Consistency was a problem last year and
road wins were hard to come by, but
Oregon State managed to slip
into the NIT with a 17-15 record. A couple of the key components
to last year’s squad are gone, but there is plenty of experience
down the bench ready to step in and attempt to lead the Beavers
back to the post-season.
Who’s Out:
David Lucas led the team with 17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per
contest. Returnees Marcel Jones, Sasa Cuic and Kyle Jeffers will
carry the burden of attempting to fill in for the two-time
All-Pac-10 player. J.S. Nash started 20 contests, averaging 9.3
points and 3.0 assists. Big men Jim Hanchett, Derek Potter, Vic
Remmers and Kenny Hooks leave a gap in the frontcourt off the
bench. None of the four averaged over 12.4 minutes a contest,
but provided a lot of different options for Coach Jay John under
the basket.
Who’s In:
Wesley Washington was headed to Minnesota a couple years ago but
was denied admission. A few trips to community college’s later
and the Beavers pick up a solid player. The 6-3 shooting guard
averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game last
year at Compton (CA) Community College. Point guard Josh Tarver
has a good feel for the game and will make a decent contribution
off the bench. Jack McGillis may end up to be a big time
contributor sooner then later for OSU. The 6-6 wing is a
tremendous shooter. McGillis shot 60.8% from the floor and 49.2%
from beyond the arc last year at Hellgate High School in
Montana. Calvin Hampton will add some depth up front for the
Beavers. The 6-9, 240 pound Maryland product needs a little time
to develop but will be a solid option off the bench. Angelo
Tsagarakis redshirted last year after suffering a shoulder
injury. As a freshman two years ago the 6-2 guard averaged 6.4
points. The three point specialist should again be a sparkplug
off the bench. Brett Casey, a 6-1 guard and son of OSU baseball
coach Pat Casey, will be walking on for the Beavers.
Who to Watch:
Nick DeWitz’s first year in Corvallis was a
great one after transferring from Iowa. The 6-8, 220 pound
forward averaged 13.4 points and 5.6 rebounds, good enough for
second on the team in each category behind the departing David
Lucas. DeWitz is a solid shooter from behind the arc, making 50%
of his 68 attempts from long range. On the defensive end, the
Chandler, Arizona native averaged 1.9 blocks per contest placing
third in that category in the conference behind only Channing
Frye and Ike Diogu.
Projected Conference Rank:
Losing David Lucas is huge and the loss of
J.S. Nash doesn’t help either. Yet it is a solid team that will
be built around Nick DeWitz, Chris Stephens, Sasa Cuic, Lamar
Hurd and Jason Fontenet. There won’t be many easy games against
Pac-10 opponents this year and the Beavers haven’t proven that
they can do much of anything on the road. A few conference
victories away from the Gill Coliseum would put OSU higher than
9th in the conference, but it will be tough for Jay
John’s squad to pull that off. The bench has options and Kyle
Jeffers would most likely get relegated to starting on the pine
if OSU needed to play three guards with Jason Fontenet stepping
into the starting role.
Projected Post-season Tournament:
none
Projected Starting Five:
Lamar Hurd, Senior, Guard, 2.7 points per game
Chris Stephens, Senior, Guard, 9.8 points per game
Nick DeWitz, Senior, Forward, 13.4 points per game
Sasa Cuic, Sophomore, Forward, 9.2 points per game
Kyle Jeffers, Junior , Center, 2.9 points per game
