Plebe
La verdad no peca pero incomoda
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http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...coaches-oregon-state-beavers-first-final-four
I have tremendous respect and admiration for what Scott Rueck has accomplished in just 4 short years. He inherited a program that was in a post-F5 tornado complete shambles. Players had abandoned the team en masse amid allegations of abusive treatment from the former coach, who was subsequently fired. Only 2 players stayed on.
Two years ago in late January, I watched Arizona State take on Oregon State in Tempe. At the time I knew nothing about Oregon State, Scott Rueck, or the mess he'd inherited. All I really knew was that I was watching what figured to be a routine home win for a 15th-ranked Arizona State team over an unranked opponent (OSU was 12-8 overall and 4-4 in conference at the time).
But to my surprise, Oregon State controlled most of the game and built a double-digit lead in the 2nd half. They held a 7-point lead with less than 2 minutes to go. But then their point guard, Sydney Wiese (then a freshman) fouled out and looked despondent heading to the bench. And Arizona State somehow completed a Houdini escape act and a 2-point win. I just remember thinking how incredibly lucky ASU had been, and that OSU looked every bit like the better team that day, despite botching the finish.
Sure enough, that heartbreaking loss seemed to mark a turning point for OSU. They went 9-0 in the remainder of their conference schedule, and then advanced to the final of the Pac-12 tournament, where they lost to USC. OSU was awarded a #9 seed for the NCAA tournament and beat #8 Middle Tennessee St. 55-36 in the 1st round. They then lost to #1 seed South Carolina by 9 points in the 2nd round. But that already marked an astounding turnaround for a program that just 24 months earlier looked like it wouldn't even be able to field a team.
In yesterday's postgame press conference, Rueck recalled an even earlier turning point in that 2013-14 season: a late-December home game against Notre Dame that Oregon State led for significant portions but ended up losing by 12. (That was the year that Notre Dame went undefeated until the national championship game against UConn.) After that game, Rueck tweeted: "Could not be prouder of this team. We will win more than we will lose with performances like that. Focused effort." http://www.osubeavers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209353078&DB_OEM_ID=30800
Hamblin and Weisner were sophomores at that time, and Wiese and Hanson were only freshmen. And now, just two seasons later, this program is in its first Final Four. It's one of the most remarkable program turnarounds I have ever seen.
I don't expect them to beat UConn, of course, but I don't expect them to be shrinking violets either. This team has taught itself to compete and to believe. OSU leads the country in field-goal-percentage defense at 31.7% (UConn is 4th at 33.1%). Especially on a team that's not particularly deep, that's the sure sign of a gritty squad that trusts one another and plays together. Make no mistake: This semifinal game will be a battle. We should be prepared to win ugly.
I have tremendous respect and admiration for what Scott Rueck has accomplished in just 4 short years. He inherited a program that was in a post-F5 tornado complete shambles. Players had abandoned the team en masse amid allegations of abusive treatment from the former coach, who was subsequently fired. Only 2 players stayed on.
Two years ago in late January, I watched Arizona State take on Oregon State in Tempe. At the time I knew nothing about Oregon State, Scott Rueck, or the mess he'd inherited. All I really knew was that I was watching what figured to be a routine home win for a 15th-ranked Arizona State team over an unranked opponent (OSU was 12-8 overall and 4-4 in conference at the time).
But to my surprise, Oregon State controlled most of the game and built a double-digit lead in the 2nd half. They held a 7-point lead with less than 2 minutes to go. But then their point guard, Sydney Wiese (then a freshman) fouled out and looked despondent heading to the bench. And Arizona State somehow completed a Houdini escape act and a 2-point win. I just remember thinking how incredibly lucky ASU had been, and that OSU looked every bit like the better team that day, despite botching the finish.
Sure enough, that heartbreaking loss seemed to mark a turning point for OSU. They went 9-0 in the remainder of their conference schedule, and then advanced to the final of the Pac-12 tournament, where they lost to USC. OSU was awarded a #9 seed for the NCAA tournament and beat #8 Middle Tennessee St. 55-36 in the 1st round. They then lost to #1 seed South Carolina by 9 points in the 2nd round. But that already marked an astounding turnaround for a program that just 24 months earlier looked like it wouldn't even be able to field a team.
In yesterday's postgame press conference, Rueck recalled an even earlier turning point in that 2013-14 season: a late-December home game against Notre Dame that Oregon State led for significant portions but ended up losing by 12. (That was the year that Notre Dame went undefeated until the national championship game against UConn.) After that game, Rueck tweeted: "Could not be prouder of this team. We will win more than we will lose with performances like that. Focused effort." http://www.osubeavers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209353078&DB_OEM_ID=30800
Hamblin and Weisner were sophomores at that time, and Wiese and Hanson were only freshmen. And now, just two seasons later, this program is in its first Final Four. It's one of the most remarkable program turnarounds I have ever seen.
I don't expect them to beat UConn, of course, but I don't expect them to be shrinking violets either. This team has taught itself to compete and to believe. OSU leads the country in field-goal-percentage defense at 31.7% (UConn is 4th at 33.1%). Especially on a team that's not particularly deep, that's the sure sign of a gritty squad that trusts one another and plays together. Make no mistake: This semifinal game will be a battle. We should be prepared to win ugly.
