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Beavers Going For Third Straight Win Friday

by osubeavers.com
Nov 19, 2014

THE GAME: Oregon State (2-0) is gunning for its third straight win to open the season when it hosts Oral Roberts (1-1) at 6 p.m. on Friday at Gill Coliseum.

TELEVISION: The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks with JB Long and Lamar Hurd calling the action.

RADIO: The game will air live on Beaver Sports Radio Network with Mike Parker calling the action. It can also be heard on Sirius 93 and XM 208.

LIVE STATS: There will be live stats at this link.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Live updates will be available on Twitter and Facebook.

TICKETS: Oregon State is offering an exclusive #Commit2Wayne ticket plan that provides fans with season tickets for a flat $199 (tickets were $364 last season). The price will gradually step up the following seasons ($249, $299, $349) but remain affordable, and there is no obligation to commit to all four years. Season tickets will be $349 next year and beyond for fans who do not take advantage of this unique opportunity this year. Fans can secure their season tickets for a $25 deposit by calling 800-GO-BEAVS or visiting beavertickets.com.

#DAMHUNGER NIGHT: There will be free admission to the game with the donation of two canned food items.

PAUL VALENTI TRIBUTE: Every ticket this season will feature an image of Paul Valenti, an Oregon State athlete, coach, administrator and goodwill ambassador for more than 70 years, who passed away this past September. The team will wear a PV patch on their jerseys in honor of the Oregon State legend.

QUICKLY: Oregon State is looking to start the season 3-0 for just the second time since 2000-01 (2011-12 was the other) ... The Beavers haven’t trailed in a game this season ... Gary Payton II has recorded nine rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals in each of the first two games ... Jarmal Reid has scored in double figures in back-to-back games after failing to reach double digits in his first 58 career games ... Langston Morris-Walker has set career highs in points (16) and rebounds (10) already this season ... Oregon State has outscored its opponents 88-26 in points in the paint ... After leading the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage for the first time in school history last season (.392), the Beavers are shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc this year ... Oregon State leads the conference with a +15 rebounding margin.

vs. ORAL ROBERTS: Oregon State and Oral Roberts meet for the third time in history, and the first since 1992, with the series tied 1-1. The Golden Eagles won the first meeting, 77-68, in the championship game of the Far West Classic behind a 43-point outburst by Anthony Roberts. Steve Johnson, a freshman at the time, led the Beavers with 16 points off the bench.

Oregon State evened the series on Dec. 18, 1991 when six Beavers scored in double figures in a 112-87 win at Gill Coliseum. They were: Karl Anderson 17, Scott Haskin 15, Charles McKinney 14, Chad Scott 13, Brent Barry 11 and Mario Jackson 10. Ray Thompson dropped in 42 points for Oral Roberts.

2015 RECRUITING CLASS: The 2015 class includes Derrick Bruce, a 6-foot-3, 165-pound guard from Orlando, Fla.; Drew Eubanks, a 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward from Troutdale, Ore.; Gligorije Rakocevic, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound center from Bijelo Polj, Montenegro; Stephen Thompson, Jr., a 6-foot-3, 165-pound guard from Torrance, Calif., and Tres Tinkle, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward from Missoula, Mont.

  • The class is ranked 15th in the nation by 247Sports.com and 18th in the nation by Rivals.com, the highest-ever recruiting class rankings in school history.
  • Bruce is a three-star guard and ranked 124th overall on Rivals 150.
  • Eubanks is a four-star forward and the top-ranked 2015 player in the State of Oregon by ESPN.
  • Rakocevic is a three-star center according to Rivals and 247Sports.
  • Thompson Jr., is a four-star guard and ranked 69th on the ESPN 100.
  • Tres Tinkle is a four-star forward and No. 77 on ESPN’s Top 100.

THE ROSTER: Here are some quick-hitters about the 2014-15 Oregon State men’s basketball team:

  • The 16-man roster includes 10 scholarship players and six walk-ons.
  • All six walk-ons are from the State of Oregon.
  • The roster doesn’t include a senior. Since 1950, the only other times Oregon State didn’t have a senior were 1978-79 and 2003-04 when those teams went 18-10 and 12-16, respectively.
  • Alex Roth, who redshirted last season after walking-on, is yet to play this season with a shoulder injury.
  • Justin Stangel, a practice player last season, was awarded a scholarship for his hard work during the summer.
  • AJ Hedgecock, Dylan Livesay, Matt Dahlen, Bryan Boswell and Tanner Sanders were all added to the official roster after the team held open tryouts on Oct. 4. A total of 22 Oregon State students participated in the open tryouts. Sanders also plays on the Oregon State football team.
  • Four players competed in all 32 games last season and two of them are returning: Malcolm Duvivier and Daniel Gomis.
  • Four returners started a combined 32 games last season. They are Langston Morris-Walker (17), Victor Robbins (11), Daniel Gomis (2) and Jarmal Reid (2).
  • Returning statistical leaders from last season include:
  • The returners entered the season with a combined eight double-figure scoring games and one double-figure rebounding game.
  • Daniel Gomis has been at Oregon State longer than anyone on the roster. He missed the 2011-12 season after breaking his leg, redshirted the 2012-13 season after having surgery on that leg and played his redshirt sophomore season in 2013-14.
  • Gary Payton II and Justin Stangel’s fathers both played basketball at Oregon State. The elder Payton was a consensus All-American and still holds the school records for career points, assists and steals. Justin’s father, Jamie, played in 1980, ‘82, ‘83 and ‘84 (the Beavers won the Pac-10 title three of those years). Payton II will wear No. 1 (his father’s No. 20 is retired) and Justin will wear the same number his father wore at Oregon State, No. 40.
  • Olaf Schatenaar’s brother, Roeland, played basketball for Oregon State from 2007-10 and was Most Valuable Player at the 2009 College Basketball Invitational when the Beavers won the CBI championship.
  • Matt Dahlen and Tanner Sander’s fathers both played football for Oregon State. Chris Dahlen played for the Beavers from 1982-86 and Scott Sanders played from 1986-89.

WHAT’S MISSING: Here are some quick-hitters about what Oregon State will be missing this season with the departures of players graduating, transferring or leaving early to play professionally:

  • Angus Brandt, Devon Collier and Roberto Nelson graduated, Challe Barton and Eric Moreland left after their junior seasons to play professionally, and Hallice Cooke transferred to Iowa State after his freshman campaign.
  • Those six players had combined career totals of: 5,284 points, 2,328 rebounds, 915 assists, 400 blocked shots, 403 steals, 247 double-figure scoring games, 55 double-figure rebounding games, 35 double-doubles and 591 games played.
  • On Oregon State’s career lists, Roberto Nelson is fourth all-time in scoring (1,745), Devon Collier is seventh all-time in scoring (1,489), eighth in rebounds (679) and third in blocked shots (134), and Eric Moreland is the all-time leader in blocked shots (184) and fifth all-time in rebounds (762).
  • Last season, Roberto Nelson was selected to the All-Pac-12 Second Team, Eric Moreland was named Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention and Hallice Cooke was named Pac-12 All-Freshmen Honorable Mention.
  • Last season, Roberto Nelson led the Pac-12 in scoring, Devon Collier led the league in field goal percentage and Hallice Cooke finished second in the conference in three-point percentage.
  • Angus Brandt was a three-time team captain and received Pac-12 All-Academic recognition four times.

THE COACHING STAFF: Here are some quick-hitters about the new Oregon State men’s basketball coaching staff:

  • The coaching staff of head coach Wayne Tinkle, associate head coach Kerry Rupp, and assistant coaches Gregg Gottlieb and Stephen Thompson have a combined 58 years coaching experience at the college level.
  • The staff has earned a combined 14 NCAA Tournament berths.
  • Rupp was the head coach at Louisiana Tech from 2007-11 and Thompson was the head coach at Cal State L.A. from 2005-14.
  • Gottlieb is the Pac-12’s longest-tenured assistant coach after spending the past seven seasons at California.
  • Tinkle is now 4-5 overall in season openers and 4-0 in home openers.

OTHER NEW FACES: Kurt Paulson was added to the staff as the Director of Basketball Operations and Rachi Wortham joined as the Director of Player Personnel. Paulson worked for Tinkle at Montana as an assistant coach in 2013-14 and as a graduate assistant coach in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Wortham was an assistant coach at EWU from 2007-11 under head coach Kirk Earlywine after playing for the Eagles from 2003-05 when the team made its only trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history.

QUICK LOOK AT LANGSTON: Langston Morris-Walker is Oregon State’s top returning scorer at 4.0 points per game and has stepped up as the leader of the team. He represented Oregon State at Pac-12 Media Day and also participated in a Beavers Without Borders service trip to the Dominican Republic. LMW posted his first career double-double in the opener with 11 points and 10 boards, and scored a career-high 16 points against Corban.

QUICK LOOK AT MALCOLM: Malcolm Duvivier has scored in double figures in two of his last five games dating back to last season. He scored 13 points against Arizona State in the regular-season finale and opened this season with a career-high 17 points against Rice. He knocked down 5-of-8 three-point shots in those two contests; he has made a total of 12 triples in his other 32 career games.

QUICK LOOK AT OLAF: The coaching staff has worked with Olaf Schaftenaar to be more of an offensive force inside the three-point line. In his first two seasons, Schaftenaar put up 167 shots with 136 of those coming from beyond the arc. He has taken 10 shots this season, with only three of them coming from deep, and his field goal percentage is 50 percent. Coming into this season, his career percentage was 32.9 percent (55-for-167).

QUICK LOOK AT CHEIKH: After playing 71 minutes last season, Cheikh N’diaye got his first career start in the opener and had career highs in rebounds (5), blocked shots (3) and minutes (15), and tied a career best in points (4) and field goals (2).

QUICK LOOK AT GP2: Gary Payton II got his first career points on a two-handed dunk in the first half against Rice. He finished the game with six points, nine rebounds, two assists, three blocked shots and two steals. His dad, the legendary Gary Payton, scored his first career points on a three-pointer at UTEP on Nov. 29, 1986. He finished the game with 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.

QUICK LOOK AT GOMIS: Daniel Gomis missed the first game but returned against Corban and finished with four points and four rebounds in nine minutes. He played all 32 games last season after missing the previous two years with a broken leg.

QUICK LOOK AT JARMAL: Jarmal Reid had by far the best game of his career in the season opener when he came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points by going 8-for-12 from the field. His previous career high was seven points as a freshman at Howard on Dec. 19, 2012. He also played well against Corban with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists. In 26 games last season, the most points he scored was four and he went scoreless in 14 of them.

QUICK LOOK AT VICTOR: Victor Robbins also played well coming off the bench in the first two games, as he made two key shots and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, with four of them on the offensive glass. He switched his number from 1 to 4 this season and says that is the key to his new confidence.

PLAYING PROFESSIONALLY: Seven Oregon State players who competed for the Beavers over the past three seasons are playing professionally, including two in the NBA. It’s the first time two Oregon State players have been in the NBA at the same time since 2006-07, when Gary Payton played his final season with the Miami Heat and Brent Barry helped the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA title.

Challe Barton – Sundsvall Dragons (Sweden)
Angus Brandt – Sydney Kings (Australia)
Joe Burton – Landstede Basketball Zwolle (Holland)
Devon Collier – Hapoel Kazrin (Israel)
Roberto Nelson – Basket Brescia Leonessa (Italy)
Eric Moreland – Sacramento Kings
Jared Cunningham – Los Angeles Clippers

25th ANNIVERSARY: This is the 25th anniversary of Gary Payton being named Sports Illustrated National Player of the Year. The Glove averaged 25.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 3.5 steals that season, and led the Beavers to the NCAA Tournament, the last time OSU has been there.

SCHEDULE NOTES: The 2014-15 schedule features 21 games on the Pac-12 Networks, four on the ESPN family of networks and three on Fox Sports 1 ... Oregon State will compete in the MGM Grand Main Event Heavyweight bracket on Monday, Nov. 24 and Wednesday, Nov. 26 in Las Vegas; other teams include Oklahoma State, Auburn and Tulsa ... Mississippi State (Saturday, Dec. 13) and DePaul (Thursday, Dec. 18) will visit Gill Coliseum for the first time ever, while UCSB (Tuesday, Dec. 30) will make the trek to Gill Coliseum for the first time since 1986 ... The Pac-12 slate begins on Saturday, Jan. 3 with a trip to Eugene to face Oregon in the 343rd Civil War ... The Pac-12 Tournament will be held in Las Vegas, Nev., for the third consecutive year, beginning on Wednesday, March 11 with all games being played at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

GIVE & GO FEATURES: There were Q&A’s done with six Oregon State basketball players recently and here are some of their quotes (the full Q&A’s can be read on osubeavers.com):

Malcolm Duvivier: “I learned so much from Roberto Nelson. On offense he taught me all the little things that he did to be able to score. He was a great teacher. Guarding one of the best scorers ever every day was a big challenge. I’m starting to implement what he taught me into my game to become a better scorer.”

Daniel Gomis: “I am always trying to get everything in the positive side. I came here and had some adversity to deal with some broken legs but I always tried to keep it positive. No matter how hard things are there are people who have it way tougher than you.”

Langston Morris-Walker: “I didn’t really show what I can do to the world, because I was more of a role player. Everybody coming back, we haven’t really shown anybody what we can do. I feel we can be a good team. No one knows us. People are always quick to judge us because our group hasn’t really accomplished anything, but they don’t know what we can do.”

Gary Payton II: “We didn’t think the Mitten fit for me (as a nickname) because I’m not going to be a replica of my dad and what he did. So we don’t know what we’re going to go with. Everybody has been using G2. We’ll see. But no Mitten.”

Victor Robbins: “You just can’t give up when your back is against the wall because it’s going to happen plenty of times. It’s going to happen plenty of times this season. We just have to stay together. We just have to keep it pushing forward.”

Olaf Schaftenaar: “It’s the role I was in my first two years; I was used as a shooter, to take a bunch of shots. If they go in, that’s nice. That was my role. This year it’s going to be a lot different. I’m going to be more of an inside presence, not just scoring, but make defenses collapse. I think I’m a pretty good passer and I can get my teammates the ball that way.”

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