SAN FRANCISCO — Oregon State will practice on Election Day, but coach Craig Robinson will spend the evening with his sister, First Lady Michelle Obama, in Chicago watching voting results.
The OSU coach’s election plans were the highlight of this morning’s session at Pac-12 Media Day in the Pac-12 Networks offices in SoMa.
Robinson said he has never skipped anything work-related to campaign.
“My personal life is like your personal life; it doesn’t get in the way of my professional life,” he said.
Of course, the Beavers will practice Election Day.
“Are you kidding?” he said. “We’ve got a game Nov. 9.”
Six teams’ worth of players and coaches — the bottom half of last year’s league — have spoken so far, touting new players, improved returners and a general better attitude.
USC coach Kevin O’Neill said the league deserves five or six NCAA tournament squads this season.
The Trojans have only three returning starters, but one is Jio Fontan, who O’Neill called the league’s best point guard.
ASU’s Jahii Carson might hold that title, if the Sun Devils decide to run more.
“I still don’t know that we’ve reached a point yet where we understand the mental physical constitution it takes to get out and run like that,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said.
Stanford, which won the NIT and eight of its last 10 games last year, have “seven or eight kids that need to all view themselves as starters,” coach Johnny Dawkins said.
And Washington State is still dealing with the dismissal of point guard Reggie Moore. Coach Ken Bone said he’d known every coach to work with Moore since he has 10, and that making the decision was difficult.
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