Oregon State Men’s Basketball Outlook

After seeing their season end at the hands of USC in the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas, the Oregon State men’s basketball program now turns their attention towards the offseason and making improvements to get back to the NCAA Tournament.

2017-18 was a step in the right direction after 16-17’s five win campaign, but the Beavers still need to be better. With several key players graduating and two NBA draft potential players, OSU’s situation headed into next season is still a little blurry, but has the right pieces to take a big step forward. BeaversEdge.com breaks it all down.

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Who's Gone?

No. 2 Ronnie Stacy 6’4 200 PG

No. 15 Tanner Sanders 6’5 210 G

No. 31 Cheikh N’Diaye 7’0 240 C

No. 32 Seth Berger 6’8 215 F

No. 12 Drew Eubanks 6’10 250 SR F

Spin-> Of this group, Seth Berger will be missed on the court the most. Sanders and Stacy struggled to find the court while N’Diaye disappeared from the program and nobody ever cared to mention why. Sanders was a “glue” guy in the locker room that everyone loved and Stacy struggled to find his way onto the court because of his lack of an offensive game. Berger was the definition of a senior leader for the Beavers and without him, they might have lost more games. Berger was always on the floor hustling and diving for loose balls while providing excellent defense and what offense he could muster up. His win or go home demeanor was a breath of fresh air for a team that needed to be re-taught how to win and hopefully Berger was able to instill that mentality with the returning players.

EDIT: Six hours after publishing this story, Eubanks announced that he'd be declaring for the NBA Draft. His departure will very much hurt this basketball team as he was a force in the frontcourt for the Beavers.

Who's Coming Back?

No. 1 Stephen Thompson Jr. 6’4 190 SR G

Like fellow teammate Drew Eubanks, Stephen Thompson Jr’s status for next season still is a bit in flux. He, like Eubanks, put his name into the NBA Draft pool last year to test the waters before withdrawing and because he did it a year ago, he’ll probably do the same this year. Between he and Eubanks, I see Stevie as the most likely to go. NBA teams are always looking for 3 and D guys who can play both ways and Thompson Jr. is starting to fit that bill. He led the Beavers in steals and was disruptive as an on-ball defender late in the season. He’ll need to improve his 35 percent three-point shooting to be in contention for playing time at the next level, but I wouldn’t fault him for leaving as I believe he’s more NBA ready than Eubanks. Still, Thompson Jr. would be wise to come back to OSU for his senior season. Even though he has a lot of the tools that the NBA likes in today’s game, he won’t be drafted in this massively deep draft and that should be enough for him to come back. If he can bump his long-range shooting up to 40 plus percent while average four makes per game instead of two, he will get NBA Draft consideration.

No. 3 Tres Tinkle 6’8 220 RS-JR F

Tres Tinkle will return for his redshirt-junior campaign in 2018 after playing the entire 2017 season which was a big step in the right direction for a player who struggled with injuries during his first two seasons at OSU. Don’t get it twisted. Tres Tinkle is the best player on Wayne Tinkle’s roster as he averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 47 percent from the field, 33 percent from 3-point, and 84 percent from the line. Tinkle is the straw that stirs the Oregon State Beavers and their success will hinge on his play for as long as he’s in Corvallis. He’s continued to grow each and every season and while his numbers will most likely be similar next season, he needs to focus on being a vocal leader that commands respect in order for Wayne Tinkle’s team to get back to the Big Dance. Gary Payton II and Seth Berger were examples of great leadership during Tinkle’s tenure and that’s what the Beavers need out of Tinkle next season to take the next step. He’ll embrace the challenge and be on another level next season.

No. 4 Alfred Hollins 6’6 195 SO F

Alfred Hollins was the feel good story of the 2017-18 Beavers. After struggling to find a niché on this Beavers team for most of the non-conference slate, Hollins exploded once he was inserted into the starting lineup scoring in double figures in five of his nine starts while being a slasher type of player that the Beavers were lacking. Hollins showed NBA level athleticism and scoring ability at times as a freshman and that should excite the heck out of Beaver fans. His potential is the most untapped on the team and will be a major contributor for the Beavers next season.

No. 5 Ethan Thompson 6’5 190 SO G

Expectations were sky-high for Ethan Thompson coming into Oregon State as a freshman as he was the highest rated recruit to ever sign with the Beavs. Unfortunately, Thompson didn’t live up to that hype as quickly as outside pundits figured he would. Thompson struggled with his ball handling after being tasked to share the point-guard duties with his brother Stevie after the departure of Jaquori McLaughlin and it set him back in his development. However, once Thompson settled into his new combo guard role and became comfortable with the ball in his hands, his shot started to fall and became a very reliable scoring punch late in the season. How he grows this offseason will be telling for the Beavers in 2018, but if he develops like many expect him to, he could be a very good player next season.

No. 11 Zach Reichle 6’5 195 SO G

Zach Reichle came into Oregon State as the No. 1 recruit in the state of Oregon after leading nearby Wilsonville High School to the 5A championship and looked poised and mature from day one on campus. Reichle’s maturity was on full in Pac-12 play when Wayne Tinkle had Reichle on the floor in crunch time against good teams like Utah, Arizona, and Arizona State. He still has a long way to go in terms of being a regular contributor stats wise, but his on the court IQ was extremely high for a freshman. Despite not always making shots, he impacted the game on the defensive end and was almost always in the right place at the right time. Like many other younger Beavs, Reichle is a bit of a unknown heading into next season. You know what he’s going to give you night in and night out now, but you need him to do more and be better next season as a catch and shoot and drive and kick guy in order for the Beavers to be better next season.

No. 22 Xavier Smith 6’4 180 SO G

It’s hard to say what the future is going to hold for Xavier Smith. It seemed odd to me that the Beavers burned his redshirt for just seven games this season while not giving him consistent minutes. Smith never cracked the regular rotation and was really only put into games when they were well out of reach. Smith has nice size for a point-guard at 6’4, but we haven’t seen enough from him to pass judgement on what he’ll be like next season. Like Koné, Smith is another wild card.

No. 23 Gligorije Rakocevic 6’11 255 SR C

Big G returns for his senior season in 2018-19 after being the primary backup center to Drew Eubanks this past season. Rakocevic didn’t have the season he was hoping for after starting to turn the corner as a sophomore but early injuries and inconsistency lead to a very tough year for Rakocevic. However, if there is a player that is going to turn heads next season if he can stay healthy, it’s Big G. He’s one of the toughest players on the team and could thrive in a starting role if Eubanks heads to the NBA. Keep an eye on Rakocevic.

No. 24 Kendal Manuel 6’4 190 JR G

The curious case of Kendal Manuel. There’s times where he looks like he could be a very good SG in the Pac-12 consistently, while at others, he looks a step slow on the court or doesn’t crack the rotation all together. Arguably, he’s OSU’s best pure 3-point shooter and needs to be on the floor to stretch out teams that want to play a 2-3 zone against the Beavs. I still really like Manuel’s potential and consider him to be in the running for sixth man off the bench in 2018-19.

No. 34 Ben Koné 6’8 235 JR F

When Koné was first recruited by Oregon State, expectations were high for the raw athlete. However, a torn ACL in his senior season of high school and a meniscus injury prior to the start of this season have really set him back. He struggled to crack the rotation with inconsistent play, but played well against Arizona near the end of the season. Koné is a big time wild card heading into next season.

No. 44 Isaac Barnes 6’8 225 RS-FR F

Barnes didn’t participate in the 2017-18 campaign as he utilized his redshirt season. With a heavy dose of frontline players coming in, it’s hard to envision Barnes cracking the regular rotation.

Who's Coming In?

Jack Wilson 7’1 260 C San Mateo, CA

Warren Washington 6’11 210 F San Marcos, CA

Kylor Kelley 7’0 205 C Eugene, OR

Spin-> With OSU’s entire recruiting class being frontcourt players, it’s clear that Wayne Tinkle is looking to start a dominant frontcourt offensive attack. If Tinkle and Co. can add a JUCO point guard to this class, it will be a complete class that has all the pieces to greatly help OSU improve next season. It’s early to guess what kind of impact these three will have right away, but with that much size and increased competition it isn’t unrealistic to think that one or two of these guys could get minutes as freshman since Eubanks is leaving and Koné and Rakocevic

Projected 2018-19 Starting Five

G- Stephen Thompson Jr.

G- Ethan Thompson

F- Alfred Hollins

F- Tres Tinkle

C- Kylor Kelley

Projected 2018-19 finish

Record of 22-10 (10-8): 6th in Pac-12