The Barometer Online

Issue date: 3/10/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Curtis Barnard Roeland Schaftenaar drives against Stanford earlier in the season. Schaftenaar and the Beavers will play the Cardinal in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament.

With the regular season now in the books, it's safe to say that the 2008-09 Oregon State men's basketball team was one of the greatest one-season turnarounds in Pac-10 history.

Yet, what many Oregon State fans may not realize is that Craig Robinson and the new coaching staff almost suffered their biggest loss well before the season began.

That loss would've been junior big man Roeland Schaftenaar who seemed as good as gone this summer as a transfer for the 6-foot-11-inch "point-center" seemed more than likely.

It's hard to imagine where Oregon State would be at this point without Schaftenaar and all the things he's done for the team during this season of redemption.

"What can I say about that kid? It's more than pleasant to watch him have some success," head coach Craig Robinson said. "He deserves every bit of it, he works hard; he's the same kid all the time and most of all he's helping us win games, so it is a treat to be a part of his evolution."

That evolution has included Schaftenaar becoming the team's second leading scorer behind Calvin Haynes with 9.8 points per game, but he has also been the Beavers go-to guy in the clutch and has put up big games against a lot of good teams.

"He's a very crafty big man," University of Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said after Schaftenaar put up a clutch second half performance in the first Civil War meeting of the season. "He's just like those European players that are skilled; they have moves, and they know how to get you leaning one way or the other."

The image that's sure to stick out in everyone's mind will most likely be Schaftenaar's 3-pointer bank shot from nearly 30 feet out as the shot clock headed towards zero. The shot preserved the Beavers second half lead and melted any hopes of an Oregon Ducks' comeback.

The Civil War wasn't the first time we got to see some of his late game heroics, as Schaftenaar's buzzer beating three forced the game into overtime against USC, where the Beavers would eventually come away with their first Pac-10 victory in almost a year and a half.

Continued...

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