Lots to like among the collection of Oregon State Rooks
Wayne Tinkle’s roller-coaster ride over the past three years with Oregon State basketball has been a Goliath/Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, Calif.)
After back-to-back 18-13 seasons, Tinkle’s 2020-21 Beavers caught fire in late season, winning the Pac-12 postseason championship and riding the wave to the Elite Eight.
The next season, after losing bell cow Ethan Thompson to graduation, the Beavers stumbled to a 3-28 record, worst in the program’s 120-year history.
What happened?
Tinkle brought in four JC transfers, none of whom really worked out. Forward Warith Alateshe, who had been outstanding in Oregon State’s post-season run in ’21, had knee issues, shot .396 from the foul line and had a decidedly lousy season. Morale was low. Camadarie was nearly nonexistent.
In the offseason, Tinkle made big changes, letting go assistant coaches Kerry Rupp and Stephen Thompson (who is now assistant athletic director/player development) while hiring Eric Reveno and Tim Shelton to join holdover Marlon Stewart on the staff.
The new staff went to work, recruiting six true freshman and redshirt freshman Justin Rochelin. Adding two walk-ons, Oregon State has an NCAA Division-I high nine rookies on its roster.
The first-year class has made a big impact for this year’s Beavers, 7-11 overall and 1-6 in Pac-12 action heading into Thursday’s visit to Stanford (5-12, 0-7).
“We made the commitment to go to a young group to get our culture back by adding character and toughness,” says Tinkle, in his ninth season as OSU’s head coach. “We knew it would take time.”
Not so for point guard Jordan Pope, who has started since opening night. He leads Oregon State in scoring (12.2 points per game) and assists (2.7), shooting .432 from the field, .388 from the 3-point strip and .841 from the free throw line.
Michael Rataj and Tyler Bilodeau, both 6-9, 220-pound forwards, have moved into the starting lineup. Rataj averages 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds, shooting .522 from the field and a team-best .500 from 3-point range. He would lead the Pac-12 in the latter category with enough attempts to qualify. Bilodeau averages 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds, shooting .453 from the field, .304 from beyond the arc and .793 from the foul line.
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Point guard Jordan Pope, the leading scorer among freshman in the Pac-12, is a candidate for the conference’s Freshman of the Year Award (courtesy OSU sports communications)
The 6-2, 170-pound Pope, is a native of Oakley, Calif., located in the Bay Area an hour and a half east of Oakland. He chose Oregon State over offers from Nevada, San Francisco and Wichita State.
“Playing in the Pac-12 has always been a dream of mine,” Pope says. “Coach Tinkle provided me with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was the best fit for both parties. I feel like it’s working out pretty well for me. I wasn’t too sure if I’d start, but I knew I’d be given a chance to prove myself and work for it. The work is paying off.”
Pope is among the Pac-12 leaders in many categories, including free throw percentage (fourth), minutes played (32.3, fifth), 3-point percentage (11th) and scoring (17th). Leading the Beavers in minutes “is a dream come true for any freshman,” he says.
Truth be told, Tinkle wishes it weren’t the case. He would rather have an experienced junior or senior share time at the point.
“Had we had more depth, it would have gotten him to where we want him to be a little quicker,” the veteran Beaver coach says. “Iron sharpens iron. Jordan is very coachable, but without guys being at his heels for playing time, the urgency didn’t come as quick. You improve a little more when you have guys pushing you in practice every day.”
Pope has slipped a bit in scoring since the Pac-12 season got underway. He has scored in double figures twice in the last seven games and is averaging 8.7 points on .349 shooting in conference games.
“When you have a couple of good games, opposing teams are going to start noticing and keying on you,” Pope says. “When they know you’re a skilled player who can shoot and score, it happens. Teams are making it harder for me, being more physical. Just another challenge I have to accept.”
Don’t get the wrong idea. Tinkle is thrilled to have Pope in his lineup.
“We’ve really liked his progress,” the OSU coach says. “He has been locked in. He is a great 3-point shooter. He is going to continue to work on his playmaking abilities, but he is a competitor, and an unbelievable kid with great character.”
Pope is short for a shooting guard, but he might get some time there.
“Jordan can play off the ball, too,” Tinkle says. “(Sophomore transfer) Christian Wright is a true pass-first point guard, a guy who can get the ball up the floor. As he gets more healthy, we can use them together in the backcourt.
“As Jordan’s confidence grows, he will become more of a team leader. Moving our program forward, we have the right guy with the ball in his hands.”
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Forward Michael Rataj is shooting .522 from the field and .500 from 3-point range (courtesy OSU sports communications)
Michael Rataj (pronounced “Raw-TIE”) was born in Germany. No, his father was not a military man.
“My dad went to Germany to visit some friends,” Rataj says. “He met my mother, they fell in love, and that’s the story.”
As a youth, Rataj loved track and field. As he grew, basketball came more into the picture.
“My mom liked basketball,” he says. “She was a big fan of Dennis Rodman when the Bulls were really good. When I got good in basketball, I dropped track and field.”
Rataj played on the German U15, U16 and U18 national squads.
“I played well for our national team, and some (U.S.) schools reached out, and one of them was Oregon State,” he says.
Stewart was the point man in the recruiting.
“The relationship I had with Coach Marlon was really good,” Rataj says. “I had never been to the United States before. After I got to visit the campus last November, I was sold.”
Rataj played little early this season, but he impressed Tinkle with his work ethic at the defensive end.
“Michael can shoot it, but he might be our best perimeter defender,” Tinkle says.
Perimeter? At 6-9?
“He keeps the ball in front of him,” the OSU coach says. “If the guy he is guarding gets an angle, he is hard to finish a play over. Michael plays his tail off. He had a lot of turnovers in Germany making poor decisions off the dribble, but he is getting better. And yes, he can really shoot.”
Rataj has started 10 of the last 11 games and has never been better than last weekend’s games against Arizona and Arizona State, totaling 35 points on 11-for-19 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. He came off the bench for 18 points in 26 minutes against the Wildcats and also had nine rebounds and five assists for the two games.
“I think I’ve done a good job in practice working hard and preparing to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Rataj says. “Since I practice good, the coach is giving me more chances.”
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Tyler Bilodeau (10) has earned a starting spot as a freshman (courtesy OSU sports communications)
Tyler Bilodeau was a big deal at Kamiakin High in Kennewick, leading the Braves to a fourth-place finish in the 2022 Class 4A Washington State Championships. Bilodeau, who averaged 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds as a senior, was named Washington Gatorade Player of the Year.
Had he not gotten so tall, however, he might have turned to hockey. His father, Brent, was the 17th pick in 1991 NHL draft and played a dozen years of professional and semi-pro hockey. Mama Cass played in the now-defunct ABL and WNBA — and by the way, stands as the ABL career free-throw shooting record-holder (.875).
Remarkably, Tyler played club hockey through his junior year of high school.
“By the time I was a junior, I had gotten taller and stronger and was thinking basketball was probably the best option for me,” Bilodeau says.
He picked Oregon State over offers from Washington State and Boise State.
“It was better for me all-around,” Bilodeau says. “I liked the coaching staff. I like the way they coach, the things they believe in. Corvallis felt like home to me.
“And I have to say, it has been a blast. It has been awesome. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Did Bilodeau expect to become a starter as a freshman?
“I wasn’t sure,” he says. “I was confident in my abilities, but you never know. I’m trying to find my way in things and to be more confident. The game is finally slowing down for me. It has been better the last few games.”
Over his last five games, Bilodeau has averaged 10.6 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting .450 from the field. He scored 18 points against Arizona and had 12 rebounds against Colorado.
“Tyler is a warrior,” Tinkle says. “We knew he was a guy who could contribute right away because of his skill level and his toughness. He knows when he adds 15 pounds and gets stronger, he will be able to absorb some of that.
“But I’m proud of him. You throw him into the fire, he gets it done. He is still learning, but his progress the last month has really impressed us. Having Tyler and Michael at the forward spots is exciting for us.”
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I asked the Three Freshmen a few of the same questions.
How do you like the coaching staff?
Pope: “They are amazing. I jell with every single one of them. Since Day One, they have been genuine. They only want the best for us. That’s a good relationship to be able to have with your coaches.”
Rataj: “It’s been hard, but it’s been good. They are fair. They know a lot.”
Bilodeau: “Great. I’ve learned a lot. We are getting a lot accomplished.”
How do you like your teammates?
Pope: “We’re a little inexperienced right now, but the more time we play with each other, the more games we get under our belt, the brighter the future will be for this group. I see a lot of potential.”
Rataj: “Our team chemistry is amazing. It’s the best team I’ve been around. Everybody was nice to me coming in as a foreign player. The freshmen, we all live together. Off the court, if we do something, there is always a group of five or six guys. It is really good.”
Bilodeau: “We have a really good chemistry. We all get along. We’re laughing all the time. We’re pulling for each other. I like my teammates. We’re all close. We definitely see good things to come in our future.”
How do you like Corvallis so far?
Pope: “The city is amazing. The people are welcoming. I like the environment. It’s a cool atmosphere to be a part of.”
Rataj: “I like small cities, so I like Corvallis. I like the area. Before I committed, Coach Marlon showed me the campus on a Zoom call. I like the nature part about it, the mountains, the forests, the clean air. The food is good, the people are nice, everything is good here.”
Bilodeau: “I’m from a small town, so it’s perfect for me. And not too far from home.”
I asked about goals for the rest of the season. Each had basically the same answer.
Pope: “I want to finish strong, win some games, make a strong push when the Pac-12 Tournament arrives, see what we can do there. Hopefully we can make our way into the NCAA Tournament and whatever else comes with it.”
Rataj: “To win more games. We are developing good habits. We just have to bring it together for 40 minutes and we will start winning games.”
Bilodeau: “Just winning. We are not where we want to be, but I think we can turn things around.”
All three said offseason goals feature gaining weight and getting stronger.
Pope: “My goal was to get to 175 this season, and I got close. That’s the goal for the offseason.”
Rataj: “There are some big, strong players in our league. Got to work on my frame; got to get bigger.”
Bilodeau: “I need to able to go inside and out and score, facilitate at all three levels (at the hoop, mid-range, 3 pointers). To go inside, I need to get stronger this offseason. It will be one of my big focuses.”
I intended to ask them all about the elephant in the closet of every D-1 basketball program — the transfer portal. But after I asked Rataj if he is concerned about members of Oregon State’s freshman class leaving after this season, I decided not to ask the other two. I think I’d have gotten a similar response.
“Absolutely not,” Rataj says. ‘I’m not worried about us losing anybody. Everybody is buying into this program. Everybody believes in Coach Tinkle and the assistant coaches. Everybody wants to change it this year and in the upcoming years. I feel like we should’ve more wins this season, but we are developing. That is going to change soon.”
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Tinkle had an additional comment when we were through.
“The other day, (broadcaster) Mike Parker asked me a good question, if we’re using this season to build for the future,” Tinkle says. “Well, we think we can win this year. If we can get some of our veterans getting it going better like the young guys, we feel like we have what it takes to make a push, turn some of these competitive losses into wins for us and get it going down the stretch.”
Though admirable, Pope’s NCAA Tournament goal is extremely unlikely. They would probably have to go 11-2 in their final 13 games — seven of them at home — and maybe win one or two Pac-12 Tournament games to get the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s attention. Or they could do it as they did so perfectly two years ago — win the tournament and get the automatic bid.
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OTHER NOTES: This week’s games are critical to any “turnaround” for the Beavers, who have lost five straight overall and six league games in a row. Stanford is winless in Pac-12 action, though there have been close losses to Arizona State (68-64), Colorado (73-70), Utah (76-71) and Washington State (60-59). … Oregon State hasn’t won a road game since beating Stanford 73-62 in February 2021. … OSU plays at California on Sunday. The Bears started the season 0-12 but have since won three of seven, beating Colorado and Stanford at home. … Jordan Pope is the leading freshman scorer in the Pac-12. Could he claim the conference’s Freshman of the Year Award? He would have to have a strong second half, and would probably need the Beavers to show improvement in the standings. … Oregon State will be shorthanded Thursday, with bigs Chol Marial (foot) and Rodrique (knee) out and guards Wright and Rochelin considered questionable.
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