In 1980 Ohio State women’s basketball coach Beth Burns began her career in St. John’s arena as a graduate-assistant under Tara VanDereer. This year, Burns returns to OSU as the Lady Buckeyes’ 6th head coach to continue what she started nearly two decades ago.”I’m happy to be back,” Burns said. “I love Ohio State. When the Carmen Ohio starts I know all the words.”Burns rejoined the Buckeyes after spending eight years as head coach at San Diego State University building a nationally respected program. SDSU’s 1997 squad won their conference tournament. Their points per game average of 51.2 was the No.1 average in the country.Burns is a three time recipient of the Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award for the 1994, 1995 and 1997 seasons.”This is the only job I would have left (SDSU) for,” Burns said. “It’s in a conference that I think is the best in the country and it’s in a place I care a lot about.”Burns, a widely respected motivater and teacher realizes that she is building from the ground up. She said that as a new coach it’s going to take time for the players to adjust and understand what is expected.”When there’s someone new, every single phase of the game is new,” Burns said. “Patience is going to be important and we’re going to have to take things one day at a time.”Junior forward Larecha Jones admits that at first the team had their doubts.”At first we had jitters about a new coach,” Jones said. “It’s like a starting over point, being a freshman all over again.”Two weeks before the season starts Jones said that things are starting to come together.”I like coach Burns a lot,” Jones said. “She pushes us to be the best that we can be and she gets a lot out of us.”Only time will tell the influence of a new coach. In the meantime, Burns said that they are just trying to get better everyday. Once they succeed at one thing, they’ll move on to the next.The Buckeye’s kick off their season as hosts to the Russian Select team at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9 at St. Johns Arena.