Some old, a lot of new make Scott Rueck optimistic about his 2021-22 team

Taylor Jones is one of the premier returning post players in the Pac-12 (Courtesy Karl Maasdam/OSU sports communications)

An interview with Scott Rueck is like a cruise on the Portland Spirit down the Willamette River. You feast on the information he provides, then relish the flow of the conversation. When you pull up to shore, you know it has been a worthwhile trip.

Oregon State women’s basketball was the subject as we spoke for most of 45 minutes about the second-favorite subject in Rueck’s life.

First, a note on No. 1 — his family — and the golf exploits of the oldest of three children to Scott and wife Kerry. Cole Rueck, soon to be a senior at Corvallis High, is making a name for himself on the links.

Just last week, Cole finished his summer season by reaching the quarterfinals of the PNGA Juniors in Mulkilteo, Wash. With his father in the gallery, Cole upset the No. 1 seed — while carding 7-under par through 15 holes — in the round of 16.

“Insane,” the senior Rueck says. “He had eagles on Nos. 9 and 10 and a double (bogey) at No. 11.

“Cole has had a great run this summer. It’s been neat to see him get to the point where he is competing well in open tournaments, and he had a good summer season in the Juniors.”

Rueck is soon to begin his 12th season at the Oregon State helm. I told him it seems like yesterday when he took over the flagging program of his alma mater in 2011 after a great run at NCAA Division III George Fox.

“Hard to believe, really,” Rueck says. “I’m the second-longest tenured coach (behind gymnastics’ Tanya Chaplin) in our department. There is a wall outside the athletic director’s office in Gill (Coliseum) that has pictures of all our head coaches. The new coaches are (lined up) on the right. That’s where I still picture myself. It’s like, ‘I’m the new guy. No wait a minute — you’re not.’ ”

Rueck’s Oregon State teams have won three Pac-12 championships and reached at least the Sweet Sixteen four straight seasons from 2015-19. His overall record since the start of 2014-15: 176-48. His mark in Pac-12 games during that span: 93-28. Rueck’s last Beaver team not to make the NCAA Tournament was in 2012-13, his third season at the OSU helm.

“I’m very grateful,” says Rueck, 52, whose contract runs through 2027. “I have loved the process and am excited about our future.”

I asked Rueck to reflect on the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, in which the Beavers lost five in a row to fall to 3-5, then caught fire, winning nine of their final 12 games and reaching the NCAA Tournament’s second round. They beat Oregon twice and UCLA once during that stretch.

“It turned into a year that had one of my favorite stretches I’ve ever had as a coach,” he says. “The last six weeks were about was fun as it gets. We finally had an opportunity to play enough games to jell as a team. “The beginning was so choppy, with so many new faces and such a short preseason. It took us (eight) games to become the team we needed to be to compete in our conference. Once that happened, our only losses were to Final Four teams (Stanford twice and South Carolina). I love the way (the players) held forth through adverse conditions, kept getting better, stayed together and became a great team by the end.”

Rueck’s offseason brought about more change than he has encountered in his other 11 seasons at Oregon State, beginning with his coaching staff. Brian Holsinger left to become head coach at Montana; Katie Faulkner departed to take an assistant’s job at Washington.

In their place are Jenny Huth and Deven Hunter, joining veteran holdover Jonas Chatterton on Rueck’s staff.

Huth (pronounced “Hooth”) was head coach at Northern Colorado the past three seasons after seven years as an assistant at UCLA.

“I got to know Jenny as a competitor on UCLA’s staff,” Rueck says. “(The Bruins) did such a good job. We had great games against each other. You develop a mutual respect. She was somebody you’d look forward to seeing on the road.

“Her experience as a head coach will make her even more impactful. I love what she brings — a great intensity, a love for the game and a love for people. She is a winner and highly competitive. You feel it coming off her every day in the office and the gym.”

Hunter was a four-year starter at power forward for the Beavers from 2012-16, the transformational period in the Rueck era. The McNary High grad was part of two Pac-12 championship teams and the 2016 Final Four team and ranks No. 4 on the Beavers’ career rebounds list. After graduation from OSU, she played two years professionally and also served as assistant coach for three years at McNary and as a grad assistant for two years at San Diego.

“It’s exciting to bring somebody back who played for me here,” Rueck says with a touch of emotion in his voice. “This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to do it. Deven was such a great player for us. She wore her emotions on the sleeve as a player. I always loved that about her.

“She is a perfect fit for what we need and where we want to go. We want to cut down nets; who knows better how to do that at Oregon State than Deven?”

Four players are gone, including senior point guard Aleah Goodman, selected to the 15-player All-Pac-12 team last season. Three underclassmen have transferred — Sasha Goforth to (Arkansas), Savannah Samuel (to West Virginia) and Jasmine Simmons (back home to Australia).

Oregon State has 12 players on its 2021-22 roster, among them walk-on guard Noelle Mannen. That doesn’t include 6-9 Andrea Aquino, who will begin her fourth year in the program but has never played in a game due to an undisclosed heart condition. She has not been medically cleared to play but will remain on scholarship until she graduates, Rueck says. The native of Paraguay — who prepped her senior season in Southern California and joined OSU’s program as the No. 7-rated player in the nation — attends practice and sits on the bench during games.

“We committed to Andrea on the front end and are going to see her through to graduation,” Rueck says. 

“I’ve never used all 15 (scholarships allowed by the NCAA). It’s the way we do things here. We’ve been able to absorb someone in Andrea’s situation because of that.”

Oregon State’s 2021-22 entire roster, which include four newcomers, has been on campus through most of the summer and has practiced together four hours a week for the NCAA-maximum eight weeks. Fall drills will begin the first week of October.

“First time we’ve ever used all eight weeks,” Rueck says. “We normally use five to six, but because of COVID, we did not have an opportunity to do camps. It gave us more time to work with our players.”

The Beavers’ returnees include 6-6 post Kennedy Brown, who hasn’t played in a game since suffering an ACL knee injury in February of 2020. Brown started all 23 games she played as a freshman, averaging 6.3 points and 7.6 rebounds.

Kennedy Brown returns to action in 2021-22 after missing all of left season after ACL knee surgery (Courtesy Karl Maasdam/OSU sports communications)

“We really missed her last season,” Rueck says. “It was a massive loss. Kennedy is such a natural defender and rebounder and so comfortable with the basketball. She has used her time in rehab to get in the best shape she has ever been in. Jonas says she has ‘more bounce,’ and she does. She is quicker. Her shot looks beautiful. She is looking great.”

Rueck intends to return to the high-low game he used with Taylor Jones before Brown’s injury. The 6-4 Jones, a third-year sophomore, joined Goodman on the 2020-21 All-Pac-12 team. She led the conference with 8.8 rebounds per game, was second in field-goal percentage at .556 and third in blocked shots (1.8).

“Taylor’s post game is so good, it would be a mistake to have her too far from the basket, but she continues to work on extending her (shooting) range,” Rueck says. “As her offense develops from the perimeter, it gives us a little more versatility. I see her continuing to add on to the amazing things she has already done.”

Taya Corosdale’s numbers were pedestrian last season — 5.8 points and 4.4 rebounds while averaging 29.1 minutes as the starting power forward. Don’t underestimate the contributions, says Rueck, of the 6-3 junior, who missed most of the 2019-20 campaign with a hamstring injury.

“Taya is one of the best defenders and rebounders in the conference,” the OSU coach says. “There are so many great players at her position, you have to have a defensive stopper. She set the tone for us in that area down the stretch of last season.

“It was so hard for her coming off the injury without a preseason last year. Our system was kind of cemented without a lot of opportunity for experimentation. I was learning who she was after the injury and she was figuring it out, too. Now she moves into her fifth year. She is a veteran. She knows everything. Taya has the ability to be a scorer and a playmaker. I see that happening more for her this year.”

The other returning starter is Ellie Mack, a sixth-year senior who transferred to OSU last year after being honored as Patriot League Player of the Year at Bucknell the previous season. The 6-3 Mack started all 20 games for the Beavers, averaging 6.8 points and 3.7 rebounds.

“At the beginning of last year, Ellie didn’t know if she belonged,” Rueck says. “That doubt about being able to compete in a Power Five conference is now gone. She is owning the experience at a different level. She realizes she is a very good player and one of our best 3-point shooters. I see a huge year for Ellie.”

In her first season at Oregon State out of Serbia, 6-9 Jelena Mitrovic averaged 4.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in just 12.7 minutes a game off the bench.

“She will be new and improved (in 2021-22),” Rueck predicts. “Something switched for her in February. Similar to Ellie, instead of being along for the ride, she decided to own it. We saw an uptick in her productivity on the court. She is a defensive presence with passing ability and a nice shooting touch — sort of like (Arvydas) Sabonis. She needed to change her body and get quicker and faster. Now she is in the best shape I’ve seen her. I see Jelena being ready for a breakout year.”

The Beavers’ other returning post, 6-4 senior Jovana Subasic, played sparingly last season as she dealt with a nagging leg injury. She averaged 1.9 points and 1.6 minutes while playing 73 minutes all season.

“She wasn’t herself,” Rueck says about the Serbian transfer from Washington State. “She is a perfect change-up for the other ‘bigs’ we have — more perimeter-oriented and a good shooter. She will make a bigger contribution for us.”

Oregon State’s point guards for the upcoming season both have fathers who played 14 NFL seasons as defensive linemen — Kimo von Oelhoffen and Sam Adams.

Kimo’s daughter, Talia, was the talk of OSU women’s hoops last season. The 5-11 native from Pasco, Wash., joined the Beavers midway through the season after graduating early from high school. All she did was come off the bench to finish as the team’s No. 4 scorer at 11.3 points per game, while also averaging 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 24.3 minutes. Von Oelhoffen, rated the No. 14 player in the nation as a senior by Prospects Nation, ranked third in the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage at .434 and was a player much wiser and more poised than her years.

Talia von Oefhoffen is a true freshman in eligibility but beyond her years in court presence and poise (Courtesy Karl Maasdam/OSU sports communications)

“Talia took advantage of her ‘bonus time’ with us,” Rueck says. “The successes and the tough times she had, there is no way to replicate that without actually experiencing it. She learned so much. Now she has completely changed her body. She is in incredible condition. I can’t wait to see her in action next season.”

Tea Adams — a 5-9 grad senior transfer from San Diego State who is the daughter of Sam — averaged 10.7 points and 3.4 assists last season for the Aztecs.

“Tea is a natural ‘one’ but has the ability to move off the ball,” Rueck says. “She has a great feel for moving the ball, finishes well at the rim and can knock down the 3. Both of our grad transfers are perfect fits for what we do.”

The other one is Emily Codding, a 6-foot guard from Saint Mary’s. She averaged 14.7 points and 8.4 rebounds before undergoing knee surgery 18 games into the 2019-20 season.

“We played at Saint Mary’s (in 2018) and I remember going into that game fearing her the most of any of their players,” Rueck says. “She is a tough competitor, gritty, with a high motor. She makes an unbelievable effort getting to the offensive boards and she can knock down 3’s.”

Oregon State’s most highly regarded high school recruit is Greta Kampschroeder, a 6-foot freshman out of Naperville, Ill. She was a McDonald’s All-American who averaged 17.8 points and 10 rebounds as a senior and was ranked as the No. 8 recruit in the nation by Blue Star Media. Rueck compares her to ex-Beaver great Mikayla Pivec.

“Greta will remind you of ‘Mik’ in the way she can take you off the dribble,” the OSU coach says. “She is a dynamic wing with a great mid-range pull-up, a solid 3-point shot and a high basketball IQ.”

The other incoming true freshman is 6-1 AJ Marotte, a four-star recruit who averaged 17.5 points and 8.6 rebounds as a senior in Cedar Park, Texas.

“I think she can make an impact immediately,” Rueck says. “She is extremely athletic. She plays so hard. She is strong to the boards.  She has a beautiful mid-range shot, gets to the rim and knocks down 3s.

She is such a quick study. If she hears it once (from a coach), it happens. That learning curve is going to be shallow.”

The calling card of Rueck’s OSU teams in recent years has been strong defense and the 3-point shot. The Beavers ranked third nationally in 3-point percentage at .396 and were third in the Pac-12 in opponents’ field goal percentage (.370), but were only ninth in the conference in scoring defense (68.1) and 10th in opponents’ 3-point percentage (.355).

“We need to play defense at a higher level than we did a year ago,” Rueck says. “That’s a fact, and our team knows it.”

The 3-point line in the women’s college game has been moved back to mirror that of the men for the upcoming season. Rueck expects his players to adjust just fine.

“We have a lot of good shooters,” he says. “The only player who doesn’t shoot the 3 is Taylor, and that’s my goal for her eventually. Part of the reason we shot the ball so well last year was we passed it so well. This team has the exact same mindset. That usually leads to high percentages.”

Rueck enters every season with optimism. Next season is no different.

“We’re really deep,” he says. “We have a high ceiling. I already love this team, the way they work, the way they’ve gotten along. It’s a mature group that wants to be great.

“I really like the blend of old and new. Taya and Ellie have so much experience. We have a group of hungry veterans. Emily and Tea are here to prove something — ‘Hey, I can play in this conference.’ I love that chip on their shoulder. Kennedy and Taylor provide a nice blend in the middle. I like all the possibilities.”

One more thing makes Rueck happy — the return of fans to Gill Coliseum for the first time since March of 2019-20.

“It will be like ... well, like heaven,” he says after a brief pause. “I’m scarred by an empty Gill last season. It was so painful to walk out there and feel like actual games were scrimmages. Unless you’ve lived it, there’s no way to understand how much (the home-court) means to us. To have that stripped away — no band, no fans, no Beaver nation, no banquet, no Maui trip — it was a shallow experience. To have that restored is going to be just like … I don’t know. What’s the word?”

“Nirvana?” I offer.

“Yeah,” he says. “That will be the feeling. It will probably be emotional.”

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