Men's Hoops Announce Milestone Celebrations
The Oregon State men’s basketball team will hold celebrations at three upcoming games to honor coaches, players and achievements for the 25th Anniversary of the 1989-90 season when the Beavers won the Pac-10 title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
“I have fond memories of watching Gary Payton and that team,” current Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle said. “I’m honored to have many of those individuals, including Coach Anderson, still be a part of the program and I hope Beaver Nation can join the current team by honoring these outstanding individuals.”
Tickets for these three games, and the remaining Pac-12 home schedule, are available by visiting beavertickets.com or calling 800-GO-BEAVS.
Oregon State vs. USC
Saturday, January 24, 3:00 p.m.
MILESTONE CELEBRATION: Gary Payton Scores 58 Points Against USC
Gary Payton’s best game came on Feb. 22, 1990 against USC when he scored an Oregon State and Gill Coliseum single-game record 58 points in a 98-84 overtime victory. Payton was unstoppable that evening, as he knocked down 22-of-38 shots from the field and 13-of-16 from the free throw line. He also became the school’s career scoring leader in the game when he hit a free throw in the first half to pass Steve Johnson with 2,036 points.
It’s the third-most points in a game by a Pac-8/10/12 player, trailing only 61 by both Lew Alcindor (Feb. 25, 1967 vs. Washington State) and Eddie House (Jan. 8, 2000 vs. California).
After the game, USC head coach George Raveling said: “As a head coach in the league, I’ve got more time in than anybody. That’s as good a one-man performance as I’ve seen in this league, whether it’s (Bill) Walton, (Kareem Abdul-) Jabbar or anybody. Part of that is because of Gary’s size (6-foot-4) -- it’s phenomenal. That could be the greatest one-man performance in the history of college basketball.
“In 30 years, when my grandson asks me about the greatest players I ever saw, I’ll tell him about a rainy night in Corvallis when I saw Gary Payton score 58 points. He’ll ask me how big he was, and I’ll say he was only knee-high to a grasshopper but he scored 58 points, and he only scored that many because the buzzer sounded.”
Oregon State vs. Washington State
Thursday, February 5, 7:00 p.m.
MILESTONE CELEBRATION: Jim Anderson Named Pac-10 Coach of the Year
After serving as an assistant coach for 28 years at Oregon State, Jim Anderson was named the head coach in July of 1989 and went on to lead the Beavers to the 1990 Pac-10 title in his first season. Anderson was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year by his peers after that campaign when the Beavers went 22-7 overall and 15-3 in conference play.
Anderson became just the fourth head coach in Oregon State basketball history since 1929, and he had some formidable shoes to fill. His predecessor, Ralph Miller, was a two-time national coach of the year and a Hall of Famer, Paul Valenti put the 1966 dent in the UCLA dynasty, and Amory “Slats” Gill is the all-time winningest basketball coach at OSU with 599 victories.
Anderson spent three years at Oregon State as a player and 28 as an assistant coach. Under Gill, Valenti and Miller, he assisted the Beavers through 497 wins in 717 contests, a winning percentage of .693, and was the lead recruiter to many future OSU All-Americans.
Oregon State vs. Colorado
Saturday, February 21, 8:00 p.m.
MILESTONE CELEBRATION: 1989-90 Team Wins Pac-10 Title
The 1989-90 Oregon State men’s basketball team is still remembered as one of the most exciting in school history after winning the Pacific-10 Conference championship, finishing 22-7 overall and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
The Beavers went 15-3 in Pac-10 play, including a convincing 84-61 win over No. 2 Arizona on national television and a 73-59 win over Arizona State in Tempe that clinched the conference title. It was the third consecutive year Oregon State advanced to the NCAA Tournament
Gary Payton was named the Sports Illustrated National Player of the Year, and graced the cover of SI on March 5, 1990, after averaging 25.7 points, 8.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game. Fellow senior Earl Martin was the team’s second-leading scorer (11.9) and top rebounder (5.2).
The 1989-90 roster also included Teo Alibegovic, Karl Anderson, Will Brantley, Bob Cavell, Allan Celestine, Kevin Grant, Kevin Harris, Scott Haskin, Lamont McIntosh, Charles McKinney, Chris Rueppell, Travis Stel and Rich Wold.
Jim Anderson was the head coach and his assistants were Fred Boyd, Andy McClouskey and Jim Shaw.