As this basketball season chugs clunks along, I'm forced to admit that I really, really miss last year's team. You know, the one without the good recruits? The one that returned almost the entire roster from the 0-18 campaign? Yeah, that's the team I'm talking about. Sure, on paper they were a disaster, but the style of play fit Coach Robinson's defensive and offensive game plan perfectly: desperate, relentless and energetic.

This year, a heavier Roeland Schaftenaar and the inconsistent Tarver tandem  has done little for the Beavs in what was supposed to be great season according to many. I'm not giving up yet. The last eight or nine minutes of the Cal game weren't terrible. They surged and came up short which is more respectable than the lay down and die efforts they've put forth against Seattle U. and Stanford. Could this week against the Southern California schools be better?

There's a lot of season left and time to turn it around... but if you're still taking crazy pills and think that this team might somehow sneak into a post season tournament (one not called the CBI that is) you might want to re-evaluate things and switch your meds.

Links:

• Beavs look bad at Stanford and slightly less bad at Cal. Remember when the Beavers pulled the Bay Area sweep last year? Yeah... that was cool. The Oregonian says that out of the crappy PAC 10 basketball teams from the State of Oregon, OSU is the least crappy! Yessssssssss.
• Here's a piece on the frustrating up and down year the Beavs have been having. You'll probably agree.
  
• 35 Points at Stanford. No, that's not what Calvin Haynes or Schafty scored. That's what OSU was able to manage in sixty freaking possessions! ESPN takes a closer look at the ugly, ugly numbers from last week.

Anyway... I don't have anything else to speak of. Keeping my fingers crossed for a better week of hoops. As usual, post any news below. GO BEAVERS!