House of Sparky is an ASU content machine! Check out great stories about the problems with a concussion for Derek Glasser, recruit bios of Evan Finkenburg, Brock Osweiler and Dean Deleone, the regression of Ty Abbott from 2007 to 2009, and a new bracketology prediction update. Keep coming back for more of the same excellent coverage in the future.
Lets take a few minutes and check out the Oregon State Beavers, who are 10-11 on the season, and 4-6 in Pac-10 play. Since getting dismantled 69-38 in Tempe on January 8th, the Beavers have actually looked pretty respectable, going 4-4 with wins over Stanford and California.
Best player? Calvin Haynes, their sophomore guard. Averaging 15.9 points per contest and shooting 40% from 3, Haynes can give a 2-3 zone defense fits if he gets the open looks, a la Klay Thompson of Washington State. This season, whenever Haynes scores more than 20 points, Oregon State has won (4-0).
Another player to note is big man Roeland Schaftenaar, a 6-11 native of Netherlands who drops 9.1 a game. Craziest stat? He shoots 37.5% from beyond the arc! (He is 15 for 40 on the season)
This isn't a bad team in Corvallis, despite their lackluster record and horrible performance against the Sun Devils earlier in the season.
We cannot afford to be stagnant on offense, especially with Derek Glasser out with his neck/concussion and Rihards Kuksiks questionable (at best) with the flu. Without those two key performers, we have to hope that Ty Abbott can step up his game.
Prediction?
Ty Abbott scores 12 and looks marginally better than normal. His attitude and work ethic improves and this is the beginning of a rise to respectability for him. Pendergraph turns in a solid 13 point, 8 rebound game, and Harden scores 26 while ASU cruises 74-53.