Hampton: Craig Robinson comments Comments
Once again, OSU men’s basketball coach Craig Robinson met with the media to talk about the Beavers.
This week the games start for real for the Beavers as they head to Lubbock, Texas for the Duel in the Desert tournament.
OSU takes on Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Friday, South Dakota on Saturday and finish the trip with a game against host team Texas Tech.
Robinson said the first two games are against teams expected to compete for their conference titles and then they’ve got what is really a road game against a Big 12 opponent, so the Beavers will be tested right off the bat.
It will be a good opportunity for the freshmen to get their feet wet.
“The three freshmen (Angus Brandt, Jared Cunningham and Joe Burton) we have playing right now are a much-needed tonic for our team,” Robinson said. “The depth is nice to have where we don’t have to wear guys like Seth out and Josh out.”
With the three freshmen and everyone but guard Rickey Claitt back, the team has plenty of players fighting for playing time.
“What I’ve seen is 14 different guys fighting for playing time. And really fighting. If you’re hurt or sick and sitting on the sidelines, you can get passed up by guys that are equal or better or playing better than you are,” Robinson said. “It hasn’t been an unsportsmanlike practice. It’s been real hard, I think the guys really like each other and again, our veterans are pleased to have the backups. They’re pleased to have the calvary.”
With the return of LeGarrette Blount to Oregon after getting his year-long suspension cut to seven games and the recent highlights of the New Mexico women’s soccer player engaging in dirty play against BYU, Robinson was asked about keeping his players away from similar situations.
“I’m usually talking to them about off the court stuff. In this day and age of Facebook and (Myspace), I’m usually talking to them with regard to those things because if you’re at a party and somebody’s got a small (video recorder), you could be standing at a party and somebody take your picture like that and then photoshop a Bud Light in there or a beer or a drink or something like that. So I always tell them to be aware of things like that,” he said.
“On the court stuff, as the games get heated I expect them not to get caught up in the mess that other guys are trying to do to them. But we’ve been very fortunate. We haven’t played against any teams that have tried to bait us. We haven’t been good enough to play against any teams that have tried to bait our best player into a fight to get him kicked out.”
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