What should be the defining season in Jay John?s six-year coaching career for the Oregon State men?s basketball team begins Thursday night when the Beavers face Colorado State in the opening round of the Top of the World Classic.
The onus on John and his staff is clear: After four losing records in his five seasons here, the Beavers must show tangible progress in Year 6 or changes will be forthcoming.
Fair enough, said John, 66-85 overall and 28-62 in the Pacific-10 Conference. He won?t guarantee a certain amount of wins, but he does promise OSU will play hard, fast, hustle and with a purpose.
?If you?re going to make mistakes, make them by commission, by doing too much, not by saying, �I decided I?m not going to make an effort on that play,? ? John said.
?We want those kind of guys.?
He said he believes the foundation has been laid for a turnaround that will return OSU into a competitive position in the Pac-10, starting with Thursday?s 9:30 p.m. encounter with the Rams (0-1) in Fairbanks, Alaska.
?We can defend better and have more quickness, that?s what makes the difference,? John said, thanks to maturation of returning players and the influx of six junior-college transfers/freshmen.
?In the past we didn?t have some of that. When you play good teams that have five skilled and talented people on the floor, that?s where we would have some problems.
(Opponents) would take our bigs outside, drive by them or shoot. Now we have more athleticism and we can create some havoc.?
The Beavers were not overly impressive offensively in their exhibition victories over NAIA Warner Pacific and NCAA Division II Western Washington. They were 8-for-38 on 3-pointers, were outrebounded twice, and never established a smooth flow, in part because senior forward Marcel Jones, their top player, missed the first game and was not 100 percent for the second because of a right-thumb injury sustained in practice.
?We?re not going to be an offensive juggernaught, at least early,? John acknowledged. ?We can?t turn the ball over. We?ve talked about things we need to stand for: Playing our tail off, defending, rebounding and not turning the ball over. We have to get extra opportunities by our defense and the glass.
?Offensively we?re well behind where we need to be.?
OSU has several pieces of what could be an effective offensive unit. Sophomore point guard Josh Tarver returns, complemented by junior transfer Rickey Claitt.
?He?s a great point guard,? Tarver said of Claitt, who hit 2 of 3 3-pointers against Western Washington and did not have a turnover in either game. ?He gets guys organized and keeps the defense honest. He can hit that open shot.?
Added John: ?Rickey is the point guard package. He just plays and does whatever he can to help win. He?s our best perimeter defender, and our best vocal leader.?
Jones is a proven scorer, a solid rebounder, an athletic player who can run the floor. Freshman 6-7 forward/center Sean Carter has been active and aggressive inside, and 6-10 sophomore Calvin Hampton dropped 30 pounds from a year ago and is in much better shape.
?I?m greatly impressed with Sean Carter?s energy and how hard he plays. He just goes,? John said. ?He knows one speed, and that?s wonderful. He?s going to continue to get better and help us.?
Sophomore 6-11 center Roeland Schaftenaar, Carter and Hampton give OSU an inside presence it has missed since the graduation of David Lucas in 2006. That will be boosted when 6-11 Kansas transfer C.J. Giles becomes eligible when fall term grades are posted, and if 6-7 freshman Omari Johnson isn?t redshirted when he?s cleared to play in mid-December when his broken facial bones heal.
?We have me, Roeland, Calvin ... we can all rotate in and out,? Carter said. ?We go hard three or four minutes and change, then three or four more minutes and change.
?The energy and presence down low is not going to change. Nobody is a weak link. We can do five and out. It?s even right now, it doesn?t matter who starts, nobody cares because we all know we have to do the same things to help each other win.?
The potential sophomore guard Seth Tarver showed as a senior at Jesuit High in Beaverton, when he was the state?s top senior recruit, has started to emerge with his recovery from foot injuries that seriously curtailed his effectiveness in 2006-07.
?I have my bounce and my legs back,? Seth Tarver said. ?I feel a lot better, can move, stop and jump.?
Redshirt freshman guard Lathen Wallace and freshmen guards Mike Stovall and Calvin Haynes add some backcourt depth. Wallace scored 27 points in 20 minutes in the exhibition games.
?We played on an AAU team together,? Josh Tarver said of Wallace. ?I know he can shoot it, he knows how to score, where to be to score. He?s just one of those guys who knows where to be, in the right spot at the right time.
?He got to places where he knew he can penetrate. If somebody kicked it out to him, he want to the rack, scored and got to the line.?
The onus on John and his staff is clear: After four losing records in his five seasons here, the Beavers must show tangible progress in Year 6 or changes will be forthcoming.
Fair enough, said John, 66-85 overall and 28-62 in the Pacific-10 Conference. He won?t guarantee a certain amount of wins, but he does promise OSU will play hard, fast, hustle and with a purpose.
?If you?re going to make mistakes, make them by commission, by doing too much, not by saying, �I decided I?m not going to make an effort on that play,? ? John said.
?We want those kind of guys.?
He said he believes the foundation has been laid for a turnaround that will return OSU into a competitive position in the Pac-10, starting with Thursday?s 9:30 p.m. encounter with the Rams (0-1) in Fairbanks, Alaska.
?We can defend better and have more quickness, that?s what makes the difference,? John said, thanks to maturation of returning players and the influx of six junior-college transfers/freshmen.
?In the past we didn?t have some of that. When you play good teams that have five skilled and talented people on the floor, that?s where we would have some problems.
(Opponents) would take our bigs outside, drive by them or shoot. Now we have more athleticism and we can create some havoc.?
The Beavers were not overly impressive offensively in their exhibition victories over NAIA Warner Pacific and NCAA Division II Western Washington. They were 8-for-38 on 3-pointers, were outrebounded twice, and never established a smooth flow, in part because senior forward Marcel Jones, their top player, missed the first game and was not 100 percent for the second because of a right-thumb injury sustained in practice.
?We?re not going to be an offensive juggernaught, at least early,? John acknowledged. ?We can?t turn the ball over. We?ve talked about things we need to stand for: Playing our tail off, defending, rebounding and not turning the ball over. We have to get extra opportunities by our defense and the glass.
?Offensively we?re well behind where we need to be.?
OSU has several pieces of what could be an effective offensive unit. Sophomore point guard Josh Tarver returns, complemented by junior transfer Rickey Claitt.
?He?s a great point guard,? Tarver said of Claitt, who hit 2 of 3 3-pointers against Western Washington and did not have a turnover in either game. ?He gets guys organized and keeps the defense honest. He can hit that open shot.?
Added John: ?Rickey is the point guard package. He just plays and does whatever he can to help win. He?s our best perimeter defender, and our best vocal leader.?
Jones is a proven scorer, a solid rebounder, an athletic player who can run the floor. Freshman 6-7 forward/center Sean Carter has been active and aggressive inside, and 6-10 sophomore Calvin Hampton dropped 30 pounds from a year ago and is in much better shape.
?I?m greatly impressed with Sean Carter?s energy and how hard he plays. He just goes,? John said. ?He knows one speed, and that?s wonderful. He?s going to continue to get better and help us.?
Sophomore 6-11 center Roeland Schaftenaar, Carter and Hampton give OSU an inside presence it has missed since the graduation of David Lucas in 2006. That will be boosted when 6-11 Kansas transfer C.J. Giles becomes eligible when fall term grades are posted, and if 6-7 freshman Omari Johnson isn?t redshirted when he?s cleared to play in mid-December when his broken facial bones heal.
?We have me, Roeland, Calvin ... we can all rotate in and out,? Carter said. ?We go hard three or four minutes and change, then three or four more minutes and change.
?The energy and presence down low is not going to change. Nobody is a weak link. We can do five and out. It?s even right now, it doesn?t matter who starts, nobody cares because we all know we have to do the same things to help each other win.?
The potential sophomore guard Seth Tarver showed as a senior at Jesuit High in Beaverton, when he was the state?s top senior recruit, has started to emerge with his recovery from foot injuries that seriously curtailed his effectiveness in 2006-07.
?I have my bounce and my legs back,? Seth Tarver said. ?I feel a lot better, can move, stop and jump.?
Redshirt freshman guard Lathen Wallace and freshmen guards Mike Stovall and Calvin Haynes add some backcourt depth. Wallace scored 27 points in 20 minutes in the exhibition games.
?We played on an AAU team together,? Josh Tarver said of Wallace. ?I know he can shoot it, he knows how to score, where to be to score. He?s just one of those guys who knows where to be, in the right spot at the right time.
?He got to places where he knew he can penetrate. If somebody kicked it out to him, he want to the rack, scored and got to the line.?
