Pac-10 first team
* Ryan Johnson: NSCAA Far West All-Region second team, All-Pac-10 first team

College football as a business

Very interesting post. College football is starting to look a lot like Major League Baseball.

FanBlogs: BCS Teams' Revenues and
Expenses

BCS Top Teams:

	Total Athletic	Football	Football	Net Football
School	Revenues	Revenues	Expenses	Contribution
Texas	$89.7M	$53.2M	$14.5M	$38.7M
Ohio State	89.7	51.8	25.7	26.1
Georgia	68.8	50.9	12.5	38.4
Notre Dame	57.6	41.8	15.1	26.7
Auburn	50.9	40.6	16.4	24.2
LSU	60.9	39.7	12.1	27.6
Penn State	60.8	33.2	10.7	22.5
USC	60.7	29.3	16.7	12.6
Virginia Tech	45.7	25.3	13.8	11.5
Florida State	39.0	18.3	9.1	9.2
Miami	39.8	17.2	10.7	6.5
West Virginia	35.9	17.2	11.3	5.9
Oregon	40.1	16.8	9.5	7.3

I was interested in how Oregon State stacked up.

The Equity In Athletics Disclosure Website

	Total Athletic	Football	Football	Net Football
School	Revenues	Revenues	Expenses	Contribution
Oregon State	$36.7M	$22.3M	$10.2M	$12.1M

There's some very interesting information in that website. I'd recommend taking a look for yourself. BTW, How did OSU make more money on football than the U of O? Must be the bowl game last year. How does Oregon make so much more money off of the other sports?

Oregon State hoops gets pounded on CBS Sportline

Kind of a weird assessment from Gregg Doyel over at CBSSportline.com. Maybe that's why it's called the morning knee-jerk.

CBS Sportsline: Monday Morning Knee-Jerk: What moron picked Texas?

Best team: Duke. That 97-66 win against No. 2 Texas was reminiscent of Illinois' early season blitzkriegs a year ago. Wow. Everyone who thought Texas was going to win, raise your hand. (It's going to be hard typing the rest of this with one hand.)

Worst state: Oregon. The University of Oregon is a mid-major capable only of beating other mid-majors -- and Oregon State isn't even capable of that. The Ducks were blown out by 30 by Illinois, while the Beavers were crushed at Portland, an ignoble bookend to their earlier blowout loss at Tennessee Tech. Maybe Oregon and Oregon State can meet in the NIT. Assuming either of them can get to the NIT.

His definition of mid-major must be different than mine. If you play in a top league and make it to the NIT, are you a mid-major? Strange. But come on, there's got to be a worse state than Oregon. What about Delaware or something?

OSU Men's Basketball: Another road loss

I missed most of the Portland game last night, but I did see the end of the game. Too bad that's the only part of the game I saw. Portland was hitting every 3 it took and OSU was missing everything they took. Unfortunately, they weren't even taking good shots. They best thing they did was drive and get fouled because I don't think they got a good look in the last 8 minutes.

Here's the problem. They lack a go-to guy. They don't have a #1 scorer. No David Lucas. No Steve Johnson. Not even a Corey Benjamin. They don't have anyone that want the ball down the stretch. Stephens used to be able to be that guy a couple of years ago. I think Marcel Jones could be that guy. But maybe not this year. Cuic has gotten much more aggressive down low, which I like, but he's not hitting shots.

It should be an interesting season. I'm interested to see how Jay John works with this group of guys.

OSU's Mike Hass and Alexis Serna named top players in the country at their positions

Wow. Congrats to Alexis and Mike. It is totally deserved for both players. Plus, Alexis gets two more seasons to get better! Simply amazing guys.

Lou Groza award winner - Alexis Serna

Biletnikoff award winner - Mike Hass

Go Beavs!!!

Statesman Journal - Big night for the Beavers

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Hass, Serna bring home national honors

Both Oregon State players made for feel-good stories. Serna made national news for coming back after missing three extra-points in a 22-21 overtime loss at LSU in his first game as a freshman.

Hass finished his OSU career as the first Pacific-10 Conference player with three 1,000-yard receiving seasons after joining the Beavers as a walk-on who did not draw interest from any Division-I program coming out of Portland’s Jesuit High School.

“Oregon State’s two-for-two,” Hass said. “Me and Alexis are the first players from Oregon State to go to the award show and we both won. It’s not a small program like people make it out to be. It shows that you can come to OSU and win awards like USC and Texas.”

The Oregonian - OSU walk-ons walk off with awards

Hass and Serna's achievements were made even more remarkable by the fact both are former walk-ons who didn't have a single Division I scholarship offer between them. It was the first time in the 15-year history of the ESPN awards that Oregon State had a finalist at the show, let alone two individual winners.

David Lucas signs with Befica in Portugal, and more

The Beavers are not resting on their laurels after the comeback win over UNLV. They understand they need to get better and start playing more consistent. Read on:

Statesman Journal - Beavers moving beyond UNLV comeback win

One of the bright spots this season for the Beavers, in addition to the emergence of Jones, has been the play of fan favorite Liam Hughes.

The 7-foot-3, 320-pound sophomore center has looked like more than just a long-term project. He blocked two shots and scored one point in five minutes of action in the first half of the UNLV game.

"You have to deal with him," John said. "He energizes the whole crowd and he (scored) a point."

David Lucas has found a home in Europe. He'll be playing in Portugal with a couple other Americans.

David Lucas, an all-Pac-10 forward last season who averaged 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, signed a professional contract last week with Benfica of Portugal.

"It was the right deal at the right time," said Lucas, who is one of three Americans on the team.

Sports Illustrated's All-America Team

Sports Illustrated released it's college football All-American team. No Oregon State Beavers made the first team, but there were a few mentions.

SI.com - NCAA Football - SI's All-America Team

Second Team and Honorable Mention


Second Team

WR Mike Hass, Oregon State


Honorable Mention

RB Yvenson Bernard, Oregon State
K Alexis Serna, Oregon State

Spotlight articles on Marcel Jones and Jack McGillis

A couple a good articles appeared in the local papers yesterday profiling new scorer Marcel Jones and true freshman Jack McGillis.

The Portland Tribune: Jones rises off bench, energizes OSU offense

Marcel Jones has emerged as a viable offensive go-to-guy in the first few games of the season. Anyone who can stop and pop like he has in the last couple of games should be looking to score on a regular basis. He is a prototypical 3 who is smooth and can hit the outside shot. If he can get better defensively, he will be a starter for the next 3 years.

“Marcel is an offensive-minded player who gives us energy,” OSU coach Jay John says of the Los Angeles native.
...
Jones has been Oregon State’s most consistent player, shooting a team-best .595 from the field and .818 from the foul line. He ranks as the No. 2 scorer with 13.5 points per game and is tied for the team lead with a 6.3 rebound average.

Corvallis Gazette-Times: Beavers glad McGillis waited to sign

McGillis was a late signee who took the place of Kenny Hooks, who left the program in the off-season. He's a tall kid who played QB in high school and is an outside sharpshooter.

“We didn’t know anything about Jack, but when we saw a film on him we really liked the kid and thought he would be a good one for us,” Reinert said. “He’s a good competitor, defends his position well and rebounds. And the one thing he can do really well is stick shots.”
...
McGillis improved steadily as a shooter, averaging 12 points a game as a sophomore, 17 points as a junior and 19.9 his senior year. He was 60 percent from the field and 49 percent from 3-point range that final season.

Clinton Polk commits to football team

Here's an article from the GT about Keston Kristick and Clinton Polk. Two of the newer recruits for coach Mike Riley.

Corvallis Gazette-Times: OSU football team lands two commits

Running back Clinton Polk out of Scottsdale Community College is headed to OSU, according to Scout.com. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder was a previous OSU recruit out of Phoenix’s Desert Vista High, but spent his first three seasons at the junior college.

Latest Beaver Recruits

Two new signings over the last week or so. Some much needed DE help and another good looking LB to get in the pipeline. Marquez Herrod looks especially good on the d-line. I think he could be very special here at OSU.


Keaton Kristick

Scout.com - Keaton Kristick

Article on Kristick
Tucson Citizen - Football Playoffs: 'Huge' drive lifts Lancers to win

...
A 3-yard TD run by Eafon with 1:13 left in the third quarter had given the Lancers a 10-7 lead, but St. Mary's took the kickoff at its own 31 and burned eight minutes on a 17-play drive behind the bruising running of Kristick, a 6-foot-3, 225-yard fullback.
...
"I have a lot of trust in my coach, and whatever decision he mades, I approve of that," Kristick said. "I really respect coach Farrell."

Marquez Herrod

Scout.com profile - Marquez Herrod

North County Times - San Pasqual's Herrod commits to Oregon State

"He cares about graduation rates. He wants his players to get their degrees. He promised to take care of me, make me part of the Oregon State family, and I need that."
...
Herrod said the promise of playing time his freshman season also had a lot to do with his choice.

"They need defensive ends," Herrod said. "They told me that because of the numbers, I'll get a chance to play defense as a freshman, and if not, then certainly special teams.
...
"they're a young team, a team that's building for the future. So there are opportunities for young players. I really feel I'm getting in on something good."

Another couple of nice articles on Marquez:

North County Times - Once down and out, foster child Herrod is making a name and a future for himself at San Pasqual

UNION-TRIBUNE - Football helps Herrod leave past behind

Oregon State football assistant Robin Ross leaves to coach Western Washington

The Robin Ross era at OSU ended before it really got going. The linebackers coach, Robin Ross, has left OSU to take his first head coaching job at Western Washington. Ross was heavily involved in recruiting as well, so coach Riley will have to find someone dynamic to replace him.

Here's the article:

The Bellingham Herald - Western picks Ross

Beavers men's hoops make nice comeback to beat UNLV

Finally, the team is looking like they may be ready for the season. Specifically, the seniors Jason Fotentet and Nick DeWitz look like they are starting to play with confidence and no so tentatively. Plus, Cuic is looking like a real post player with strong moves to the basket instead of the fade-aways he shot last season. Lastly, Marcel Jones needs to continue to look for his shot because he is one of the best offensive weapons we have. I'm very impressed with Marcel.

Some thoughts:

* It seems like the book on the Beavers is to play them very physically. They seem to get rattled with pressure defense and very physical defense. They need to get over that. Luckily the refs were calling fouls this game so the Beavs could sort or stay close until they started hitting shots in the second half.

* The guards need to make something happen early. Drive and dish. Drive and pull up for a shot. I want to get it into the post too, but early in games the guards seem like they aren't totally into the game yet. Against UNLV when they started driving, we started scoring.

Game stories:

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Beavers get the point, win

"It was really emotional at the end,” Fontenet said. “I’m not going to say any names, but a couple guys on the team crying. I saw coach (Kevin) Mouton crying. It was guts and heart."

The Register-Guard - Better effort brings OSU back from blowout brink

The Oregonian - Big second-half rally saves Beavers

Article on Calvin Hampton: Men's Basketball big man

Here's a look at Calvin Hampton from the Gazette-Times. From what I've seen he will be a good one in a year or two. Too bad he isn't red-shirting.

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Hampton learning on the fly

“We saw tremendous upside in him, with the ability to be a pretty good player after some hard work,” assistant coach Kevin Mouton said. “You can’t coach 6-10. And not many kids that size can jump like him.”

...

Previous coaches just sent him out to cause havoc. He didn’t enjoy shooting or rebounding. The only thing he liked was blocking shots.

“I got stuck in that and it became a problem,” Hampton said. “I didn’t develop skills. I was just out there. I didn’t have the rebounding and scoring mentality after that. That kind of damaged me. That’s why it’s hard to get acclimated to the system. It seems like I’m not getting it, but its just so much of a struggle that I’m so stuck in my old ways.”

...

“He’s a sponge and he’s learning,” Mouton said. “We’re excited how quickly he’s picking it up. He’s going to fit perfectly into our puzzle. He’ll do anything for anybody, and I really respect the kid for his work ethic.”

For being a guy who just blocks shot, he has great balance and even the start of some good moves. He's closer in his shooting accuracy than Jeffers was when he first got here from what I've seen in limited action. I'm hoping for some good things from Calvin.

Beaver Men's Basketball news

Beaver Basketball has a semi-big game coming up against UNLV on Saturday at 2pm. It is televised on FSN NW. So here's the latest news coming out of the men's hoops program this week:


The Beavs lose another player to injury. Michael Johnson is out for season with a broken foot. To add to the pain, Jeffers is hurt with a sprained knee.
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Johnson breaks his foot

Jay has the team working harder in practice. Time to lay the groundwork for a successful season, eh?
The Oregonian - OSU hopes harder practices will adjust attitude
Corvallis Gazette-Times - John creates a tougher practice

Jay John has his own website now.
OSUBeavers.com - Jay John Website

And he got a contract extension for 5 years.
SI.com - John gets contract extension


Go Beavs!