Tinkle begins work with ‘deep roster’ as Oregon State basketball prepares for 2021-22 campaign
Junior forward Warith Alatatishe returns after earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the 2021 Pac-12 post-season tournament. (Courtesy Karl Maasdam/Oregon State athletics)
Once a college athletic program climbs a mountain, the trek doesn’t end. In some cases, it is only getting started.
That’s what Wayne Tinkle hopes is happening with Oregon State basketball.
Tinkle, soon to begin his eighth season at the OSU helm, will be coming in off the glow of a remarkable late-season run that saw the Beavers reach the Elite Eight in March.
After starting the regular season 11-10, Oregon State reeled off nine victories in 11 games — including three straight to rule the Pac-12 post-season tournament and subsequent wins over Tennessee, Oklahoma State and Loyola Chicago in the NCAA Tournament — before finally being eliminated 67-61 by Houston a step from the Final Four.
The Beavers, who claimed the first Pac-12 Tournament title in program history, became the second No. 12 seed ever to reach the Elite Eight in their first trip there since 1982. They finished the season ranked 20th in the final Coaches’ Poll, the first time they have been ranked in any poll since March 1990, when they were No. 22 in the Associated Press rankings. At 20-13, it marked the second time since 1990 the Beavers have reached 20 wins.
I would guess, too, that Oregon State became one of the few teams — maybe the only one — to go .500 (10-10) in league play and make it to the Elite Eight.
“It was incredible,” Tinkle told me as he drove to Sacramento this week to watch his son Tres play for the Los Angeles Lakers in a summer-league game. “To have it end on a run like that is validation for our staff and the effort our kids put in to get things done. It was the payoff for the way we do things, the way we run our program. We didn’t sway from it at all. It led to one hell of a season, some things that haven’t been done for decades at Oregon State. It makes us very proud.”
Had the National Coach of the Year Award been voted on following the NCAA Tournament, Tinkle would have been a strong candidate. He was rewarded by athletic director Scott Barnes with a three-year contract extension that calls for him to make $17.2 million over the next six years.
“It’s great the support we’ve gotten from the administration,” says Tinkle, 55, who has had only one losing season at OSU but has made the NCAA Tournament only twice. “It gives you the security to keep grinding to keep things going.
“The nice thing is, we’ve taken the program from where we were competitive, to being consistent at winning, to where we’re shooting for goals to win the Pac-12 regular-season championship as well as the (Pac-12 post-season) tournament. Hopefully, we can make runs at that every year now. We’re excited for the challenge.”
The entire group of 2021-22 Beavers has been working out together in Corvallis since the third week with the exception of JC guard DaShawn Davis, who is completing summer school credits and is expected to be on hand by Aug. 20. OSU’s coaching staff is allowed to work with the group for four hours a week for as many as eight weeks in the summer. The Beavers will convene for the official start of fall practice in mid-September as they prepare for the start of the upcoming campaign in November.
Tinkle’s staff of assistant coaches — Kerry Rupp, Stevie Thompson Sr. and Marlon Stewart — returns along with much of the nucleus of the 2020-21 player roster. Gone are senior starters Ethan Thompson and Zach Reichle along with three undergrad substitutes who have transferred — Julien Franklin (Cal Poly), Dearon Tucker (Indiana State) and Tariq Silver (Austin Peay).
Oregon State returns seven lettermen — including three starters and three key reserves — and brings in a group of seven letter-of-intent signees for the 2021-22 campaign.
Guard Jarod Lucas, forward Warith Alatishe and center Roman Silva (who doesn’t count against the NCAA’s 13-scholarship limit because he is considered a “super senior”) are returning starters, while guard Gianni Hunt and forwards Rodrique Andela and Maurice Calloo were important members of the regular rotation last season. Fall camp will likely open with Lucas and Hunt in the backcourt and Alatishe, Andela and Silva in the frontcourt as a starting unit, with Calloo as sixth man.
Senior center Roman Silva looks to build on a promising end to last season in his final collegiate campaign as a Beaver. (Courtesy Karl Maasdam/Oregon State athletics)
“With their experience, if we had to pick a (starting) five, it would look that way,” Tinkle says. “But we have some impressive new guys coming in, too, who are going to get their chance to show what they can do. The good thing is, we’ll have a very deep roster. The big thing will be getting them to jell.”
Lucas, who was chosen to the Pac-12 All-Tournament team, led the Pac-12 in free-throw percentage (.896) and 3-pointers made (77) and set the school single-season record in the former category. Hunt, who played starter minutes toward the end of the season, was the Beavers’ most pure point guard and their quickest player to the basket.
“They both had great springs, are having really good summers and have shown great maturity,” Tinkle says. “We hope those two guys will be big leaders for us next season.”
The 6-7, 210-pound Alatishe, selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the Pac-12 Tournament, led the league in offensive rebounds per game (3.2) and finished second in total rebounds (8.6), fourth in blocked shots (1.4) and 11th in field-goal-percentage (.509). In the spring, Alatishe had a tryout with the Nigerian national team.
“Warith ended the season really strong for us,” Tinkle says. “He knows what he needs to work on — ballhandling, shooting from distance. If he’ll put the time in these next few months, we expect him to have a big year.”
The 6-8, 250-pound Andela showed his potential during the Pac-12 Tournament after seeing inconsistent minutes through the regular season. In the summer, he had a tryout with the Cameroon national team.
Junior forward Rodrique Andela fits heavily into Coach Wayne Tinkle’s plans at the power forward spot for the 2021-22 season. (Courtesy Karl Maasdam/Oregon State athletics)
“We love him,” Tinkle says. “He’s a physical presence who was a great rebounder in spurts for us. He is going to give you everything he’s got. He needs to work on his ball skills — handling, passing. He has a decent touch when he has room. We’d like to get him where he is comfortable shooting that 15-16 footer and we need to get him focused on rebounding at both ends.”
The 6-10, 220-pound Calloo had some big moments in the postseason, notably against Colorado in the Pac-12 Championship Game and vs. Oklahoma State and Houston in the NCAA Tournament.
“His whole thing is, he has to be able to defend and rebound his position,” Tinkle says. “Now that he’s been with us more than a year, he understands the importance of being able to defend. He knows we’ll be a better team the more he plays.”
The 7-1 Silva — whom Tinkle says has slimmed down 20 pounds to 245 — came on down the stretch of last season, capped by his 16 points (on 8-for-8 shooting) with four rebounds and three blocks against Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament opener.
“Look how far he has come in the two years with us,” Tinkle says. “As a junior, he couldn’t play. He had to play in short spurts because of his (lack of) conditioning. Late last season, he was the one guy we could throw it to in the post and get something good out of it. He is working hard and having a really good summer.”
Redshirt freshman Isaiah Johnson, a 6-6 small forward, played only 98 minutes as the Beavers’ only freshman last season.
“We knew we’d need some time for Isaiah to develop,” Tinkle says. “He is athletic, he is strong, he’ll make some plays for you defensively because of hustle and awareness. He has to work on ballhandling and consistency in shooting. He has a bright future if he can hang in there with us.”
Of Oregon State’s seven newcomers, six transfer in from the college ranks. Only 6-6 small forward Glenn Johnson — a Las Vegas native who was a senior at Arizona Compass Prep last season — is out of high school.
“It’s reflective of the time we’re in,” Tinkle says. “There is a real concern about high school players being patient and trusting the process. Do you risk signing a big high school class, and if three or four aren’t happy after their freshman year, they leave? Or do you wait until they go somewhere else? It’s the time we’re in. We want to have good balance and build from the freshman class up, but it’s difficult.”
The incoming class includes four guards, a swing man, a power forward and a center.
“We needed depth and maturity in the backcourt,” Tinkle says. “That’s why we went the transfer route. We feel like we got guys who, once they figure things out in our system, can be impact players for us right away.
With the new guys coming in, this could be as good as we’ve been defensively on the perimeter.”
The most decorated signee is Davis, a 6-3, 180-pound junior transfer from Trinity Valley in Athens, Texas. Davis was second in the national junior college ranks in assists per game (9.6), seventh in steals (2.8) and ninth in scoring (17.7) while shooting .480 from the field and .417 from 3-point range for a team that went 23-3 and ended the season ranked No. 8. He made the NJCAA’s 10-man first-team All-America squad; one service ranked him as the No. 1 Juco shooting guard in the country.
“He is a dual threat (offensively and defensively) and a physical 6-3,” Tinkle says. “We haven’t had that since (Gary Payton II). DaShawn can explode and score and he is an unbelievable passer who can play on or off the ball.”
Xzavier Malone-Key — destined to have his name misspelled more than any player in the country — is a 6-4, 200-pound grad senior from Fairleigh Dickinson. As a sophomore in 2018-19, the southpaw averaged 11.4 points and 3.9 rebounds for a Knights team playing in the Northeast Conference that went 21-14 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. As a junior in 2019-20, he averaged 12.3 points, shooting .481 from the field with 29 3’s. Malone-Key, who opted out of the 2020-21 season and turned down offers from Florida and Georgia to sign with OSU, also reminds Tinkle of GP2.
“Xzavier can shoot it, has a good pull-up game and is a strong finisher like Gary,” Tinkle says. “He can be a nightmare for opponents defensively because he has great size, strength and mobility.”
Dexter Akanno, a 6-5, 210-pound sophomore transfer from Marquette, redshirted his first year, then missed part of last season after contracting COVID. The Valencia, Calif., native played only 63 minutes, scoring eight points on 2-for-11 shooting.
“Dexter is a capable scorer, a playmaker and a vocal leader out there,” Tinkle says. “He’s also a defensive presence. It will be a matter of him being patient until he gets his game flow back.”
Tre’ Williams is a 6-5, 200-pound sophomore guard out of Minnesota who averaged 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game last season. He shot .404 from the field, .329 from 3-point range and was only 10 for 32 at the foul line.
“Tre’ is a much better shooter than that,” Tinkle says. “He can make plays at the rim and is a strong, physical defender. He is going to be a good player for us.”
Taylor, a 6-6, 200-pound swing man, is a four-star recruit with ambidextrous offensive skills for a AZ Compass Prep team that went 28-2. The Beavers beat out New Mexico, Nevada and Nevada-Las Vegas for his services.
“Glenn is going to figure in the mix sooner rather than later,” Tinkle says. “He has a high basketball IQ, is a tenacious defender and has shown he is in touch with his offensive skills. He’s the kind of junkyard dog we’ve been hoping to get at the forward position. We told him his time might be down the road, but don’t be surprised if he figures into things before too long.”
Ahmad Rand, a 6-8, 200-pound sophomore forward transfer from South Carolina-Salkehatchie JC in Allendale, S.C., averaged 9.8 points on .636 shooting and 8.2 rebounds and led the nation with 4.3 blocked shots per game last season on a 24-7 team. He was ranked as the 11th best JC player by 247Sports.
‘He is very athletic, can really get off the ground,” Tinkle says. “He’ll block shots and be a great rebounder at both ends.”
Chol Marial, a 7-2, 235-pound sophomore center from Sudan by way of Maryland, was ranked by ESPN as the No. 3 player out of the 2019 prep recruiting class. Mariol, who attended four high schools in four years, finished at AZ Compass Prep. The cousin of Cleveland Cavalier center Thon Maker, he has dealt with shin splints and leg injuries the past two years. Marial, who has 16 siblings and a 7-8 wingspan, played 12 games for the Terrapins in 2019-20 and 18 last season.
“Chol is still not 100 percent, but he is getting close,” says Tinkle, who compares Mariol with former Beaver center Daniel Gomes. “We hope he can stay healthy. He is really skilled. He can shoot and pass it and is a good rim protector. We think by the end of the year he can be a real contributor.”
Tinkle’s 2015 recruiting class — featuring Tres Tinkle, Stevie Thompson Jr., Drew Eubanks, Gligorije Rakocevic, Derrick Bruce and Kendal Manuel — “was special,” the coach says. “We’ll see about this group, but we love what we’ve added. We have the versatility to play small or big. We have depth at every position. The challenge is in fitting all the pieces together and getting them to gain the chemistry that we got to late last season.”
The run to the Elite Eight has “without a doubt” enhanced the way recruits and their family members view the OSU program.
“It has opened some doors,” Tinkle says. “They comment on how hard our guys play, the defensive intensity, the camaraderie they showed, how much they enjoyed playing with each other.”
The Beavers have one verbal commitment for the recruiting class of 2022 — 6-3 point guard Cruz Davis out of Southern California Academy in Castaic. Tinkle says his staff has been working hard to add to the class that will sign in November, though with the transfer portal, it’s impossible to determine how many scholarships will be available.
“We’re going to recruit like we have four spots,” he says. “We could be landing (more commits) in the next few weeks.”
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