Craig Robinson shows his vocal talents.There is no denying the physical skills and the multifaceted weapons the Beavers have on offense. Oregon State’s biggest issues are defense and the maddening propensity to lapse into some bad basketball, which happened for, oh, about 40 minutes against the Cougars.
“We have had a void on a leadership standpoint all year long,’’ Robinson said. “When I say void, I am talking about the vocal leader. We have several guys who lead by example, but sometimes you need a guy at practice or in games to just call everyone together and be me when I am not able to do it.
“We have struggled with that all year long, but that is what happens when you have a young team. We have one senior who is a walk-on and doesn't play that much. It is just a tough thing that we have to evolve into.’’
The Beavers need to evolve into it. This was the fourth real dud of the season for Oregon State. First, it was the 74-60 loss to Idaho at home, a defeat Robinson admitted had a lot to do with the tragic death of football player Fred Thompson two days earlier.
Then it was the 76-66 loss in Tempe to underpowered Arizona State. That was the hangover game after the quadruple-overtime loss to Stanford and the overtime loss at Arizona.
Then it was last week’s 82-60 loss at Colorado. Again, that could be explained away, in part, because of the altitude factor – every visitor has a tough time winning in Boulder.
One could argue the first loss to Washington State, 81-76 in Spokane, was another faceplant, but the Cougars have more talent than people give them credit for, and – regardless of how poorly the Beavers played Thursday night – certainly played at a high level at Gill.
Robinson has one senior, Kevin McShane, but he averages just 10 minutes a game. The coach also mentioned sophomore Devon Collier and freshman Challe Barton as guys who have what it takes to lead.
The team’s best player and leader by default, of course, is Jared Cunningham. A soft-spoken guy, Cunningham has been shouting out words of encouragement more and more in practice, but he is certainly not at the vocal level of his new mentor, former OSU great Gary Payton.
“I was a fiery basketball player that talked a lot – he doesn’t do that,’’ Payton said. “He’s a quiet guy. I would like him to change that. I would like him to be vocal a little bit more with his teammates and be a leader that way. It’s always good to have a leader that makes you follow by example on the floor, but sometimes you’ve got to be vocal.’’
Robinson said he was vocal after Thursday night’s loss. The crowd was not.
The 5,782 fans who showed up for the WSU game were polite. Nary a boo was heard, even as the home team was outplayed and fell down by 19 points to a 9 ½-point underdog. But considering it was a crucial game and that there was no TV broadcast and that it was the first home game in nearly three weeks, the size and sound were disappointing.
In the other Thursday night Pac-12 home games, the Beavers drew 6,019 for UCLA and 5,162 for Cal – four days before classes started.
Attendance figures to climb for Sunday’s matinee against Washington, and the Beavers desperately need that vocal boost – on the court and in the stands.
Or else, they will go quietly into the offseason.
