Wesley Washington and the Beavers struggled in a tough Pac-10 conference this year, winning just three games.

After rough year, men look to build in offseason

Oregon State won just three Pac-10 games this year, but looks forward to returning four starters

By: Frank Hoaglin

Posted: 3/15/07

On the heels of a disappointing season that culminated in a 70-51 loss to Cal in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, the Oregon State Beavers look to build on a season of frustration and despair, a season that ended tying the school record with 21 losses.

"The memory of this season should be a driving force for us to excel next season and pushing harder than we ever have in order to come out victorious for next year," said Beaver guard Angelo Tsagarakis.

Playing in a tough Pac-10 conference that sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament, the Beavers ended the season with three conference victories, two against a lowly Arizona State team, and one a late season home win against Washington, a team that later went on to defeat No. 3 UCLA to end the season.

"The first thing that we can take from this season is the deep feeling of failure and frustration that no player wants to go through in their career," said Tsagarakis.

OSU critics say that the Beavers aren't that far away, reminiscing of last year's Washington State team that lost 17 games and were a substantially young team ending the season. This year the Cougars turned things around, ending the season second in the Pac-10 and tying the school record with 25 wins.

"We learned a lot about our guys," said forward Marcel Jones. "I don't think we ever stopped fighting, but you never want to have a season like that. I know the guys know that Washington State turned it around, and we know that we are capable of the same thing."

Next year's team will have a bit of a different look, losing Seniors Kyle Jeffers, the team's leader in rebounding, and Michael Johnson, a defensive role player that usually came off the bench. Junior forward Sasa Cuic has also hinted at leaving the program. The Beavers, however, will add Junior C.J. Giles, a four-star transfer from Kansas who will have a big role in the OSU offense.

"The future is always great for us because we have young guys," Jones said. "We'll see with C.J. coming in and the freshman class coming in. We'll see how everybody responds."

Heading into an off season of strength and conditioning, the Beavers look to build on a season in which eight losses were decided by five points or less.

"This season, we had a lot of games where we were close at halftime," said freshman forward Roeland Schaftenaar. "And we couldn't finish the game in the second half. That was our major problem, but it should be a lot better next year with more experience."

Marcel Jones, in his junior year, emerged as the go-to guy in the Beaver offense. He led the team with 15 points per game, including a career conference high of 29 points in a three-point loss to Cal early in the schedule, and 21 in the opening round loss of the Pac-10 tournament. Heading into his senior season, Jones looks to come back stronger in a key role for the Beavers.

"Obviously it is a team sport," he said. "We need effort from everybody. Hopefully I can improve my game over the Summer, fine-tune some things, and come back stronger for next season."

Head coach Jay John has scheduled a six game trip to Italy to play against club teams in August, an opportunity for the Beavers to build some team chemistry before the regular season begins.

"We have a mini season there," said John. "Those are six opportunities for the team to get together with a competitive situation with consequences for not playing hard."

"I think we definitely have the talent to do big things next year," added Tsagarakis. "If we win the games we lost by three points, the one or two possession games that truly hurt our record at the end of the year, it could be a different season, and after that, after we build up confidence, greater things and better things can happen."