The Pac-12 microsite will preview each of its league teams over the next few weeks, continuing today with Oregon State.
Oregon State Beavers
Strengths. Well. Um. Geez. Yikes. Can I pass? Do I get a pass? Look, we’re not here to tear down kids or rip coaches or make fun of programs, and certainly, at some point, this Oregon State team will have something that is a relative strength. But, goodness gracious sakes alive, there probably aren’t many people outside of new head coach Wayne Tinkle and his staff who have a good idea what that strength might be. The most experienced player on this roster – junior Langston Morris-Walker – had career highs of 18 minutes and four points per game last season. The most anticipated new recruit is a JuCo guard (Gary Payton II) most famous for being the son of an NBA Hall of Famer. But in a way maybe that newness will turn out to be the strength of this edition of the Beavers. Gone are bad habits and underachieving and questions about the direction of the previous coaching staff. Now this roster – from the head coach on down – is filled with guys looking to prove that they belong.
Gary Payton II Follows His Famous Dad’s Footsteps To Gill Coliseum, But Has His Work Cut Out For Him
Weaknesses. Many. Pick one. Their top two big guys (junior Daniel Gomis, sophomore Cheikh N’Diaye, and junior Justin Stangel) are most accurately described as “raw offensively.” They’ve got a handful of wings with experience, none of whom have shown the ability to create for themselves and few of whom have shown an ability to handle their defensive assignments. The point guard spot will be held down by either Payton — who is still a work-in-progress perhaps best suited for the off-guard spot — or Malcolm Duvivier, who may be best suited to be a running back. Really, this season is just a building block for the future of the program, giving all of these guys a chance to show whether they can be a part of the second block in the foundation next season.
Non-conference Tests. Every game Oregon State plays this season will be a test. Whether that involves home games against teams like Oral Roberts, Mississippi Valley State, Grambling or even Corban, or more challenging contests against bigger schools like Mississippi State, DePaul or Oklahoma State (in the MGM Grand Main Event Tournament during the week of Thanksgiving), there are no sure things on this Beaver schedule.
Toughest Conference Stretch. How about right out of the gate, going to Oregon to face the Ducks at Mac Court in the conference opener then coming back to host Arizona State and Arizona the following week? For a team that may have its confidence battered around in the non-conference slate, that could be an ugly 1-2-3 slate to get conference play started.
If Everything Goes Right… Payton steps in immediately and takes a leadership position for this team, setting a good example defensively and providing enough of an offensive punch to keep his teammates interested. Duvivier turns out to be a comfortable running mate in the backcourt, while Morris-Walker or Olaf Schaftenaar can stretch defenses with their three-point shooting. Then up front, that three-man rotation at the bigs is at least passable, doing a good job challenging shots defensively and cleaning the boards. Still, even if all of those things check out, this is still a team that probably wins no more than six non-conference games and probably struggles mightily to come within a game or two of that number in conference play. It doesn’t sound like much fun, but a 10-21 season for the Beavers would probably be considered an astounding success.
Malcolm Duvivier Is One Of Few Players On The Beavers Roster With Any Pac-12 Experience (Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian)
If Nothing Goes Right… But, seriously, let’s be honest: Not only is this the least talented roster in the conference, this vintage of Oregon State is right there with 2011-12 Utah and 2007-08 Oregon State as the weakest rosters in the recent history of this conference. Both of those teams went 6-25 on the season, and that kind of record is a very serious possibility with this group. But even worse would be the Beavers getting to the end of this season and finding that nobody on this roster proved themselves worthy of a continued spot in the rebuilding of this program.
Projected Starting Lineup:
- PG Malcolm Duvivier (So, 6’2” 205 lbs, 3.1 PPG, 0.4 APG, 14/31 3P shooting)
- SG Gary Payton II (Jr, 6’3” 175 lbs, 14.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 SPG at Salt Lake CC)
- SF Langston Morris-Walker (Jr, 6’5” 216 lbs, 4.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 19/53 3P shooting)
- PF Daniel Gomis (Jr, 6’10” 223 lbs, 10.8 MPG, 2.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.0 BPG)
- C Cheikh N’Diaye (So, 7’0” 230 lbs, 4.2 MPG, 0.8 PPG, 0.6 RPG)
Throw out Payton’s numbers at his JuCo last season and the other four guys projected to start for the Beavers combined to average 10.2 PPG last year. But really, this projected starting lineup is just a guess. Any combination of the nine healthy scholarship players in this program could start at any time this season. The front line could actually turn out to be a strength if N’Diaye begins to show the type of promise that infamously caused Craig Robinson to say he’s be an NBA player someday, and if Gomis can translate his numbers upwards with increased playing time. Duvivier and Payton figure to be an aggressive backcourt tandem, at the very least.
Key Reserves:
- SF Olaf Schaftenaar (Jr, 6’10” 224 lbs, 9.0 MPG, 2.2 PPG, 1.3 RPG)
- SG Victor Robbins (Jr, 6’7” 197 lbs, 10.7 MPG, 2.9 PPG, 1.5 RPG)
- SF Jarmal Reid (Jr, 6’7” 231 lbs, 8.3 MPG, 1.1 PPG, 0.7 RPG)
- C Justin Stangel (Jr, 6’10, 220 lbs, DNP)
So, let’s just jump down to the last guy on this list real quick. Stangel is a former walk-on who was rewarded with a scholarship this past offseason and figures to earn his first bit of actual playing time this season. Yes, the third big man on this roster and the #9 player in the rotation is a former walk-on who has never played in a college basketball game before. Rough. Throw in three really questionable wings as guys #6-#8 in the rotation and you’ll get exactly why this roster is in such bad shape. God forbid this team should sustain an injury or two during the season; as it is, the Beavers are already scouting the intramural leagues in Corvallis for warm bodies.
Extra Point. One name you haven’t seen mentioned here yet is Oregon State freshman Chai Baker. If the name rings a bell to you at all, it may be because of a scary situation this offseason where Baker collapsed during a workout at Oregon State and had to be rushed to the hospital due to a “heart-related medical incident.” While there are still questions as to whether Baker will ever actually play basketball again, there is plenty of good news surrounding this story. First and foremost, Baker is still alive and he reports that he feels well, is up and around, and is trying to remain positive. But, for now, his basketball career is on hold. He’ll need to get a medical clearance before he’s allowed to play again and everybody will assuredly err on the side of caution, doing everything they can to honor Baker’s desire to continue playing the game but making sure that will only happen when medical personnel are confident it is safe. Obviously, the big concern here is not about Baker the basketball player, but Baker the person. Here’s hoping everything works out for this young man.