It looks like a former Duck will now coach the Beavers.
Jay John, a former assistant to Oregon head coach Ernie Kent and a current assistant to Lute Olson at Arizona, will be announced as Oregon State’s next men’s basketball head coach today, according to ESPN.com.
John coached for Kent in 1998-99 and has been with Olson since the end of that season. Prior to coaching at Oregon, John was an assistant at Butler for eight seasons.
The list of candidates for the Oregon State job was reported to include South Florida head coach Seth Greenberg, Metro State coach Mike Dunlap, Seattle SuperSonics assistant Dean Demopolous and others.
A press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. today to announce the hiring of Oregon State’s new head coach.
Oregon State Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart was forced to find a new coach when former head coach Ritchie McKay left the program for the head job at New Mexico two weeks ago. McKay has already made an impact on the Lobos’ program, where he kicked one starter off the team and refused to welcome back another former starter who left the team in January.

Ducks’ awards announced
Apparently, nobody on the Oregon basketball team improved more this season than the team itself.
At the Ducks’ annual basketball banquet Saturday night, the entire team received the Jesse Nash Award for the most improved player. Freddie Jones received the team’s Most Valuable Player Award, and Luke Ridnour won the John Warren Award as the team’s most inspirational player.
Ben Lindquist accepted the Henry Ritchie Scholar-Athlete award for the second year in a row, and Robert Johnson received recognition for being the team’s top rebounder.

The return of Wrenn
Stanford’s Casey Jacobsen has left, but it looks like another of Oregon’s thorns from last season will return next year.
Washington’s Doug Wrenn, despite speculation that he would leave for the NBA after his sophomore season, will return to the team next year.
Wrenn averaged 24 points in three games against the Ducks last season, including 32 points in a 97-92 Husky win in January.
Wrenn returns to the team despite the departure of head coach Bob Bender, who resigned in late March. Lorenzo Romar, a former Husky player, was hired last week in his place.