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Post by bvrblvr on Mar 5, 2024 8:39:00 GMT -8
Never really recovered from Earnest Killum early passing and Chad Scott flunking out of school in the winter of 1992. Never know how his tenure would have turned out had those two unfortunate incidents not occurred.
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Post by Henry Skrimshander on Mar 5, 2024 10:07:30 GMT -8
"Midnight" Lute buying Damon Stoudamire at the last minute before signing day didn't help either.
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Post by 93beav on Mar 5, 2024 10:28:01 GMT -8
Wow...definitely looks very different in that photo w/ Brent that how I remember him (the other photo). |
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Post by beaverdreams on Mar 5, 2024 12:10:34 GMT -8
Yeah it was a pretty quick transformation. I feel like he looked more like the old Jimmy even in the last couple years... Side note..were we close to getting Damon Stoudamire? I had not known that. And yeah the Earnest Killum tragedy cast a dark cloud over the program it seemed. They were on a road trip to the LA schools when it occurred in a hotel room if my memory serves me right.
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Post by gnawitall on Mar 5, 2024 13:08:56 GMT -8
"Midnight" Lute buying Damon Stoudamire at the last minute before signing day didn't help either. Interesting HS. Never heard a whisper of that. If you have dirt, do tell; maybe in an appropriate thread. |
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Post by wilkyisdashiznit on Mar 5, 2024 13:12:18 GMT -8
"Midnight" Lute buying Damon Stoudamire at the last minute before signing day didn't help either. Damon Stoudamire. Current head coach at Georgia Tech........ |
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ftd
Junior
"I think real leaders show up when times are hard." Trent Bray 11/29/2023
Posts: 2,553
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Post by ftd on Mar 5, 2024 16:26:48 GMT -8
Yeah it was a pretty quick transformation. I feel like he looked more like the old Jimmy even in the last couple years... Side note..were we close to getting Damon Stoudamire? I had not known that. And yeah the Earnest Killum tragedy cast a dark cloud over the program it seemed. They were on a road trip to the LA schools when it occurred in a hotel room if my memory serves me right. Seen the same in my own Dad...it happens quick..sometimes not quick enough...it's hard to watch someone slowly deteriorate.. |
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Post by Henry Skrimshander on Mar 5, 2024 17:38:00 GMT -8
"Midnight" Lute buying Damon Stoudamire at the last minute before signing day didn't help either. Interesting HS. Never heard a whisper of that. If you have dirt, do tell; maybe in an appropriate thread. He was committed the night before signing day. Told Jimmy he was coming to OSU. Then he mysteriously signed with Arizona. They didn't call him "Midnight Lute" for nothing. Jimmy also had Kevin Johnson all set to come, just had to finalize the offer. Lanny says no, we can get Freddie Banks, so they pull the offer to Johnson. UNLV buys Banks, Kelvin goes to Cal instead and becomes a star. |
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Post by gnawitall on Mar 5, 2024 19:28:34 GMT -8
Interesting HS. Never heard a whisper of that. If you have dirt, do tell; maybe in an appropriate thread. He was committed the night before signing day. Told Jimmy he was coming to OSU. Then he mysteriously signed with Arizona. They didn't call him "Midnight Lute" for nothing. Jimmy also had Kevin Johnson all set to come, just had to finalize the offer. Lanny says no, we can get Freddie Banks, so they pull the offer to Johnson. UNLV buys Banks, Kelvin goes to Cal instead and becomes a star. Wow, good stuff, kinda not really  |
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Post by Henry Skrimshander on Mar 5, 2024 20:51:34 GMT -8
He was committed the night before signing day. Told Jimmy he was coming to OSU. Then he mysteriously signed with Arizona. They didn't call him "Midnight Lute" for nothing. Jimmy also had Kevin Johnson all set to come, just had to finalize the offer. Lanny says no, we can get Freddie Banks, so they pull the offer to Johnson. UNLV buys Banks, Kelvin goes to Cal instead and becomes a star. Wow, good stuff, kinda not really I'm not sure Jimmy ever forgave Lanny for that one. |
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Post by bvrbred on Mar 6, 2024 10:43:25 GMT -8
Made a great lieutenant for Ralph, good 'buffer' and recruiter of the kind of players that could be successful under 'Old Whiskey Sour'. Wish he had gone off on his own in the mid 80's to learn how to run his own program so he'd have (theoretically) more success as the head man when Ralph retired. Maybe. Although not every great assistant is cut out to be a head coach. To your point, I thought it was interesting that Jimmy's career followed virtually an idential career arch to that of Paul Valenti. Valenti had been a player under Slats Gill, then freshman coach, than long term assistant, finally succeeded Gill as head coach. Won the conference title his first year and then things gradually deteriorated. Neither Valenti nor Anderson had any meaningful basketball experience anywhere but Oregon State. Both were here for decades. Both were great Beavers. As a side note, one of Jimmy's former players told me he had been "undermined," by an assistant, Freddie Boyd. Details were vague and I didn't pursue it, but Jimmy had inherited Boyd from Ralph Miller's program and Boyd continued under Anderson for three or four seasons. If there was friction, sometimes its best to just cut the cord straight away. Would have been complicated--Boyd had been a big name in Oregon State basketball and probably had a lot of fans in the Beaver fanbase. But that's why head coaches get the higher pay grade. |
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Post by beavadelic on Mar 6, 2024 14:31:13 GMT -8
A true Beaver through and through. He coached the years I was there.....some great memories. That is for sure. No one affiliated with OSU in any capacity was a more loyal lifetime Beaver. No need to rehash too much here, but Jimmy’s rough run as the head coach was tragic given his talents, character, commitment and investment in the young men that he coached. It turned out that he was likely best suited to be the ultimate top assistant coach and a counter to Ralph’s intense and corrosive demeanor. The two complimented each other beautifully, and as different as they were, thought the world of each other. Unfortunately, when Jimmy moved into the head role, he did not enjoy the stability and support on his staff that that he helped to cultivate for Miller. Even after the disappointing end to his coaching career, Jimmy never wavered in his love and support of OSU hoops, and athletic in general. He always seemed to have a big smile and warm greeting whenever I saw him around campus. RIP, Jimmy. Thanks for everything you contributed to Oregon State. You represented everything that is right about sports and the good in people. |
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Post by beavadelic on Mar 6, 2024 14:38:34 GMT -8
Yeah it was a pretty quick transformation. I feel like he looked more like the old Jimmy even in the last couple years... Side note..were we close to getting Damon Stoudamire? I had not known that. And yeah the Earnest Killum tragedy cast a dark cloud over the program it seemed. They were on a road trip to the LA schools when it occurred in a hotel room if my memory serves me right. Yes, we were. It was considered practically a lock that Damon was coming to Corvallis right up to the end. That was a killer shot. To say that Stoudamire could have turned Jimmy’s fortunes is a major understatement. Killum’s death was a horrible tragedy, and the kid had offensive skills that were eye-popping. Scott could have been a force, but his off-court issues were too much. The loss of those guys was tough, but the last-minute flip of Stoudamire….. |
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Post by beavadelic on Mar 6, 2024 14:49:11 GMT -8
Made a great lieutenant for Ralph, good 'buffer' and recruiter of the kind of players that could be successful under 'Old Whiskey Sour'. Wish he had gone off on his own in the mid 80's to learn how to run his own program so he'd have (theoretically) more success as the head man when Ralph retired. Maybe. Although not every great assistant is cut out to be a head coach. To your point, I thought it was interesting that Jimmy's career followed virtually an idential career arch to that of Paul Valenti. Valenti had been a player under Slats Gill, then freshman coach, than long term assistant, finally succeeded Gill as head coach. Won the conference title his first year and then things gradually deteriorated. Neither Valenti nor Anderson had any meaningful basketball experience anywhere but Oregon State. Both were here for decades. Both were great Beavers. As a side note, one of Jimmy's former players told me he had been "undermined," by an assistant, Freddie Boyd. Details were vague and I didn't pursue it, but Jimmy had inherited Boyd from Ralph Miller's program and Boyd continued under Anderson for three or four seasons. If there was friction, sometimes its best to just cut the cord straight away. Would have been complicated--Boyd had been a big name in Oregon State basketball and probably had a lot of fans in the Beaver fanbase. But that's why head coaches get the higher pay grade. I heard that about Freddie, as well as some troubling things about other assistants during that era whom I really had admired throughout the years for their contributions to OSU when they played. I loved watching Freddie when I was growing up, and it was tough to hear not-so-glowing reports about his influence under Jimmy. When JS bailed on us in football in such an awkward way, I harkened back to Jimmy’s assistants, and was reminded that not everyone who is affiliated with OSU is as passionate or loyal as I am to the school and it’s sports programs. It’s not wrong to seek to move on at some point from my beloved school, but I expect former Beavs to go out of their way to do everything in their power to NOT do damage to OSU either while they are here, or when they are on their way out the door. |
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Post by beavadelic on Mar 6, 2024 15:01:03 GMT -8
Wow, good stuff, kinda not really I'm not sure Jimmy ever forgave Lanny for that one. I didn’t realize that about KJ. Yikes. Banks was really good too, but Johnson was almost a perfect point guard. He caused the Beavs plenty of headaches during his Cal career, and in his senior year provided a valuable education to then-freshman point guard Gary Payton. He outplayed the precocious whipper-snapper for the Beavs three times that year I believed as the Bears beat us in league play and then eliminated us from the NIT. KJ knew that GP was going to be special, and he really put his foot on the gas when he played against him that year. Johnson went on to have a really nice pro career too. Just another reminder of the slew of talent that either played for the Beavs or nearly came to play for us during that nearly 25 year span from the early-70’s to mid-90’s. It just makes the futility of our program so far this millenium that much harder to stomach. Even throughout this horrible stretch, we almost always have had at least one legit player, but very seldom have we had multiple good ones, depth, or a healthy team culture. |
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