As part of our Oregon State week, we wanted to reach out to the guys at Building The Dam for their takes on the upcoming Beaver basketball season. Andy Wooldridge was kind enough to spend some time with us and give us his thoughts.
Rush The Court: Let’s get the most important topic out-of-the-way first. Jared Cunningham was the team’s top defender and threat on offense. How do you replace him, and is there any chance at improvement with him gone?
Building The Dam: There’s no one player who can replace Cunningham on this team. He was a rare player, the type who only comes along once every decade or so at programs like Oregon State. That doesn’t mean that the Beavers can’t collectively step up to the challenge, though. Ahmad Starks and Roberto Nelson must both find better consistency, and more consistent offense from the frontcourt wouldn’t hurt either. Defensively, Cunningham wasn’t a lockdown defender, and it wasn’t that unusual for some of the better guards in the conference to break him down with the dribble. Cunningham wasn’t that great at denying the perimeter shot either. These are two things Oregon State needs to improve on this season as a team, and that would have been the case even if Jared had returned for his senior season. But what he did have was both the anticipation and the acceleration to make opponents pay for a mistake, often explosively. It wouldn’t just be a four- to five-point swing, it would be a momentum changer. That’s going to be the toughest thing to replace. Challe Barton has a huge opportunity to step up and fill the void Cunningham left; we should know by Christmas whether he’s up to it.
RTC: Considering he’s churned out good recruiting class after good recruiting class and is already four years into his tenure, is there any pressure on Craig Robinson to make at least an NIT appearance in 2012-13?
BTD: Pressure? No. Expectations, yes. By that I mean there isn’t immediate pressure from the Athletic Director or the University President, who are the ones who matter. Remember, Robinson just delivered the best season in 22 years, and only the second winning record in that time frame. And they played an entertaining, high scoring style of ball in doing so. Both Bob De Carolis and President Ray remember the Jay John days very clearly. But fans are having expectations of even better things to come, at least the newer generation of them. Continued growth in attendance, which translates to continued growth of income, will only come with wins, and actual quality non-conference opponents, which only wins and fuller houses can deliver. If Robinson suffers another fallback as happened in the 2010-11 season, then the pressure will start to mount in the 2013-14 campaign in direct inverse to ticket sales and donations. Oregon State does not have a “quick hook” management style, so Robinson, like most coaches on campus, has more time to work with than would be the case at several other schools in the conference in any number of sports.
RTC: If the Beavers do make the NIT, or maybe even catch fire in Las Vegas and go dancing, who’s the man to lead them there?
BTD: Devon Collier is the player that can be the consistent source of points that will be the back bone of a successful season for Oregon State. There are a number of others who will post impressive stat lines at times, but it will be Collier and “someone” who leads the Beavers night in and night out if the Beavers are to move up another level.
RTC: Which newcomer do you think will have the biggest impact this year?
BTD: Daniel Gomis. He’s a freak of nature (and I mean that in a good way), and Robinson clearly can’t wait to take advantage of that length of his. Also, the players who are off the radar of most fans who are going to be in much more prominent roles, Eric Moreland and Barton, aren’t newcomers.
RTC: Name a sleeper player if he’s different from the guy above?
BTD: It could be Barton, as discussed above. He has the opportunity to be one of the breakout players in the conference, never mind the team, if (and it’s a huge if) he can take advantage of it. If not, Beaver fans and opponents should keep an eye on Jarmal Reid. It’s going to be hard to find minutes for him if the rotation of Collier, Angus Brandt, Moreland, Joe Burton, and Gomis gets results. But if any of those players falter, or get hurt, Reid could suddenly find an opportunity. With three Georgia high school state championships on his resume, he’s a player who has some demonstrated ability to get results, and Robinson could decide to give him a shot instead of a redshirt (which would probably be better in the long haul).