Canzano: Stars fall from the rafters in March
A fun story... some hard facts... and a bracket challenge.
Scott Rueck is nostalgic. The Oregon State women’s basketball coach told me a fun story this week. Rueck traveled to Indianapolis in 2011 to watch the women’s NCAA Tournament Final Four championship game as a spectator.
His seat was in the nosebleed section.
“I had a seat way up above,” Rueck said, “but I walked down.”
Texas A&M was playing Notre Dame for the national title that day. The traditional powerhouse programs — Connecticut, Tennessee, and Stanford — didn’t reach the championship game. It was refreshing to see newcomer Texas A&M in its first-ever Final Four. And when the Aggies won the national championship, 76-70, at Conseco Fieldhouse it felt like anything was possible.
Stars fell from the rafters.
Literally.
Tiny, plastic stars dropped from the ceiling of the basketball arena during the post-game celebration. Rueck had seated himself in the Texas A&M fan section, where they rained down. He stooped down in the celebration and scooped a handful of stars off the floor. The coach placed them in his bag for the trip home and kept them.
That was at the end of Rueck’s first season at Oregon State. He’d finished 9-21. Five seasons later, he’d win the Pac-12 Conference title and make the Final Four. It was a breakthrough moment for a school that made a spectacular bet on a Division III coach.
Bob De Carolis, the athletic director at OSU, interviewed Rueck for the job in the spring of 2010. The George Fox University coach left the meeting thinking he didn’t have a chance. Rueck wasn’t aware of the balance sheet in Corvallis. Oregon State was in a financial pinch. Coach LaVonda Wagner had been fired and was still owed $1.2 million. The athletic department was facing a $6.9 million deficit on top of that.
De Carolis was intrigued by Rueck’s success at the small-college level and impressed with how thoughtful the coach was in the interview. The AD was looking for upside and Rueck offered gobs of it. The day after the interview, the AD requested a second meeting. The men sat across from each other at a table at Burgerville fast-food restaurant in Monmouth.
De Carolis offered to order.
Rueck had no appetite.
Then, the AD offered him the job.
The coach delivered the Beavers to the Final Four in his sixth season. At one time, that journey felt as likely driving a tractor to the Moon. It goes down as one of the greatest rags-to-riches stories in Pac-12 history. Before Rueck left for Indianapolis, he dug up those plastic stars and packed them in his suitcase. His team was pitted against UConn and legendary coach Geno Auriemma in the national semifinal.
“I’ll tell you this,” Rueck told me this week, “I’ll never forget the practice that we had. It’s public access. It’s just an hour on the court. You kind of go through the motions. You’re not going to show anything. You’re out there so fans can come see you. To be out there in that setting and see ‘Oregon State’ circling the ribbon board with ‘UConn’ up there, it was so surreal.”
I had a seat on press row adjacent to the OSU bench for the Final Four that year. Just before the national anthem, the lights in the arena dimmed and it grew quiet. Rueck turned to me in the darkened setting and said: “This is great.”
Before the tip of the game, Rueck walked to center court. I watched the OSU coach shake hands with Auriemma and exchange a few words. It was a candid moment. Everyone in the arena saw it. But nobody heard what the coaches said to each other. This week, Rueck shared the script of their exchange.
Auriemma: “Pretty (bleeping) awesome, isn’t it?”
Rueck: “Yup, it is. Unbelievable.”
Auriemma reached the Final Four 22 times in his college coaching career. That season was his 16th trip. He won a fourth straight national title in Indianapolis that year. Still, Auriemma looked around before the game with wide eyes. He soaked up the scene and shared that March Madness moment with a first-time participant.
There were stars in both of their eyes.
Some other stuff:
• HOW MUCH LETTUCE?: The Pac-12 Conference has four teams in the men’s NCAA Tournament bracket. That will net the “Pac-2” four “units” and a cool $8 million. As I pointed out in the Monday Mailbag, every subsequent game those teams play will be worth another $2 million each.
How many total wins will Arizona, Washington State, Oregon, and Colorado combine for in the men’s tournament? You tell me in the comment section. And know that OSU and WSU are hoping for deep runs and a big check.
• PORTLAND REGIONAL: The Portland Regional of the women’s NCAA Tournament got a disappointing draw. It could potentially feature Stanford, Gonzaga, Ohio State, and USC at Moda Center, sure. The basketball will be worth seeing. Stanford’s Cameron Brink and USC’s JuJu Watkins are terrific players. But there’s no Caitlin Clark (Iowa), no South Carolina, no LSU, and no chance to see Oregon State play in Portland. Those teams were all placed in the Albany Regional.
• NCAA DOUBLEHEADER: The Oregon State women are a No. 3 seed and open NCAA Tournament play at Gill Coliseum on Friday at 5 p.m. against No. 14-seed Eastern Washington. Texas A&M (6) and Nebraska (11) play on the same day in Corvallis at 7:30 p.m. It’s a fun double-header ticket.
• DEBATE BREAKS OUT: The Washington State men’s program is a No. 7 seed in the men’s NCAA Tournament and will play No. 10 Drake in the first round. I have the Cougars winning that game and advancing. I love WSU’s size advantage and Kyle Smith is a great coach.
My colleague Jon Wilner thinks the Cougars are an early-exit threat, but I disagree. I wouldn’t be shocked to see WSU reach the Sweet 16. We debated that — and talked about the men’s and women’s brackets — in the latest episode of “Canzano & Wilner: The Podcast.”
Listen:
MARCH MADNESS POOL: My annual men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge is officially open. Join my special JC’s men’s NCAA Tournament Group and/or my JC's women’s NCAA Tournament Group. Fill out your best NCAA Tournament bracket and let’s have some fun.
The rules:
No entry fee.
One bracket per person in each group.
All are welcome to play.
Prizes to the top three finishers.
Good luck. Feel free to share this post with friends and family members. Let’s see how many of you can beat me.
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Scott Rueck is a true OSU Beaver in that he is an authentic underdog, and thrives in that role. If Beers plays up to her capabilities and sheds the mask, OSU will go far.
Great recollection of Rueck’s early years. He’s established himself as an OSU legend since then. His WBB basketball program might be, no, ….. IS the most enjoyable and fan friendly, affordable program at OSU. Go Beaver ladies!!