You've probably heard by now that Oregon State's latest recruit is an Australian by the name of Angus Brandt.
A lot of comparisions have been made between Craig Robinson's brother-in-law and Abraham Lincon. Well, expect many comparisions made between Angus and current Oregon State "point-center" Roeland Schaftenaar.
There's no doubt in my mind that Craig Robinson and Nate Pomeday used Roeland's success in the modified Princeton offense as a selling point for Brandt. However, Pomeday was an assistant coach at Brandt's high school, Lake Forest Academy, before joining Craig Robinson's staff in Corvallis.
Brandt is averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds per gamet this season at Lake Forest Academy, a college prep school just outside of Chicago, Illinois.
Brandt is a 6-10, 200 pounder who moved to Illinois from Australia to market himself to NCAA head coaches. When asked by IlliniHQ several days ago where he would play college basketball, his list consisted of Oregon State, Michigan, Ohio State, and New Mexico. Today, he made the decision to come to the west coast.
At that time, Brandt said that he "likes the whole coaching staff out there" and also that "they have a style of play that really fits me." Coach Rob's modified Princeston will allow Brandt to take the 15-foot jump-shot he enjoys and probably couldn't take at other schools, and will also play to he strengths as a passer.
And, to get to politics question out of the way, here's an except from Mouthpiece Sports' interview with Angus before he made the decision to be a Beaver:
MPS: Does it mean anything to you that OSU coach Craig Robinson is Barack Obama's brother in law (Watch link!)?
Angus Brandt: "Haha a little, but not that much. American politics don't really interest me, I am Aussie remember, but he'd probably get my vote I guess, he seems like a good (guy)."
I wonder if Brandt was in attendance to see Craig Robinson walk up on the stage on election night in Chicago?
Anyway, Brandt looks to be another player in the mold of Roeland Schaftenaar, who will be a good fit for the OSU offense. He'll need to develop an inside game if he wants to compete with other Pac-10 centers in the paint, but from researching Angus, it looks like he has the ball-handling skills and overall basketball IQ to become Oregon State's next 'point-center'.
--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)