EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – It looked like it might happen a couple of years ago, but Oregon State might finally be poised to turn a corner under Craig Robinson. He has a young team, but it’s a team full of players he and his staff recruited and there’s good talent. Most of all, though, the intangibles that Robinson wants appear to be in place, and they were noticeable in the Beavers’ 100-95 overtime victory over Texas in the Legends Classic semifinals on Saturday night.
Talent is one thing. The team on the opposite bench certainly has it, and not unlike the Beavers the Longhorns have a lot of young talent due to early NBA Draft defections. While the Beavers were lacking in that area before Robinson took over, intangibles helped make up for it, but it didn’t lead to the NCAA Tournament.
After Robinson’s first season ended with a championship in the College Basketball Invitational, hopes were high. Some thought that in a down Pac-10 (now Pac-12), the Beavers were as good a pick as any to finish in the top half in his second season. But that never came close to materializing in a season that hit a major low when Seattle annihilated the Beavers 99-48 in Corvallis. The Beavers finished 14-18, although they did get in the CBI once again despite a losing record.
Now the Beavers have good talent and aren’t entirely lacking in experience. They start sophomores and juniors and have just one senior on the roster. The core of the team is in the sophomore and junior classes, from star Jared Cunningham right on down the roster. Cunningham could lead the Pac-12 in scoring from the looks of his early performances, but he may not have to with three others averaging in double figures and the one other starter averaging a little under that range.
So the prerequisites of talent and experience there. On Saturday night, the other reasons to think this team may be ready to turn a corner showed up. Chief among them was this team’s fight, as Texas had the lead often in the second half and appeared at times ready to pull away before overtime came.
“When I started the season this year, I said I like this team, and you can see why,” Robinson said. “It’s a tough group of kids that kept fighting, didn’t give up, was in foul trouble and couldn’t make foul shots in the first half. They do that day in and day out. What you saw is the result of what these guys do every day in practice.”
Symbolic of that was point guard Ahmad Starks. He struggled all night long and had not scored when the final minutes came around, but he hit a big three-pointer with 2:03 left that brought the Beavers within 78-76, then hit a clutch three-pointer in overtime that gave them the lead for good.
It’s instructive to remember where this program was when Robinson took over. A year prior to it, the Beavers were 0-18 in conference play, and while that was a great year for the conference, they were not part of it at all. It was so bad that Jay John was let go during the season.
As was the case in his first head coaching job at Brown, Robinson had to change a culture. It hasn’t happened overnight by a long shot, even though there was quick success with the CBI title his first year, but it appears to be there. Robinson said he feels the team is buying in to what he and the coaching staff are trying to do, which he often cited as the primary reason he had the success he did at Brown. And if his star player is any indication, the players realize what it will take to win.
“We all believe in each other,” said Cunningham, who had 37 points on Saturday night. “We have confidence in each other and want each other to do well.”
Oregon State’s win over Texas will help make them relevant later on. The rest of the non-conference slate is lacking opportunities for signature wins, so coming out of New Jersey with at least one win is what they need. They will have chances in the Pac-12, but the jury is out on just how many they will have, and the non-conference results matter even for a team that will have chances for signature wins in conference play like the Beavers.
It took a few years, but Oregon State looks ready to turn the corner into a contender. The early signs are there now that the talent is in place, and they have a good win to build on as well.
