Oct. 14, 2009

OREGON STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL MEETS THE MEDIA

Sept. 25, 2009

After a brief hiatus, The Beaver Basketblog returns to provide an update on the program as we stand two days away from the official start of practice. On Wednesday, this year's version of the Beavers "officially" met with the media for the first time (selected quotes from the media session can be found below).

Calvin Haynes, Josh Tarver and head coach Craig Robinson took about an hour to chat with the media gathering, and if there is one theme to walk away with from the session, it's that this year's team is shooting for the NCAA tournament. As Haynes said, "anything less would be a disappointment."

Needless to say, the lofty goals and expectations have created quite a buzz as a number of media outlets ran features on the program this week. Paul Buker of The Oregonian provides good recaps of preseason workouts and the media session. Curtis Anderson (Eugene Register Guard ) and Kevin Hampton (Corvallis Gazette Times) also provide good season previews and a link to Bleacher Report caps the story links with a mention that the Beavers are one of five programs on the rise.

Before we go, make sure to follow Oregon State men's basketball on twitter @oregonstatembb and on Facebook by clicking on the fan button at the bottom of this entry. Finally, the Oregon State men's basketball "I am Orange" video is out and definitely worth a look.

The blog will be back on Friday with a recap of the first "official" day of practice. Go Beavs!

OREGON STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY QUOTES
OREGON STATE HEAD COACH Craig Robinson
Goals for upcoming season...
"We have not come up with any real tangible goals. I wanted to get the opportunity to get a couple of real practices and see what the younger guys can offer. Just given where we were at the end of the season last year, I think it is not out of the realm of making the NCAA tournament. I think the guys are very genuine about wanting to make it and have gone about their business this summer as if that was their goal all along."

On Gary Payton's visit to Corvallis a few weeks ago...
"We held a ceremony for him up in Portland as part of his induction into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. The following day, he came down to watch our team do one of our forty-minute workouts and then he went down to the locker room, which he hasn't seen in awhile. He had a chance to talk with the guys down there, but I am not sure what was said. What I can tell you was that before he walked in to one of our shooting drills, the guys were performing ok, and when he walked in, our guys missed every single shot. That just shows the kind of pressure and "ah" factor he inspires. Overall, I know we enjoyed creating that relationship with him and we hope to see him come back for a couple of our games."

On the difference in expectations from last year to this year...
"Last year at this time, we hoped we could win at least one league game, and try to win as many non-conferences games that we could. This year we are talking about making the NCAA tournament and improving on a year that we had last year. We are thinking about finishing in the top half of the league, there are some real formidable goals and achievable goals here. There is the air of higher expectations; so you will see me more than last year trying to manage everyone's expectations out there because they are a little higher than they should be. It is a different feel this year with our players. I can already see the amount of effort they are putting fourth which makes me excited for Friday (official start of practice)."

What does last year's success did for the team...
"What last season's turn-around did was give our team the credibility and confidence in their own minds, and that is huge in being successful. It's also a huge part with rebuilding a new culture. We have six or seven guys from last year who now are believers in what we are doing and how we will get better at it. Over the summer, you could see how hard they worked without us giving them a whole lot of input. From a confidence and credibility standpoint, I think it was huge and it was huge from an overall program standpoint. I think people are excited about what is going on here, so we are very excited to see the crowds we get this year."

OREGON STATE SOPHOMORE GUARD Calvin Haynes
On the new guys on the team...
"They bring a lot to the table this year. They're athletic, they can all shoot, they're fast, they can rebound and they're catching on quick to the offense."

On the goal of making the NCAA tournament...
"It would be a disappointment [not making the tournament] with the year we just had. It wasn't the NIT but it was a big improvement from the previous season. With the players we have coming back we are a very dangerous team. We feel that anything less than the NCAA tournament would be a disappointment this season."

On when things started clicking last season...
"I want to say after the Stanford and Cal trip, towards the middle of the season, we all realized that the system really does work and fit us really well. If we keep playing hard and doing what coach tells us we could win any game, any time."

On the mindset of this year as compared to two years ago...
"Coming off the season we had, with the coaches we have, with the players we have there's no doubt in our minds that we can make the NCAA tournament. That's the only thing we're shooting for."

OREGON STATE SENIOR GUARD Josh Tarver
On the upcoming season...
"We have to work hard and we believe that we're going to finish up there on the conference standings. It's just a matter of proving everyone they're right. It's good to know that there are high expectations for us this year."

On not catching people off guard...
"We're going to do the things we do and even if they know its coming they might not stop it. We have plenty of weapons this year."

On the improvements he made in his game for this year...
"Shooting, I have to be that guy to fill Rickey Claitt's spot. All the coaches have been helping me and it's getting better. I feel more confident in my shot and the way I'm shooting. Coach knows I can help on defense. It's one of my strong points, but on the offensive end it's all about putting more points on the board."

On the new guys...
"They're going to go off of what we've done. We have a routine. They are starting to understand the attitude that we bring: working hard every day in practice and making shots. Everyone is catching on really quick and buying into the system. I feel like they're going to do really well with this offense."

NEWS AND NOTES AS THE ANTICIPATION BUILDS FOR THE 2009-10 SEASON

Sept. 25, 2009

Welcome back! Let's get right to it. Some news and notes surrounding the Oregon State men's basketball team as we stand exactly 49 days from the start of a highly-anticipated campaign.

It was a hectic week for the team as the squad did much more than the usual preseason workouts. The favorite time of year for any sports team at Oregon State (insert sarcastic font here), the team went through head shots, did some posed profile shots (pic here) and then finished the week off by doing their stand-up shots for the Gill Coliseum video boards. Calvin Haynes, Roeland Schaftenaar and Seth Tarver had a little more time in front of the cameras as the trio filmed parts for the Oregon State online e-magazine, which will be available on osubeavers.com in November.

The plan was to bring readers of the blog a practice report; however, Oregonian beat writer Paul Buker stopped by Gill Coliseum this week for a Q&A session with Craig Robinson. Buker followed up by swinging through practice and provides full coverage of his talk with Robinson and what he saw at practice here.

Speaking of Robinson, the "world media tour" has kicked in as he'll be all over the airwaves in the next couple of days.

Robinson will appear on the Live Wire! radio program on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 8:00 p.m. Ryan White of The Oregonian conducted the interview as the segment was taped on Sept. 12 at the historic Elsinore Theater in Salem, Ore. A listing of radio stations carrying the interview can be found here. If you are unable to catch the radio broadcast, a podcast of the program will be available on iTunes or by clicking here.

Robinson will also make an appearance during the Oregon State-Arizona football game as he will be interviewed by sideline reporter Lewis Johnston at some point during the second quarter. For those not watching the game at home, the head coach can be heard at halftime on the Beavers Sports Radio Network with sideline reporter Ron Callan.

Finally, as we wrap up this edition of the blog, here's a few more links that should get readers excited about the upcoming season. A good article by Yahoo/Rivals.com on why Jared Cunningham and Roberto Nelson chose Oregon State. Speaking of Yahoo, the Beavers come in fourth in Jason King's Pac-10 power rankings. And, to wrap up the Yahoo/Rivals.com links, Oregon State comes in at No. 47 in their national power rankings countdown.

Before we go, make sure to follow Oregon State men's basketball on twitter @oregonstatembb or on Facebook by clicking on the fan button below. Go Beavs!

Welcome to the Beaver BasketBlog: An Inside Look at Men's Hoops

Sept. 17, 2009

Welcome to the newest feature on osubeavers.com, "The Beaver BasketBlog." With basketball season right around the corner, and interest in the program growing each and every day, it's my hope this blog will be an opportunity to keep fans connected and share as much information as possible regarding the Beavers.

Using links, pictures, news and notes while incorporating some general thoughts, the goal of the blog is to let you know what's going on in the world of Oregon State men's basketball, both past and present, as well as the topics throughout college basketball.

So, without further adieu, let's get started. With all the media attention and talk Oregon State received throughout last year and into the summer, one quote from head men's basketball Craig Robinson seemed to resonate the most:

"When we pack Gill Coliseum, we win games." - Craig Robinson

Robinson uttered the quote back in August at an Albany Beaver Huddle. The quote is especially important heading into this season. According to many of the preseason prognostications, Oregon State is predicted to do some good things in 2009-10.

In case you have missed the pre-season hype surrounding the program, a quick sample: Yahoo Sports has Oregon State making the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship for the first time since 1990, an ESPN.com article predicts a third-place finish in the Pac-10 for the Beavers and Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview has Oregon State slated for a fourth-place finish and the spot in the NIT.