Beavers load up on internationals, hope it helps reap victories
Coming off a redshirt season due to knee surgery, junior guard Nate Kingz is expected to be a starter for the 2024-25 Beavers (courtesy OSU sports communications)
Long-timers will remember the vendors’ standard line as they hawked programs before college basketball games: “Can’t tell the lineups without a program!”
That will be especially true at Oregon State this season, with the Beavers turning over their roster like a short-order cook flipping flapjacks with a spatula.
Gone are stars Jordan Pope and Tyler Bilodeau along with six other squad members from the 2023-24 team that went 13-19 overall, an improvement over the previous two seasons (3-28 and 11-21) but not what hoop fans in Beaver Nation are looking for. All eight departees have transferred to schools throughout the country.
It’s not the way Coach Wayne Tinkle wanted it. He would have preferred to benefit from the seasoning of Pope and Bilodeau after two seasons of development. The transfer portal and NIL have changed everything.
So an almost new roster playing in a brand new league is in store as Tinkle, in his 11th season at the OSU helm, transitions from the Pac-12 to the West Coast Conference.
“We have had a lot of turnover, but that’s kind of the way of the world in college athletics these days,” Tinkle observes. “We really like this group, but I would say we are cautiously optimistic. It is going to take some time to develop cohesiveness and for everyone to get used to playing with each other. We have a good veteran core group of about eight players, and we will be developing the rest of the guys.”
Five lettermen return from last year’s team, including 6-9 junior forward Michael Rataj, the lone returning starter and the Beavers’ third-best player a year ago. The others are sophomores — guards Josiah Lake II and DaJohn Craig and forwards Thomas Ndong and Gavin Marrs.
Other holdovers are 6-5 junior guard Nate Kingz (formerly Meithof), who redshirted after ACL surgery, and 6-7 redshirt freshman Grey Garrison, a walk-on.
Tinkle and his coaching staff are bringing in nine new players, though one of them — 6-7 Lithuanian swing man Liutauras Lelevicius — is practicing with the team but has not been cleared academically. Among the newcomers are four upperclassmen and four freshmen — six of them from foreign countries. Add Rataj (Germany) and Ndong (Canada) and it is a unit that could represent the United Nations in competition.
Assistant coaches Marlon Stewart and Chris Haslam have recruited extensively in Europe in recent years — Haslam, now in his first year at OSU, while at Montana State and Utah State.
“We can tap into some good talent because of their relationships with people there, and we can sell our reputation for developing players,” Tinkle says. “We are also trusting that the foreign kids might buy into three or four years at one school more than the trend (with players) in the States. We are glad we got to take the first step to get them here. Hopefully, they develop and succeed and we are able to retain them.”
Oregon State began practice sessions on Sept. 25 and will play an exhibition game against NCAA Division II opponent Montana State-Billings on Oct. 26 in Corvallis. The Beavers open the regular season against Utah Tech on Nov. 4 in Gill Coliseum. They will play nine of 13 preseason contests at home.
The only road contest is against North Texas; there will also be three games at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu before Christmas. The WCC season begins on Dec. 30 against the University of Portland at Gill.
Rataj missed the preseason and the first three games a year ago due to offseason shin surgery and was never at full strength. He averaged 8.3 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds and had his moments, but never really found a groove.
“Mike’s leg is finally totally healed, and he had a great summer, getting to know the new guys and understanding that we are looking at him for leadership with this group,” Tinkle says. “He has matured and is going to play an important role for us.”
So will Kingz, who also is now fully healthy after recovering from the knee surgery. The McNary High grad led the College of Southern Idaho in scoring with a team-high 16.5 points a game in leading the Golden Eagles to a 29-2 record in 2022-23. He had been expected to be a starter for the Beavers last season.
“Nate has more and more confidence with the knee as time has gone on,” Tinkle says. “He shoots it at a high level from the perimeter, and now we are starting to see him get to the rim and finish. He hasn’t played a game in a couple of years, so it will take him a handful of games to get up to speed, but we love what we are seeing from him.”
The 6-2 Lake, the son of former Beaver guard Josiah Lake, was a walk-on last season as a freshman out of Tualatin and played his way into a scholarship with his contributions off the bench. Lake is money at the foul line (43 for 51, .843 last season) and led the Beavers with 30 steals despite averaging only 15.2 minutes per contest.
“Josiah is shooting it well and is poised out there for a young guy,” Tinkle says. “As he continues to develop more confidence, some leadership qualities will come out. He plays well with our vets as well as with the younger guys.”
The 6-1 Craig showed flashes of offensive prowess a year ago but saw little time on a guard-dominant roster.
“DaJohn is starting to realize the change of pace in the game — when it’s time to go fast, when it’s time to slow down,” Tinkle says, “and he is learning how to play against guys who are more physical. He has some real potential; he just has to slow it down at times.”
The 6-10, 245-pound Ndong was slowed by an injury the second half of last season, but Tinkle says he has toned his body through the offseason.
“He is more explosive and athletic,” the veteran coach says. “He has to be more physical defensively and on the glass and be a weapon around the rim.”
The 7-foot, 200-pound Marrs is rail-thin but is athletic, can run and block shots, and can jump out of the building.
“We want him to be a sprinter on the fast break,” Tinkle says. “He can outrun a lot of guards and put pressure at the rim in the transition game.”
All four of the new upperclassmen should vie for at least rotation minutes.
Demarco Minor, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior transfer from Division I Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, will have immediate impact. He led the Cougars in scoring (15.5 points) and rebounds (8.5) assists year ago and, though he shot only .397 from the field and .315 from 3-point territory, was an excellent .862 from the foul line.
Coach Wayne Tinkle calls senior point guard Demarco Minor, a transfer from Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Oregon State’s top defensive guard since Gary Payton II (courtesy OSU sports communications)
“Demarco is a bulldog defensively, a guy who will pick people up and dog them for 94 feet,” Tinkle says. “He is probably the best defensive guard we have had since Gary (Payton II). Offensively, he will get us upcourt quickly and into our offense.”
The 7-1, 255-pound Marsh is a native of England who played three years at Wake Forest. As a sophomore in 2022-23, he shot an incredible 83 of 94 (.883) from the field, though only 18 of 43 (.419) from the free-throw line.
Tinkle sees him as a major weapon on both sides of the ball. He draws comparisons with former OSU centers Drew Eubanks and Kylor Kelley.
“Matt is a good finisher with jump hooks, dunks and anything around the basket,” Tinkle says. “His presence defensively will be important for us. He has the combination of the strength and athleticism that Drew had and the ability to get out and run like Kylor had. Matt hasn’t played big minutes in the past, so getting that confidence going early in the season will be big for him. But he has made great strides since he got here.”
Parsa Fallah is a 6-9, 230-pound junior from Iran who averaged 13.2 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting .570 from the field for Southern Utah JC last season.
Transfer Parsa Allah, a 6-9, 230-pound junior, should be a weapon inside for the Beavers this season (courtesy OSU sports communications)
“Parsa is the most physical player we have had at the power forward spot during my time at Oregon State,” Tinkle says. “He is going to find a way to go around you or through you. He loves to mix it up and should be a solid rebounder.
“We haven’t had a reliable low-post threat for awhile. Throw it to Parsa and Matt in the block, they are going to either score or get fouled at a good clip. I love the combination of those two.”
Isaiah Sy, 6-7 sophomore from France, averaged 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting .479 from the field and .471 from 3-point range for Cloud County (Kan.) JC a year ago. Tinkle thinks he can play some shooting guard as well as small forward.
“He can shoot and he is a good offensive rebounder,” Tinkle says. “He will figure his way into the rotation sooner than later.”
The freshmen are Johan Munch, a 6-11 native of Denmark; Maxim Logue, 6-9 from France; Kaan Yarkut, a 6-6 walk-on from Turkey, and 6-7 Ja’Quavis Williford, who played last season at Red Rock Academy in Las Vegas. The latter probably has the best chance of the quartet of seeing the floor for regular minutes this season.
“Ja’Quavis has a scorer’s mentality,” Tinkle says. “He is a bucket-getter, but has to learn at this level, it is about sets and execution. He has the potential to become a lock-down defender. He is not there yet, but he can come off the bench early on and provide some spark.”
Munch reminds Tinkle of former OSU forward Olaf Schaftenaar.
“Johan puts it on the floor better than Olaf did at that age,” the coach says. “He has to get stronger and learn the physicality and speed it takes at the college level, but at some point we will be able to count on him.”
At 6-9 and “a sculpted” 230, Logue is “built like Adonis,” Tinkle says. “He is really good around the rim, a good shot-blocker and rebounder. People are going to be impressed when it all comes together for him.”
Rataj, Minor and Kingz are likely starters. Lake, Marsh, Fallah, Sy and Williford seem destined for at least rotation minutes. The X-factor is Lelevicius, a 6-7 sharpshooter who averaged 17.8 points last season for a Latvian team in FIBA U20Europe. If he gains his eligibility, he will surely have a role of some sort. After that, returnees Craig, Ndong and Marrs could be in the battle for minutes.
Tinkle feels the 2024-25 Beavers will have depth and versatility. He can see various combinations on the floor. He believes it is the deepest front line he has had at Oregon State.
“We can go big at times with Fallah, Marsh and Rataj,” he says. “We can go small, with Sy at the 4 and Rataj at the 5. We could use Minor and Lake or Craig together in the backcourt. Damarco plays so much bigger than he is, and boy we are fast when we have two guys out there like that. We don’t lose much because of lack of height.”
Oregon State shot only .328 from 3-point territory last season. Pope fired at a .371 clip while Bilodeau was at .345. Lake’s percentage was .381 but he got off only 21 attempts, making 8. Nobody else with more than 11 tries shot better than .325 from distance.
“We have addressed our need for perimeter shooting with Nate, Sy, Damarco, Josiah and Ja’Quavis,” Tinkle says. “With Marsh and Fallah doing things inside, it will free up our shooters.”
Tinkle believes this will be his most high-octane offensive team since the Beavers’ Elite Eight team of 2021.
“We wanted to run the last couple of years, but defensively we weren’t very good, and we didn’t rebound,” he says. “Now we can pressure more, create some more turnovers, and our forwards can rebound and push, which gets you out into transition. The other thing is, when you don’t have great depth it is hard to play at frenetic pace for 40 minutes. Our increased depth will allow us to play at the speed we feel is most competitive.”
At first glance, Oregon State’s non-conference schedule looks easy, especially with so many home encounters. That may not be the case. The Beavers’ NET ranking a year ago was 165 (up from 288 the previous season) among the nation’s 362 Division I programs. Of the first 11 opponents this season, five — Oregon (23-11, 59), Cal Irvine (23-9, 77), North Texas (16-14, 79), Charleston (26-7, 97) and Weber State (17-12, 154) — had a better NET ranking. Cal Davis (18-13, 168), Cal State Fullerton (14-18, 235), Utah Tech (10-20, 285), Sacramento State (8-24, 317), Idaho (9-21, 321) were ranked lower. Division II Western Oregon is the other foe this season.
“We are going to get some good tests early,” Tinkle says.
The biggest challenge should come with a Nov. 21 date against Oregon at Gill Coliseum. How did Tinkle get the Ducks to come to Corvallis?
“Dana (Altman, Oregon’s coach) and I talked about it,” Tinkle says “He didn’t have a true road game on his (preseason) schedule; he thought it made sense.”
Actually Oregon has one — at former Pac-12 foe Stanford — to go with six non-conference games in Eugene and three games in a tournament in Las Vegas before it is on to the meat of Big Ten action.
The WCC is loaded at the top, with Saint Mary’s (NET ranking 16 in 2023-24), Gonzaga (17), Washington State (44) and San Francisco (66) all advancing to postseason play last season. Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga, USF and Santa Clara (104) all repped the WCC with 20-win seasons. The bottom half wasn’t as strong — Loyola Marymount (199), San Diego (254), Pepperdine (226), Portland (295) and Pacific (359).
The Beavers will play home-and-away series with all WCC opponents this season except against Washington State, whom they will play at Gill, and Loyola Marymount, whom they will face on the road.
“The WCC is a really good basketball conference,” Tinkle says.”Not only have Gonzaga and Saint Mary performed well the last couple of decades, they have done a nice job strengthening the middle of the league. It is a good spot for us to be the next couple of years until we get to rebuild the Pac-12.”
Tinkle knows Oregon State is likely to be picked to finish sixth or seventh in the WCC race. He hopes the Beavers become one of the loop’s surprise teams.
“We feel like we should be competing for a championship and getting to the postseason,” he says. “We have a lot of new pieces, so it is going to take some time to gel. We have a long way to go to get there, but we are excited that this team is going to do some good things.”
My guess is a middle-of-the-pack finish in the WCC and about a .500 overall record for the Beavers. A winning record both overall and in league play would be a good goal and would signal improvement for a coaching staff that hopes its roster isn’t fodder for the transfer portal again after this season.
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