Spring Break
YouTube OSU's future
Issue date: 5/21/09 Section: Sports
With the Beavers signing four-star shooting guard Roberto Nelson as well, Cunningham hasn't seen much of the offseason hype from recruitment sources. However, Nelson will need to compete with the stable of shooting guards the Beavers have returning, which includes the high-scoring Calvin Haynes and Lathen Wallace.
So with the departure of Claitt, things are pretty much wide open for Cunningham at the point guard position. However, a few things remain to be seen, and Cunningham will have more on his plate than just about any freshman in the Pac-10.
Claitt was a floor general; he had the ball in his hands 80 percent of the time, and when it came down to it, he was the one taking free throws in game-deciding moments. Claitt didn't pull off a 360-degree dunk from the free throw line in practice, but in games he's the one that got Haynes, Wallace and Schaftenaar in positions to score the points they did.
Claitt was a lockdown defender who covered every inch of baseline paint in the Beavers' trademark 1-3-1 defense. Without a point guard who can do the same next year, that suffocating defense will not be nearly as effective as it was this year.
Claitt was a big brother figure on a team that needed a leader, especially a leader at point guard. Also, at the most crucial point of the season, Claitt put up his career-best performance to win the CBI Championship for the Beavers.
Next season should be a great one, but the team can afford very little drop off from production at the point guard spot, making Cunningham the most crucial member of Coach Robinson's first recruiting class.
Search Jared Cunningham on YouTube, and trust me, you'll start counting down the days until the rainy winter basketball season even though it's 70 degrees outside. Cunningham certainly has given us plenty of reasons to be excited and has shown he can be an extremely talented member of an extremely special basketball team.
However, if the 2010 Beavers expect to one-up the 2009 team, they'll need freshman point guard Jared Cunningham to play like an experienced senior.
Terry Horstman, sports writer
sports@dailybarometer.com
So with the departure of Claitt, things are pretty much wide open for Cunningham at the point guard position. However, a few things remain to be seen, and Cunningham will have more on his plate than just about any freshman in the Pac-10.
Claitt was a floor general; he had the ball in his hands 80 percent of the time, and when it came down to it, he was the one taking free throws in game-deciding moments. Claitt didn't pull off a 360-degree dunk from the free throw line in practice, but in games he's the one that got Haynes, Wallace and Schaftenaar in positions to score the points they did.
Claitt was a lockdown defender who covered every inch of baseline paint in the Beavers' trademark 1-3-1 defense. Without a point guard who can do the same next year, that suffocating defense will not be nearly as effective as it was this year.
Claitt was a big brother figure on a team that needed a leader, especially a leader at point guard. Also, at the most crucial point of the season, Claitt put up his career-best performance to win the CBI Championship for the Beavers.
Next season should be a great one, but the team can afford very little drop off from production at the point guard spot, making Cunningham the most crucial member of Coach Robinson's first recruiting class.
Search Jared Cunningham on YouTube, and trust me, you'll start counting down the days until the rainy winter basketball season even though it's 70 degrees outside. Cunningham certainly has given us plenty of reasons to be excited and has shown he can be an extremely talented member of an extremely special basketball team.
However, if the 2010 Beavers expect to one-up the 2009 team, they'll need freshman point guard Jared Cunningham to play like an experienced senior.
Terry Horstman, sports writer
sports@dailybarometer.com
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