Coach sure better things are on the horizon

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Corvallis Gazette-Times

CORVALLIS — Jay John is a storyteller.

When the Oregon State men’s basketball coach speaks about his team, he often uses stories to help illustrate his point.

During his epilogue of the season after a first-round loss to California in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament in Los Angeles, John was no different.

“It’s without question not the script I would have written,” John said of the season. “At the same time there are a lot of guys who made wonderful progress. We have a lot of work to do in the offseason, but I’m very pleased with the group of guys I have to work with.”

So the saga continues.

The Beavers concluded an 11-21 season last Wednesday that matched the most losses in an OSU single season. They finished ninth in the conference standings.

There was a seven-game losing streak in the middle of the Pac-10 schedule and there were three losses by 40 or more points.

“We have to move on to the offseason and get over this and not let our mistakes jeopardize our success,” sophomore forward Jack McGillis said. “We have to put a lot of work into every little thing we do. We have to focus on the small things and just get better. Everyone can learn something to help the team. This won’t happen again.”

The Beavers have endured two straight losing seasons and their fourth in five under John.

However, he’s confident about his attempt at writing a happy ending because his editor and publisher — athletic director Bob De Carolis — stated publicly there’s at least one more chance.

John has the opportunity to turn around the program in the third season of a five-year contract, and the pressure is on. The fan base is more restless than Harry Potter’s, but not as thrilled with the author’s work.

“I can’t wait to start working with this group of guys and the new guys coming in,” John said. “We have a big spring and summer ahead. We have to get back going and get some beef on the young guys.”

John is depending on a strong four-person recruiting class coming in and four-star walk-on junior C.J. Giles, who transferred from Kansas.

They must mesh with the young players he developed this season, and avoid the rookie mistakes that plagued this team’s freshmen and upperclassmen.

“The future is always great for us because we have young guys,” junior forward Marcel Jones said. “We’ll see with C.J. coming in and the freshman class coming in. We’ll see how everybody responds.”

John is not taking a break to recover from the tumultuous season, or waiting to see if the team is inspired next winter. He’s drafting a better future.

After the players are done with winter term they will begin an intense weight training program. That’s an area that can make a distinct difference next season.

Since there was an overhaul in the strength and conditioning department last spring, the basketball players were late beginning their training. They were able to condition, but not gain enough strength.

“Our strength factor is going to be better,” John said. “The younger guys are going to be more sturdy. Strength gains will build their confidence and we have stability in our strength training program now.”

John scheduled an Italy work trip in late August to play six games against club teams. Before leaving the Beavers are allowed 10 practices to begin the team-building process early.

Discipline can be instilled and there is no pressure to win games on the road or before a critical home crowd.

“We have a mini season there,” John said. “Those are 16 opportunities for the team to get together with a competitive situation with consequences for not playing hard.”

So the outline is in place. Plenty of details remain to be filled in before next season.

There will be a change to the storyline. The question is if the rising action is coming up, or the conclusion of this sequel of the OSU program.

“This is not the book,” John said. “This is a bad chapter in the book. This is not how the book is going to end. It’s not. I have the support of my athletic director. We had a bad chapter. The end of the last year was a bad chapter, too. I can’t wait to start over.”