CORVALLIS — About halfway through her freshman season, Ruth Hamblin and the rest of Oregon State's centers stood under the basket for a simple practice drill. A wave of guards drove toward them, and Hamblin had one job — block, block, block.
"Just getting all those reps," Hamblin recently recalled. "It really just kind of clicked and started the roll."
That "roll" meaning evolving into the nation's active leader in career blocks with 327 and the reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. And as the 10th-ranked Beavers begin their quest to repeat as Pac-12 champions this weekend, Hamblin, who's averaging 2.