On Aldridge’s retirement, the Trail Blazers’ lot in life, Tinkle’s contract, OSU women’s hoops, Transfer portal, Duck and Beaver baseball and other things on my mind …

LaMarcus Aldridge lets fly one of his patented jumpers. There were few mid-range shooters as accurate as LA through his career. (Courtesy of Portland Trail Blazers)

Updated 4/20/2021 10:30 AM

Some (relatively) quick hitters about subjects on my mind in the sporting world …

• Item: LaMarcus Aldridge retires after 15 NBA seasons after experiencing a heart irregularity.

• Comment: Aldridge had played five games with Brooklyn after a buyout by San Antonio and signing as a free agent with the Nets. He had played well, starting and scoring 22 points in 23 minutes in a blowout win over New Orleans.

But after experiencing an irregular heartbeat during the Nets’ game against the Lakers last Saturday and some complications the following day, Aldridge chose to call it a career.

Aldridge had a history of heart irregularities. During his rookie season with the Trail Blazers in 2006-07, he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, underwent an ablation procedure and missed nine games. Four years later, there was a recurrence during training camp. In 2017, Aldridge was sidelined for two games with heart arrhythmia while with the Spurs. He was playing with house money for some time, and it was time to cash out.

Aldridge played his first nine seasons with Portland, earning All-Star recognition four times. Three times, he was named to the All-NBA second or third team. He is the franchise’s career rebound leader and No. 3 in scoring behind Clyde Drexler and Damian Lillard.

Aldridge’s best season was 2013-14, when he averaged 23.2 points and 11.1 rebounds in the regular season. We remember Damian Lillard’s series-winning 3-pointer in Game 6 against Houston; what we forget is Aldridge scoring 46 and 43 in the first two games of the series, the first the Blazers had won in 14 years. He averaged 29.8 in the Rockets series and 26.2 in 11 playoffs games that year.

Aldridge and running mate Brandon Roy enjoy a moment together on the Blazer bench. (Courtesy of Portland Trail Blazers)

Aldridge is important in Blazer history for another reason. He and Brandon Roy ushered in a new era after the Jail Blazers’ travesty of the late 1990s and early 2000s. They were good citizens the community could be proud of on and off the court.

I believe Aldridge ranks fourth on the list of greatest all-time Blazers, behind only Drexler, Lillard and Bill Walton. Walton is a hard one to categorize because of his abbreviated career with the club — 209 games over four regular seasons. His star rose the highest of all, of course, leading Portland to the 1977 NBA championship, then earning the league’s MVP honors the following season before injuries struck him down.

• Item: The Trail Blazers have lost five of seven games since reaching their high-water mark of 29-18 after a 4-0 road trip against mostly patsies. Is there reason for concern moving forward?

• Comment: Yes and no.

Yes in their inability to beat the better opponents, not a good sign in that’s what they’ll face in the postseason. They’re 1-8 this season against the five top teams in the Western Conference — Utah, Phoenix, the Clippers, Denver and the Lakers — and have lost seven straight since a win over the Lakers back on Dec. 28.

Portland, 31-23 after Tuesday’s home setback to Boston, is 9-16 against teams with winning records — losing the last five — and 22-7 against teams currently at .500 or better. With 18 games left on the regular-season slate beginning Friday at San Antonio, the Blazers face 15 games against teams with winning marks.

The Blazers, however, aren’t the only playoff team in the West with concerns. The Lakers must keep their heads above water for at least another two to three weeks without injured superstars LeBron James, though Anthony Davis is expected to return to action next week. Denver point guard Jamal Murray is out for the season with an ACL knee injury, putting the Nuggets’ postseason hopes in peril.

Portland’s defense is what it is — lousy. The Blazers are a solid next-to-last among NBA teams in defensive rating, ahead of only Sacramento. The only other team with a winning record among the bottom 10 is Brooklyn at No. 25. The best teams in the West — the Lakers, Utah, Phoenix and the Clippers — are in the top 10.

The Blazers’ strengths and weaknesses won’t change appreciably as the season plays out. They’ll have to outscore the opposition behind the firepower of their three-guard lineup featuring Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Norman Powell.

Enes Kanter has given the Blazers about all he can in the middle. Jusuf Nurkic is the X-factor. Can he get back to his “Bosnian Beast” form of 2019 or will he continue to be in and out like a strobe light? He has shown signs of the old Nurk. If he can rekindle that on a more regular basis, the Blazers could make a late-season run at one of the top four spots in the West and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The minimum goal is to at least remain in the top six in the conference and avoid the “play-in” games between those who finish from seventh to 10th.

The remaining schedule isn’t as difficult as it might seem. There are three games left with middling Memphis, two games with the Spurs, who don’t seem all that anxious to be in the postseason, and a pair against the Nuggets, who simply aren’t what they were without Murray. Go 6-3 or 7-2 in those nine games, win the three games against remaining opponents with losing records (Indiana, Cleveland, Houston), win at least a couple of games against the contenders and the record will be good enough for a top-four finish.

• Item: Oregon State gives Wayne Tinkle a three-year contract extension.

Comment: Together with the two years remaining on his previous contract and the rollover year he earned by making the NCAA Tournament, Tinkle’s deal now runs through 2026-27. Including deferred compensation, the Beaver basketball coach will make more than $17.2 million, not including any bonuses, over the duration.

That’s a lot of moolah for a coach with a record just above .500 (113-109) overall and considerably under that in Pac-12 play (52-76) through his seven years in Corvallis.

What the Beavers did to finish the 2020-21 campaign was epic. There’s no bigger fan of Tinkle than me. He’s a quality coach and an even better person — the kind I’d want a son to play for.

Tinkle gave up $450,000 in bonus money and also seven percent of his salary this year as part of the agreement by all OSU coaches to “donate” funds back to the department due to COVID-19 relief.

But this is an athletic department that is considerably under water, even with the impressive display of fund-raising done to get Reser Stadium completed. Couple the $40-million deficit Oregon State began the past academic year with the $35 million in revenue shortfall projected for this academic year and you’re at minus $75 million for the overall program.

Let’s not forget that late in the regular season, with the Beavers languishing at 11-11, there was a sizable portion of their fan base calling for Tinkle’s scalp. Take away a missed UCLA free throw near the end of their Pac-12 Tournament opener and none of the ensuing magic would have happened. I don’t believe Tinkle was in danger of being fired after the season, but there certainly wouldn’t have been an extension, and a hot seat would have been prepared for the following season.

I believe Tinkle, 55, and his wife Lisa are happy in Corvallis. I don’t think Oregon State was in danger of losing him to another school. Another year’s extension — taking him through 2024-25 — and perhaps a small salary increase would have been sufficient reward for a job well done. In the interest of fiscal responsibility, that would have made more sense to me than three more seasons, the last one at about $3 million.

For perspective: Tinkle’s scheduled salary this past season ($2.27 million) ranked eighth among Pac-12 coaches but was in the ballpark with all except Utah’s Larry Krystowiak ($3.96 million), UCLA’s Mick Cronin ($3.6 million), Oregon’s Dana Altman ($3.33 million) and Southern Cal’s Andy Enfield ($3.13 million).

• Item: Oregon State women’s basketball loses a pair of key players to the transfer portal: guards Sasha Goforth (Arkansas) and Savannah Samuel (West Virginia). But the Beavers add a pair of backcourt players: Téa Adams, a grad transfer from San Diego State and AJ Marotte, a four-star prep senior out of Cedar Park, Texas.

• Comment: The 5-9 Adams was a three-year starter for the Aztecs, averaging 10.7 points and 3.4 assists while shooting .444 from the field and .366 from 3-point range this past season.

The 6-foot Marotte averaged 17.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals as a senior at Vista Ridge High.

Goforth and Samuel are big losses. Goforth started all 20 games this season, ranking third on the Beavers in scoring (11.6) while shooting .418 from the field and .358 from the 3-point line. She is an excellent defender and appeared to have potential for plenty of growth.

I considered Samuel an excellent prospect for the future. She played sparingly this season, averaging 3.4 points while playing 11.5 minutes per game and shooting only .328 from the field (3-21 on 3-point attempts). But she is a good athlete and already a solid defender with what looks like a big upside. I’d liked to have seen her get more playing time this season; now she is off to display her talents with a West Virginia team that went 22-7 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last month.

Ellie Mack courtesy of Oregon State sports communications

Coach Scott Rueck got word this week that forward Ellie Mack, the transfer from Bucknell who started every game for Oregon State this past season, will return for the 2021-22 campaign. That was good news.

The Beavers were down to seven scholarship players — Mack, Taya Corosdale, Jelena Mitrovic, Talia von Oelfhoffen, Jovana Subasic, Kennedy Brown and Taylor Jones — before the addition of the two recruits. Subasic, a grad transfer from Washington State, scored 19 points in 10 appearances this season and hasn’t said whether she intends to return.

Of the returnees, only Mack and von Oelfhoffen are guards. Expect Oregon State to add at least three more players before next season.

Rueck is looking for another staff member, incidentally. Brian Holsinger, a well-respected assistant coach who had spent the last five years at OSU, has been hired as head coach at Montana.

i’m not sure what kind of WNBA career is in store for Aleah Goodman, chosen Wednesday in the third round — with the 30th pick overall by the Connecticut Sun.

But I know this: Every team can use 3-point shooters. There are few better than the former Oregon State standout, who ranked second nationally in percentage from beyond the arc at .489. Also, when my life is on the line, that’s exactly where I want Goodman, who shot .850 from the charity stripe this season.

• Item: The NCAA Division I Council approved Wednesday a rule that allows for all NCAA athletes to transfer once with immediate eligibility at their new institution.

• Comment: The transfer portal has changed college athletics in general — and recruiting specifically — in a big way. There were 700 transfers in men’s basketball last season and will be more this year.

The new rule makes it even easier for athletes to choose to leave a program. Before, only a grad transfer could gain immediate eligibility. Now it’s anyone.

I understand the thinking of giving more freedom of choice to athletes in regards to their future. If a coach leaves or is fired, I’m all for giving athletes the option to transfer. What I don’t like about the rules now is they give an advantage to the richer (and more prestigious) programs to cherry pick from the lesser schools. I think it will encourage more cheating (third-party recruiting, illegal benefits, etc.).

It would suck to be a coach who puts two to three years in developing an athlete, only to see him/her leave for greener pastures (see: Cal’s Matt Bradley, headed for San Diego State; Utah’s Timmy Allen, on his way to Texas; Toledo’s Marreon Jackson, bound for Arizona State). We’ve seen enough of that in the past. We’re going to see more in the future. I’m not of the mind that’s a good thing.

• Item: Arizona hires long-time Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd to replace Sean Miller as its basketball coach.

Long-time Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd is Arizona’s new head basketball coach

Comment: Lloyd, 46, has been an assistant on Mark Few’s staff for 20 years. He is reputed to be an outstanding recruiter, and many believe he’ll be an excellent head coach. He will have the resources to get things done with the Wildcats.

I’m a little surprised the job didn’t go to Damon Stoudamire, who has done a nice job turning things around in his five seasons at Pacific. In 2019-20, the Tigers were 23-10 and the former Wilson High star was named WCC Coach of the Year. Pacific had a terrible time this season with COVID-19, finishing 9-9 due to a slew of cancelled contests.

Stoudamire in considered one of the greatest Wildcat players ever. He’d have been a minority hire — and the only black head coach in the Pac-12.

Among other able names of candidates thrown out there: Miles Simon, Bryce Drew and Josh Pastner. Also, Eric Musselman, who took Arkansas to a 25-7 record and the Elite Eight this season. I’ve known Muss since his late father, Bill, was an assistant coach with the Trail Blazers under Mike Dunleavy in the late 1990s. Loved his dad. Respect Eric, who has won at least 20 games six seasons in a row at Nevada and Arkansas and was twice an NBA head coach — with the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.

• Item: Oregon sweeps three Pac-12 baseball games from Oregon State, making it five of six over the Beavers this season.

In his second year at the UO helm, Don Wasikowski has the Ducks off to a 20-7 start. (Photo courtesy of GoDucks.com/Deborah Mundorff)

Comment: Let’s give credit where it’s due. Second-year coach Mark Wasikowski has Oregon headed in the right direction. The Ducks have excellent pitching, sturdy defense and timely hitting, enough to get them off to a 20-7 start.

Wasikowski’s predecessor, George Horton, had teams that featured plenty of pitching but far too little prowess at the plate. This year’s Ducks have some pop, with sophomore right-fielder Aaron Zavala (second in the Pac-12 in hitting at .435), junior designated hitter Kenyon Yovan (third in the conference with eight home runs) and senior first baseman Gabe Matthews (Oregon’s career leader in doubles).

Sophomore right-fielder Aaron Zavala ranks second in the Pac-12 with a .435 batting average. (Photo courtesy of GoDucks.com/Deborah Mundorff)

Horton rarely recruited players from the state of Oregon, going mostly for Californians. Wasikowski has had much success already in the state, with such talent as Zavala and Matthews (both South Salem), junior pitcher Rolbert Ahlstrom (North Eugene) and junior closer Kolby Somers (Century).

The Ducks remind me of some of Pat Casey’s teams at OSU, playing small ball, bunting and manufacturing runs. They scored two runs on one squeeze play in one game against the Beavers. They twice scored three runs in the eighth inning in close victories. Their pitchers struck out 32 Beavers in the three-game series.

Oregon State, meanwhile, played sloppy at times and timid at others. The Beavers have a solid, deep pitching core, but they issued 15 walks, five hit-by-pitch and seven wild pitches in the three Civil War games at Eugene.

The Beavers had chances to win all three but couldn’t take advantage of opportunities. On Sunday, misfortune played a part, too. They seemed on the way to victory in the seventh as they tallied three runs for a 4-1 lead, and appeared bound for more. With runners on second and third and one out, pinch-hitter Brady Kasper struck out, but the ball got by Oregon catcher Jack Scanlon and Kasper got to first, the runner scoring from third for an apparent 5-1 advantage.

But after an umpire’s conference, Kasper was called out — the ball glanced off his foot after he swung and missed, forcing a dead ball — and the runner was ordered back to third. OSU got no more runs in the inning, the Ducks scored three in the eighth and it went to extra innings.

In the 11th, the Beavers seemed poised to regain the lead when Micah McDowell, on third base, broke for home on a wild pitch.

Aaron Zavala greets junior designated hitter Kenyon Yovan after one of his eight home runs. (Photo courtesy of GoDucks.com/Deborah Mundorff)

The ball bounced perfectly back to Scanlon, however, and his throw to pitcher Decker Stedman cut down McDowell at the plate.

The Ducks scored the winning run in their half of the inning after Tristan Hanoian reached base on a two-out drag-bunt single. Two batters later, shortstop Andy Armstrong — arguably Oregon State’s most sure-handed defender — bobbled a ground ball, allowing the 5-7  Hanoian to score from third base.

There is plenty of baseball yet to be played, and Oregon (6-3) and Oregon State (7-5) are both still in the running to win a very tight Pac-12 race. The Ducks gathered momentum in the Civil War series, however, while the Beavers put themselves in a difficult situation with Pac-12 series against California, UCLA, Southern Cal, Arizona State, Arizona and Stanford yet to play.

• Item: Most of the NBA mock drafts have Oregon’s Chris Duarte going in the late first round, Oregon State’s Ethan Thompson going unselected.

• Comment: Neither player has declared for the draft, but I expect both will be playing professionally next season. My guess is, Duarte will be in the NBA; Thompson will be in Europe.

A conversation with one NBA scout confirms it:

“Thompson has been a really nice college player. He had a great run in the (Pac-12 and NCAA) tournaments. He’s not super quick, not a big-time shooter, average-at-best defender. I like Duarte’s chances better. He does a lot of things well. He has length, shoots and defends, can get to the basket. I’m not saying he’ll be a star in the NBA, but he’ll have a career, and he could develop into a starter.”

Readers: what are your thoughts? I would love to hear them in the comments below.

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