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Football Preview After a miracle, what do you do for an encore? One Man’s Humble Opinion By Kip Carlson Decades from now, when Beaver fans yet unborn look back into the record book, they’ll see that some guy named Ralph Miller coached more than 350 men’s basketball victories and won four conference titles in the 1970s and 1980s. They may also hear from old-timers that he seemed somewhat cranky much of that time. All true. But posterity should also include the many sides of Miller, who died May 15 at age 82 at his home at Black Butte Ranch in Central Oregon. Looking back, it’s easy to recall many of his 359 wins at Oregon State — along with quite a few of the 186 losses (many of us still haven’t completely recovered from Kansas State). Sometimes it didn’t seem to matter which side of the score the Beavers were on; Miller would get up, stride to the edge of the sideline in one of those orange/rust/whatever-color sportcoats, and holler at one of his charges for violating any number of the basketball principles handed down by Phog Allen when Miller played for him at Kansas in the 1930s. Or, every so often, the instruction would be more personalized. The mind quickly summons up Darrin Houston being benched during a Far West Classic game in the early 1980s, then Miller getting nose-to-nose to impart his wisdom, seemingly oblivious to the game going on immediately behind him. Just as vivid, though, is the recollection of a winter night in 1981 when Oregon State was ranked No. 1 in the country. Several of the Beaver players had a radio show on KFLY-AM, and this particular evening they had a guest — some gruff-voiced guy who took the air name "The Boss" and played a bit of Glenn Miller before leaving the studio. Or there was the night at the Far West Classic that Miller dressed as Santa Claus and visited his players’ hotel rooms. Or Miller’s final home game, when he let senior center Johan Reinalda start against Oregon; Reinalda picked up 10 quick points and five quick fouls in a plucking of the Ducks. Or, maybe most of all, that afternoon in March 1980, when the Beavers earned Miller’s first Pacific-10 title with a win over Oregon. At game’s end, he turned toward the seats behind Oregon State’s bench, opened his arms wide, and smiled. "I said if we won the championship, I’d smile," Miller said. "You’ll notice that I waited." The wins and the caustic comments are large parts of Miller’s legacy. The smiles he inspired should be, as well.
McKay, Spoelstra contracts extended: Oregon State men’s basketball head coach Ritchie McKay and women’s basketball head coach Judy Spoelstra received contract extensions, it was announced June 26 by Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart. Both coaches are now operating with five-year contracts, McKay’s worth $290,000 and Spoelstra’s $155,000, with each having matching base salaries. "I feel very comfortable that Coach McKay and Coach Spoelstra are working toward bringing their respective programs back to their traditional levels," Barnhart said. "This action shows that the administration is committed to both coaches and their goals to be successful on and off the court for future years." Ketcham steps down, Watts hired: Mike Ketcham, who led Oregon State to a best-ever 12th place at this spring’s NCAA Championships, resigned June 16 as the Beavers’ men’s golf coach to take the same position at his alma mater, Arkansas. Ketcham, who had been at OSU five seasons, also led the Beavers to a second-place finish in the 2000 Pacific-10 Championships. On June 25, OSU named Brian Watts as head coach. Watts has been the Beavers’ assistant men’s and women’s golf coach for the last two years and was also an assistant men’s coach during the 1996 and 1997 school years. Burke makes majors: Jamie Burke became the 15th former Oregon State baseball player to reach the major leagues when he was called up by the Anaheim Angels late this spring. Burke played at OSU from 1991 to 1993 and was also a placekicker on the Beaver football team. Burke, a third baseman at OSU who has added catcher and first base to the list of his positions, was called up from Class AAA Salt Lake City on May 21. Since then, he has been sent back and forth between Anaheim and Salt Lake City several times. Beavers Taken in NFL draft: Oregon State had four players taken in this spring’s National Football League draft, the most Beavers taken since four were also selected in 1972. Wide receiver Chad Johnson went to the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round as the 36th overall pick, the earliest selection from OSU since defensive tackle Esera Tuaolo was the 35th overall pick in 1991. Defensive end DeLawrence Grant went to the Oakland Raiders in the third round, offensive tackle Mitch White went to the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round, and wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh went to the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round. Four more Beavers signed free agent contracts with NFL teams: tight end Marty Maurer with the San Diego Chargers, free safety Terrence Carroll with the Philadelphia Eagles, defensive end LaDairis Jackson with the Seattle Seahawks and linebacker Darnell Robinson with the Detroit Lions. Ken Iwamoto has made it to the major leagues — in a manner of speaking.
Iwamoto, who earned his degree in athletic training at Oregon State in 1997, is spending this season serving as interpreter for New York Mets’ outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo; like Shinjo, Iwamoto is a native of Japan. "I’m learning a lot," said Iwamoto, who served as OSU’s baseball trainer before graduating. "I’m in the major leagues, and this is a very good experience for me. More than that, being part of this team is very fun and I’m learning a lot from Jay Horwitz (the Mets’ vice president for public relations) and the public relations department. I really like the manager (Bobby Valentine). I really like the coaches and players. Before I came here, I thought at least one guy would be mean, at least one guy. But this group is awesome, everybody’s great." Before and after games, Iwamoto assists the throng of American media that cover the Mets, plus the Japanese press corps that ranges from about 12 reporters on road trips to as many as 25 for home games. During games, he is in Valentine’s office watching the game on television and entering information on pitches and at-bats into a computer. Iwamoto had spent four years working as a trainer at the Mets’ spring training complex in Florida before the team asked him to spend the season with Shinjo. "I’m very proud of being an alumnus of OSU," said Iwamoto, who came to the United States to attend college. "I learned a lot from the training room; I also learned a lot from (Beaver coach) Pat Casey and the teammates. That was the greatest moment. I still enjoy what I’m doing right now, but college baseball — the experience I got at Oregon State University — was the best memory in my life." Benny Awards Ken Simonton and Felicia Ragland were named the Male and Female Athletes of the Year, highlighting the third annual Benny Awards ceremony held June 6. The Bennys are a year-end celebration of Oregon State’s athletic program. Tanya Chaplin of the gymnastics program and Dennis Erickson of the football team took home honors as the Female and Male Coaches of the Year. Richard Seigler from football team and Birte Steven from swimming were named the Male and Female Newcomers of the Year. Other awards included: Male and Female Performance of the Year — Eric Jorgensen from wrestling and Katrina Severin from gymnastics; Teams of the Year -— the football and gymnastics teams for the second consecutive year; Scholar-Athlete Team — Abby Roos, Cassie Bouska, and Megan Oest of the women’s crew team, Sam Bobek of men’s crew, Anne Marie Falow of women’s soccer, Thad Johnson of baseball, and Carina Olsson of women’s golf; All-Americans -— Scott Nicholson (baseball), Felicia Ragland (basketball), Chris Gibson (football), DeLawrence Grant (football), Dennis Weathersby (football), Seigler, Simonton, Anthony Arvidson (men’s golf), Severin, Lara Degenhardt (gymnastics), Steven, and Jorgensen; Academic All-American. — Gina Schmidt of the volleyball team; Glenn Klein Community Service Award — Todd Deacon (men’s golf) and Christian Green (women’s crew); Martin Chaves Lifetime Achievement Award — Paul Valenti. The OSU Alumni Association was awarded the Spirit Award Benny for its contributions at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (see photo, page 32), and the infamous opossum scampering across the Reser Stadium field against Southern California was given the Play of the Year Benny.
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