An outsiders view of the Beavs hoops team: Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star

I have yet to see a local media opinion or editorial about the Beavers and Jay John, but here is a good one from Tuscon. Of course Jay is from Tuscon and coached at Arizona for 4 years so they know him pretty well down there.

Opinion by Greg Hansen: It is difficult to watch John, true good guy, suffer at OSU - Arizona Daily Star

Here are some highlights:

In his fifth season at Oregon State, John has tested not only his patience but that of the Beaver basketball community. After a promising 2005 season in which OSU went to a postseason tournament (the NIT) for the first time in 15 years, John's young team is barely treading water, a shooting-challenged team that is superior in Pac-10 talent only to Arizona State.

Watching John's team struggle is unpleasant.

He is a good guy among good guys, and no one outside of John's immediate family could have been happier than UA fans last year when Oregon State extended his contract through 2010-11. He desperately needs the time; the Beavers have been the league's worst basketball franchise since Gary Payton left in 1990.

But you worry about OSU's administration and its capacity for patience; the league is so good that it's difficult to see Oregon State climbing over anyone this or next year.
It is likely that John over scheduled this club, playing LSU, Nevada and at Hawaii in the preseason. Had the Beavers been given Oregon's ridiculously soft schedule, they would have come in to Tucson at 12-4 or thereabouts.

John has also been the victim of some bad luck. The rotating Pac-10 schedule had his club opening against 15-1 Oregon, 14-1 UCLA and 13-4 USC, all at home, all while OSU students were away on winter break.

There is great circumstantial evidence that OSU is much better than its 8-9 record. That will not make Beaver fans any happier.

Well, that about sums it up in a few paragraphs. That said, it's going to be tough for the Beavs to get close to 13-14 wins this season unless the young guys grow up fast.

"Do we settle (for this)?'' John asked Thursday. "No. But that's where we are.''

Five of OSU's top six players return next year. The Beavers this week announced they have accepted former Kansas center C.J. Giles into school — Giles has experienced off-court legal issues in Kansas — and he instantly becomes the leading player at OSU since Corey Benjamin and Brent Barry a decade ago.

Every Pac-10 team recruits impact players — even ASU, with incoming James Harden — and Giles gives the Beavers a chance to fight back.

[...]

"This staff is coming off a four-year period in which we won more games (at OSU) than any coaching staff (at OSU) since Gary Payton,'' the Salpointe Catholic grad said Thursday.

[...]

Meanwhile, given his history as a workaholic, John will go back to the shop and try to get the Beavers to win 13 or 14 games this year.

On Thursday, OSU fell behind 10-0 three minutes into the game. John tapped his shoulders, signaling for a timeout. Stage fright. Thereafter, the Beavers played Arizona to a one-point game.

But, alas, in three minutes, too much damage had been done.

Such has been life for the Beavers this year.

I admit, it's going to be extra tough to compete now that the top 8 teams are actually pretty good. Who will we beat this year? Maybe ASU twice. Maybe we can upset Cal, Stanford, or UW at home. Can we win on the road? I don't know. I just hope it doesn't get too ugly this season.