INDIANAPOLIS — Scott Rueck has already gotten an up-close look at the Connecticut superstars that his Oregon State team will face off against in the Final Four, as he worked with Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson as an assistant for Team USA at the Pan-American games in Toronto last summer.
Rueck, Stewart and Jefferson have reflected on that experience in recent days. Jefferson said she and Rueck bonded over their deep Christian faith. Stewart appreciated Rueck's coaching-style combination of intensity and fun and added she is "so happy that he was able to lead Oregon State here." And Rueck was particularly impressed by the way Stewart, now the three-time National Player of the Year, still possessed a "no-nonsense" approach to each game and practice.