OSU plays old school. team basketball, that is fundamentally sound. For this basketball 🏀 purist, it is fun to watch. Win or lose tomorrow, it has been a fun ride to watch. Go Beavs! Way to rep the state of Oregon and the Pac12 nka the Pac2.
This is also part of the issue. For the purist, and those that appreciate ANY style played well, its ok. But OSU plays a slow pace, and most of the Rueck era wins and near misses against very good teams turn into rock fights in an alley, like yesterday. It wins, and we appreciate what we are seeing. But to the casual, surf by fan, which is the differential market element ESPN is trying to attract, it isn't nearly as appealing as more up-tempo fast break basketball.
The plight of being a very small market team in a remote corner of the country, and the victim of the very limited reach of the Pac-12 network's distribution.
Compound that with that while OSU mostly won this year, they were swept by Stanford, swept in LA, and by USC, and have not had the best of tv slots (arguably some of the worst, because the better markets get the better slots) for their 3 tournament games.
It's hard to be America's team when most of America hasn't seen them.
Beat South Carolina, something no one has done all season, and that will get people's attention.
Once again John, you are covering the right story! It would make this Beav alum proud if this team, (and maybe even the baseball team!) can show the country, and especially those who contributed to the downfall of the PAC-12, what is in the heart of an OSU Beaver. There is something about this team… that underdog, “ why not us “ mentality that makes me “dam proud” to be a beav…reminds me of Pat Casey’s 2006 squad…go get a trophy girls!
I absolutely agree with you on the coverage. Hidalgo alone was mentioned more by the commentators then the ENTIRE OSU team combined....even when she was attempting 3-pointers that were clunkers. It was clear they were pulling for Notre Dame. Cameron Brink fouled out of her last two NCAA games and was a non-factor at the end of each one. Clark and Iowa looked disjoint as a team in their last win. It was painful to watch. Geno and Mulkey are fueling the airwaves and distracting from the great basketball being played by the women. Yes, South Carolina is very good. OK.
Solution for me is to watch the games with the sound off.....that way I don't find myself yelling at the TV and the biased talking heads giving color, but not basketball commentary.
Great piece. Funny thing is, those that have watched this team understand how talented they are. Yes, they have the connection that most “Cinderella” teams have, but they are also one of the deepest teams still in the tournament. While beating SC will be an upset tomorrow, it’s not quite the “David v Goliath” that the casuals may think it is. Couple some young/talented girls with at least a 2 McDonald’s All American’s, and their talent stacks up with most. SC will be sorely mistaken if they don’t realize this and take ‘em lightly.
Love this comment. Look for Talia to come out on fire. She may not be the MVP on this team but she is dam sure the Most Important Player MIP!!!! So many little things that she does to lead by example, showing the freshwomen and sophomore's, how to never back down and impose their will on the opposing team!!! South Carolina will come out and try to intimidate OSU. They better be ready for Talia to push back and provide some good old fashioned PNW intimidation. They can ask Nebraska how that works!!!!
My fingers are crossed for these players to stay with Rueck for another year. They can take SC if they stop traveling and learn to beat the press that's coming. They are doing so much right that they deserve more success, and Rueck deserves the Coach of the Year, All Sports.
Excellent shout out for the Beaver girls. Now for my (last?) rant on the subject, after watching nearly all the women's games so far. 1) Tara has lost her fastball, hard thing for a life long fan to say.
Stanford was not able to develop a scheme to protect Cameron Brink from the mugging attack of opponents and the delight of zebras calling fowls on her every time she brushed someone. In the waning minutes last night, with four fouls, she was sent right back into the middle of the pack to get fouled out. 2) Bob Ryan (Boston Globe) is right, the heart of the game was lost when they started painting three point lines on the court. 3). the games all reminded me of of rugby more than hoops; many of the teams play a very aggressive abusive style, and get away with it, expecially the higher ranked teams (UCLA started it in the Pac12 years ago). 4) the Eastern bias, especially for higher ranked teams, by the media, tv, and the zebras is obvious if you are paying attention. The Beavers will be facing 7 opponents on the floor tomorrow. 5). speaking of the zebras, have you ever seen such a collection of brain challenged people outside an institution? The calls, the reviews, their self important presence is sickening. Two examples; they are forcing the trainers to remove a nose stud from a player using forceps from some blacksmith shop; and during the Stanford game, they called timeout after the NC center hit one of her team mates in the face to "check for an undetected foul", and headed for the replay station. After a couple of minutes and several replays on our home screen, the judgement: "there was no undetected foul on the play". As our beloved Bill Walton would say, "PLEASE!"
Very clear there was an agenda by the officials to stump the Cardinals (and the PAC-12). Go back and watch it and you tell me if those were fouls by Brink (and I'm not a Cardinal fan), but that game amid a load of others makes me go hmmmm....
Thanks, Ben. Happy I wasn't the only one to notice. Brink has been a foul target most of the season, at least the games I have watched. Appreciate your thoughts. Charlie
Charles, I don’t know if you caught it or not but I think Cameron Brink was destined to foul out of this game before it even started. The reason I say this is because last weekend when she fouled out of the Iowa State game as she was walking towards the bench the referee was at the scores table with his back to her and it sure looked like she said F…. you. I didn’t catch it during the game but saw it later on “X.”
Good Gin, Reno; it seems something is going on. We have followed her because she played at Mountain Side here in Beaverton. But it seems she doesn't step up at crucial moments always. Again, maybe Tara doesn't have it set up for her. I don't, obviously, know that much about what I am seeing. I do remember Bill Walton in UCLA's last championship; 44 points, and whole lot of rebounds.
Ticky tack illegal screen calls by the Refs, both ways. Could not believe several of them. How are you supposed to get your shooters open if you can't set a legal screen without a whistle. More picks, please, Coach Rueck. Its my favorite part of the game
Good analysis, Brian. It has always kinda been the deal in big games to let 'em play, and keep the stars in as long as possible. Thanks for your observations, Charlie
Brink gave up you could see it beers gets the same treatment. It became very noticeable to me bribk was very upset and just wanted to get off the court. I thought that was very sad for her last season
Thanks for your observations, Charles. Stanford just seemed somewhat off the last half of the season when we watched them most. I agree you could see the beatdown Beers was experienced as well. We tend to forget sometimes these are just kids. Today the officiating in the Beaver - SC game was just as odorous as usual, only more so. It definitely affects both sides of the ball. I haven't seen a 5 count or 10 count all season, and now we see more than one a game? Just sayin', Charlie
John it's TIMEA Gardner. Think of it like her Dad (Andy) had a relative or good friend named Tim NOT TAM. Making it to the elite 8 means running a check on spelling of the players' names.
…and we OSU Alumni and Beaver Nation wonder if we will ever see P. Knight cheering for the Beavers as they wear Nike made Jerseys !? Never ! The Forever “Damned 10” will regret the decision they made all for money ! It’s going to come like a Freight train !
Was so hoping that the Wintermute had retired from this blog... Incredible game yesterday with Beavers winning every stat line other than turnovers. Hard to believe they won with 26 to's, but they played so well in all other facets of the game. Fun to watch.
Eliminate those to's or at least minimize them and they have a really great opportunity to take down the Gamecocks. Scott Rueck is awesome coach.
Thanks for writing this piece, John, and pointing to the moronic ESPN compulsion to overpromote the individual player shiny objects. They have their favorites, and they kill us all with their fawning—however deserved given their special talent. It doesn’t pay off to promote the team aspect of basketball anymore. And ESPN doesn’t do anything that doesn’t pay off in their world. Overlooking the role other players perform in winning games is missing the beauty of the game of basketball.
OSU will need to clean up their ball handling and maintain their great defense to have a chance against South Carolina. But I know for sure, win or lose, it will be all the players who contribute—not one.
The Lady Beavs are a team that is easy to love with an inside and outside game, so hard to defend. It is also a team built to last, with most of its core players either freshmen or sophomores. There were a few cringey moments during the game against ND. They Beavs were careless with the ball and had a mind-numbing 26 turnovers (and still won!!!) They need to get the ball out of the backcourt faster and to do that need to leave players back to set screens. S. Carolina will watch that game film and will press the crap out of the Beavers. They need to be ready for that. I am sure Coach will do that and push the ball up the court.
Having a 42 to 24 rebounding advantage while you're holding your opponent to 35.7% shooting and shooting the lights out yourself will do a lot to overcome a huge turnover margin.
Absolutely. That is why the Beavs still won. I just wonder how good they can be if they manage ball possession better. They could have beat ND by 20 the way they moved the ball in the half court for open shots, inside and out. I expect Rueck to clean this up in tomorrow's game. I guarantee SC will press almost every possession
We are playing really good and fun to watch basketball. Have been doing it all season. Young team, epically bright future, playing elite 8 Sunday morning. So proud.
OSU plays old school. team basketball, that is fundamentally sound. For this basketball 🏀 purist, it is fun to watch. Win or lose tomorrow, it has been a fun ride to watch. Go Beavs! Way to rep the state of Oregon and the Pac12 nka the Pac2.
This is also part of the issue. For the purist, and those that appreciate ANY style played well, its ok. But OSU plays a slow pace, and most of the Rueck era wins and near misses against very good teams turn into rock fights in an alley, like yesterday. It wins, and we appreciate what we are seeing. But to the casual, surf by fan, which is the differential market element ESPN is trying to attract, it isn't nearly as appealing as more up-tempo fast break basketball.
Huh!?!
The plight of being a very small market team in a remote corner of the country, and the victim of the very limited reach of the Pac-12 network's distribution.
Compound that with that while OSU mostly won this year, they were swept by Stanford, swept in LA, and by USC, and have not had the best of tv slots (arguably some of the worst, because the better markets get the better slots) for their 3 tournament games.
It's hard to be America's team when most of America hasn't seen them.
Beat South Carolina, something no one has done all season, and that will get people's attention.
Once again John, you are covering the right story! It would make this Beav alum proud if this team, (and maybe even the baseball team!) can show the country, and especially those who contributed to the downfall of the PAC-12, what is in the heart of an OSU Beaver. There is something about this team… that underdog, “ why not us “ mentality that makes me “dam proud” to be a beav…reminds me of Pat Casey’s 2006 squad…go get a trophy girls!
DAMN straight!
LOVE this comment Ben!!! Yes, just like the 2006 baseball team! Get past the Gamecocks and the odds look great!!!
I absolutely agree with you on the coverage. Hidalgo alone was mentioned more by the commentators then the ENTIRE OSU team combined....even when she was attempting 3-pointers that were clunkers. It was clear they were pulling for Notre Dame. Cameron Brink fouled out of her last two NCAA games and was a non-factor at the end of each one. Clark and Iowa looked disjoint as a team in their last win. It was painful to watch. Geno and Mulkey are fueling the airwaves and distracting from the great basketball being played by the women. Yes, South Carolina is very good. OK.
Solution for me is to watch the games with the sound off.....that way I don't find myself yelling at the TV and the biased talking heads giving color, but not basketball commentary.
I do the same thing. And/or I patch Ron Callahan in from the radio. Tired of the bias. So damn tired of the bias.
Yeah, I’d rather listen to Bill Walton blather on
Het, hey. I would listen to Bill Walton any day. He is a hoot!!!
That is a damning statement. Walton make it nearly impossible for me to watch ANY game in which he was doing commentary. Ouch.
Heart of America! We are behind you OSU!
And so very proud!!
Great piece. Funny thing is, those that have watched this team understand how talented they are. Yes, they have the connection that most “Cinderella” teams have, but they are also one of the deepest teams still in the tournament. While beating SC will be an upset tomorrow, it’s not quite the “David v Goliath” that the casuals may think it is. Couple some young/talented girls with at least a 2 McDonald’s All American’s, and their talent stacks up with most. SC will be sorely mistaken if they don’t realize this and take ‘em lightly.
Love this comment. Look for Talia to come out on fire. She may not be the MVP on this team but she is dam sure the Most Important Player MIP!!!! So many little things that she does to lead by example, showing the freshwomen and sophomore's, how to never back down and impose their will on the opposing team!!! South Carolina will come out and try to intimidate OSU. They better be ready for Talia to push back and provide some good old fashioned PNW intimidation. They can ask Nebraska how that works!!!!
My fingers are crossed for these players to stay with Rueck for another year. They can take SC if they stop traveling and learn to beat the press that's coming. They are doing so much right that they deserve more success, and Rueck deserves the Coach of the Year, All Sports.
ESPN, feel free to kiss our Northwest butts.
Excellent shout out for the Beaver girls. Now for my (last?) rant on the subject, after watching nearly all the women's games so far. 1) Tara has lost her fastball, hard thing for a life long fan to say.
Stanford was not able to develop a scheme to protect Cameron Brink from the mugging attack of opponents and the delight of zebras calling fowls on her every time she brushed someone. In the waning minutes last night, with four fouls, she was sent right back into the middle of the pack to get fouled out. 2) Bob Ryan (Boston Globe) is right, the heart of the game was lost when they started painting three point lines on the court. 3). the games all reminded me of of rugby more than hoops; many of the teams play a very aggressive abusive style, and get away with it, expecially the higher ranked teams (UCLA started it in the Pac12 years ago). 4) the Eastern bias, especially for higher ranked teams, by the media, tv, and the zebras is obvious if you are paying attention. The Beavers will be facing 7 opponents on the floor tomorrow. 5). speaking of the zebras, have you ever seen such a collection of brain challenged people outside an institution? The calls, the reviews, their self important presence is sickening. Two examples; they are forcing the trainers to remove a nose stud from a player using forceps from some blacksmith shop; and during the Stanford game, they called timeout after the NC center hit one of her team mates in the face to "check for an undetected foul", and headed for the replay station. After a couple of minutes and several replays on our home screen, the judgement: "there was no undetected foul on the play". As our beloved Bill Walton would say, "PLEASE!"
Very clear there was an agenda by the officials to stump the Cardinals (and the PAC-12). Go back and watch it and you tell me if those were fouls by Brink (and I'm not a Cardinal fan), but that game amid a load of others makes me go hmmmm....
Thanks, Ben. Happy I wasn't the only one to notice. Brink has been a foul target most of the season, at least the games I have watched. Appreciate your thoughts. Charlie
Well played, Charlie. Many excellent points - I hardly know where to begin. The nose stud issue was pathetic on so many levels...just disgraceful.
Thanks, Real, appreciate your thoughts. The girls are playing so well and then to have all this other stuff is unfortunate. Charlie
“Beaver girls”. Really? Time to join the 21st century.
Charles, I don’t know if you caught it or not but I think Cameron Brink was destined to foul out of this game before it even started. The reason I say this is because last weekend when she fouled out of the Iowa State game as she was walking towards the bench the referee was at the scores table with his back to her and it sure looked like she said F…. you. I didn’t catch it during the game but saw it later on “X.”
Good Gin, Reno; it seems something is going on. We have followed her because she played at Mountain Side here in Beaverton. But it seems she doesn't step up at crucial moments always. Again, maybe Tara doesn't have it set up for her. I don't, obviously, know that much about what I am seeing. I do remember Bill Walton in UCLA's last championship; 44 points, and whole lot of rebounds.
Ticky tack illegal screen calls by the Refs, both ways. Could not believe several of them. How are you supposed to get your shooters open if you can't set a legal screen without a whistle. More picks, please, Coach Rueck. Its my favorite part of the game
Good analysis, Brian. It has always kinda been the deal in big games to let 'em play, and keep the stars in as long as possible. Thanks for your observations, Charlie
Charlie, so many good points in this I can’t hardly handle it! Thanks as always!
Thanks, Ed. Appreciate the kind words. Charlie
Nice comments, with the exception of the “Beaver girls”. Do you say “Beaver Boys” too? Time to join the 21st century.
Yes, but only to clarify which team I am talking about.
Brink gave up you could see it beers gets the same treatment. It became very noticeable to me bribk was very upset and just wanted to get off the court. I thought that was very sad for her last season
Thanks for your observations, Charles. Stanford just seemed somewhat off the last half of the season when we watched them most. I agree you could see the beatdown Beers was experienced as well. We tend to forget sometimes these are just kids. Today the officiating in the Beaver - SC game was just as odorous as usual, only more so. It definitely affects both sides of the ball. I haven't seen a 5 count or 10 count all season, and now we see more than one a game? Just sayin', Charlie
Well "Said" Charlie!! Great comments as always my good man!!!
Thank you Kent, you are most kind. Charlie
I was with you until you brought up Bill Walton.
John it's TIMEA Gardner. Think of it like her Dad (Andy) had a relative or good friend named Tim NOT TAM. Making it to the elite 8 means running a check on spelling of the players' names.
My daughter caught it too. Corrected. Thank you.
Thanks Mom
You're welcome. If it were your kid you know how that comes across.
…and we OSU Alumni and Beaver Nation wonder if we will ever see P. Knight cheering for the Beavers as they wear Nike made Jerseys !? Never ! The Forever “Damned 10” will regret the decision they made all for money ! It’s going to come like a Freight train !
So glad you're enjoying the OSU ride from preseason ranked 10th to one game away from the final four.
Yet your comments are fire and brimstone tearing into PK and the events of last
summer. 🤔
Chill dude!
Going through life bitter and vile isn't a good look 🤷🏻♂️
Was so hoping that the Wintermute had retired from this blog... Incredible game yesterday with Beavers winning every stat line other than turnovers. Hard to believe they won with 26 to's, but they played so well in all other facets of the game. Fun to watch.
Eliminate those to's or at least minimize them and they have a really great opportunity to take down the Gamecocks. Scott Rueck is awesome coach.
Technical foul for excessive use of exclamation points..
Don’t tell my friends, but this Duck is rooting for the OSU women’s team.
Yes! Yes! Go Beavs!
This Duck is enjoying the view..
Thanks, John…
Thanks for writing this piece, John, and pointing to the moronic ESPN compulsion to overpromote the individual player shiny objects. They have their favorites, and they kill us all with their fawning—however deserved given their special talent. It doesn’t pay off to promote the team aspect of basketball anymore. And ESPN doesn’t do anything that doesn’t pay off in their world. Overlooking the role other players perform in winning games is missing the beauty of the game of basketball.
OSU will need to clean up their ball handling and maintain their great defense to have a chance against South Carolina. But I know for sure, win or lose, it will be all the players who contribute—not one.
The Lady Beavs are a team that is easy to love with an inside and outside game, so hard to defend. It is also a team built to last, with most of its core players either freshmen or sophomores. There were a few cringey moments during the game against ND. They Beavs were careless with the ball and had a mind-numbing 26 turnovers (and still won!!!) They need to get the ball out of the backcourt faster and to do that need to leave players back to set screens. S. Carolina will watch that game film and will press the crap out of the Beavers. They need to be ready for that. I am sure Coach will do that and push the ball up the court.
Having a 42 to 24 rebounding advantage while you're holding your opponent to 35.7% shooting and shooting the lights out yourself will do a lot to overcome a huge turnover margin.
Absolutely. That is why the Beavs still won. I just wonder how good they can be if they manage ball possession better. They could have beat ND by 20 the way they moved the ball in the half court for open shots, inside and out. I expect Rueck to clean this up in tomorrow's game. I guarantee SC will press almost every possession
Win or lose, they're still my team!! Loved your article, John.
Same!!
We are playing really good and fun to watch basketball. Have been doing it all season. Young team, epically bright future, playing elite 8 Sunday morning. So proud.