OSU’s Scott Rueck Talks Defense, Culture, And Conference Future On 750 The Game
750 The Game Staff
Fresh off a pair strong conference victories, Oregon State women’s basketball is finding its identity at the right time.
The Beavers are now above .500 in WCC play at 7-6 after Sunday’s 80-45 win over Saint Mary’s.
Scott Rueck is in his fifteenth season as head coach of OSU women’s hoops and he joined John Canzano (Afternoons 3-6 p.m. on 750 The GAME) on Monday.
“I’ve just loved our defensive intensity,” Rueck said of his team’s resurgence. “I feel like we’ve hit a place where that’s become more and more consistent and something we can lean on.
“This team cares and plays as hard as anybody I’ve coached. I mean, they grind, and they’ve had to grind all year long. Lately, I feel like we’ve just fully understood it. This is who we are, this is our identity, and this is who we have to be to be the team we’re capable of being. And I’ve loved seeing that.”
Despite a run to the Elite Eight in 2023-24, a bevy of key players left Oregon State in the offseason in the wake of conference realignment and the uncertainty that came with it. But Rueck said it was the players who chose to stay at OSU that meant the most to him.
“Validation for the program that we are and have been,” he said. “Looking back, even in the midst of it, I understood the unfair – as you mention – circumstance that we were all put in. Totally beyond our control. Just… unfair.
“Everyone had to kind of reevaluate what they wanted and where they were based upon the current state of our circumstance. And there wasn’t really a lot to latch onto, other than the culture that we’ve built and all the things that are here that are within our control which have always felt like good, healthy things for the most part. Nothing’s perfect. But we’ve had some great times over the years with a lot of great people, and we’re very well supported.”
Rueck said the returning players were ‘stabilizing forces’ in allowing Oregon State to keep momentum into this year and future years, and said he particularly appreciates the comments made from four-year player AJ Marotte.
“She’s said many times publicly – ‘Why would you leave here?’ – and that has always meant a lot to me and validated just our program in general, even in uncertain times and with so many transitional things going on around us,” Rueck said.
Last October, former Dutch Bros CEO Joth Ricci, his wife Robin and their family made a $3 Million gift to support men’s and women’s basketball at Oregon State, including $1.5 Million in endowed funds for each program to utilize with the OSU Foundation.
“I think the Ricci gift was so monumental for us,” Rueck said. “Stepping up, gave us confidence, certainly gave us support financially, and a statement of investment just was so important.
“This program has as much resource as we’ve ever had, if not more. And I know that. I know who I am, I know what our program is. I know who Oregon State is. And the plan is just to keep doing what we’re doing.”
Rueck said the culture built over time at Oregon State is what sets it apart, and it is starting to show with this year’s program on the court.
“Their culture that they have – that’s Oregon State,” he said. “You watch us play, you watch us interact. It’s just what we’ve always been. It’s what we had at George Fox that led to Oregon State. And now it’s here. And that’s not changing.”
Listen to the full conversation with Scott Rueck and John Canzano at the podcast below as Rueck talks about the intricacies of coaching, the future of the ‘new Pac-12’, and his son Cole’s impressive journey in collegiate golf.
John Canzano delivers the Bald Faced Truth afternoons 3-6 p.m. on 750 The Game.