When head coach Craig Robinson arrived at Oregon State four years ago, he led the Beavers to an 18-18 record which was the best season OSU had seen since the 1989-90 season.
Now with a team full of players that he has recruited, Robinson, older brother of First Lady Michelle Obama, has led the 2011-12 squad to one of the best starts in program history.
"We are still on the steep side of the learning curve from changing our identity from a defensive standpoint," Robinson said. "But the overall effort and understanding is there."
Despite the growing pains, that effort is already translating into tangible results, especially on offense.
At 11-4, the Beavers rank eighth in the nation in scoring with 81.8 points per game. This is the first time OSU has led the Pac-12 in this category since recording statistics began in 1959. They are fourth in the nation in steals averaging 10.2 points per game and seventh in assists with 17.6 per game. Oregon State has already tied a school record by scoring 90 or more points six times this season. Four of these came in consecutive outings, a feat only accomplished once before by the 1980-81 team.
The Beavers also can lay claim to the Pac 12's leading scorer in junior guard Jared Cunningham who is averaging 17 points per game. He is one of a myriad of Robinson-recruited players that have helped rebuild the program over the past few years.
"The juniors on this team, my first recruiting class, (have) sorta been on the other side of the coin when things aren't going well. And what they've done is learned from that and completely turned it around," said Robinson. "As we've added recruiting classes, they have sort of indoctrinated those guys into a team-first mentality, hardworking mentality and sort of a lets-take-care-of-our-business very quietly, very one-day-at-a-time."
The team-first mentality isn't something that leaves when the players leave the court.
"These guys really enjoy each other. They enjoy playing together. They enjoy each other off the court together. They enjoy studying together. It's a special group."
In turn, the team has helped inspire the man who helped brought them together one-by-one.
"I, as a coach, want to make sure I do everything in my power to make these guys successful."
Their streak of success came to a momentary halt when they opened Pac 12 play on the road with two losses — the first to Washington, 95-80, on Dec. 29 and the second to Washington State, 81-76, on Dec. 31.
"First of all, we played two really good teams and we played them on the road. Aside from our slow start, I thought the games were relatively equal or even so that's a positive that you can work on," said Robinson
They now have to try to get things back on track for their Pac-12 home opener against Cal on Thursday. Robinson believes focusing and building on the positive will help them regain their momentum. He says his team didn't take well to losing two in a row for the first time this season.
"It doesn't leave a good taste in the guys' mouths so they came to work, ready to get down to business on Monday."
The home environment will probably be a good thing for the Beavers. With their recent string of W's, people have been starting to pay attention.
"This season we've not only had a nice record, but a nice turn out from fans."
It's kind of hard not to notice what's been going on in Corvallis lately.
