Beaver Basketball: The Returning Production

The 2014-15 basketball season brought tremendous excitement to Gill Coliseum, as the Oregon State men's and women's teams entertained fans with 3-point barrages, shut-down defense and high-flying dunks. From GP2 to the Canadian Hammer, the Beavers return some of the nation's best talent this year.

The Oregon State men's basketball team returns all five starters for the first time since 2004-05. The nine letterwiners returning make up more than 90 percent of the team's scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and minutes played from last season.

Scoring: 90.4% (1,705-1,887)
Rebounding: 92.4% (899-973)
Assists: 94.4% (352-373)
Steals: 92.1% (222-241)
Minutes Played: 91.6% (5,700-6,225)

ESPN.com did a story about the most-experienced major-conference team for 2015-16. To measure experience, they used possession-minutes. It's the percentage of minutes that a player is on the floor, multiplied by the percentage of possessions. Those products are added up for each player on a given team from last season and then calculated what percentage of that total number is returning as possession-minutes (%RPMs) for this season.

Make sense? Maybe not. Just know that Oregon State came in at No. 2 in the nation in experience returning with 93 %RPMs. Here is what the article said:

“In just his second season at the helm in Corvallis, Wayne Tinkle already has more or less everyone returning. Roster continuity can be half the battle for a struggling program, and the Beavers haven't won an NCAA tournament game since 1982. Whether that changes this season (a big improvement in offense would certainly help), Tinkle will at least have a seasoned group of veterans led by the shamefully underrated Gary Payton II.”

The Oregon State women's basketball team heads into the 2015-16 season with one of the best returning groups in school history. Center Ruth Hamblin earned Pac-12 Media Player of the Year honors last season, and was the consensus Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. With an outstanding junior year under her belt, the Academic All-American has received significant recognition already this year, including preseason All-America nods from Lindy's and Sporting News.

Fellow senior Jamie Weisner and junior Sydney Wiese joined Hamblin on the All-Pac-12 team last year, and are among the best shooters ever to take the court a Gill Coliseum. Wiese is Oregon State's career leader with 204 3-pointers made, and is followed closely by Weisner with 176. Not to be ignored, senior Deven Hunter has started 68 consecutive games for the Oregon State and sits seventh in the OSU record book with 689 career rebounds.

Junior Gabriella Hanson provided a spark as the Beavers' “sixth woman” a year ago, averaging 6.7 points per game while providing a lock-down defensive effort. Senior Samantha Siegner has shown versatility for the team throughout her career, spending time at the three, four and five.

The excitement for Beaver basketball is at an all-time high. Don't miss out when the Oregon State men's and women's hoops teams take the court at Gill Coliseum this season. Get your season tickets today!

Fans can secure new Oregon State men's basketball season tickets by visiting this link or calling 800-GO-BEAVS. Far West Classic Invite tickets will be included for all Oregon State men's basketball season ticket holders, giving fans a total of 18 games to watch in Corvallis and Portland during the 2015-16 season (including an exhibition game).

Reserved seat season tickets for the 2015-16 Oregon State women's basketball season are sold out, but general admission season tickets are still available for a low as $68. Get yours today by clicking this link or by calling 800-GO-BEAVS. The Beavers' 2015-16 schedule features 15 home games, including marquee matchups against Tennessee, Stanford and Arizona State.