Oregon State Addresses Backcourt Situation

There were two pieces of good news for Oregon State men's basketball that came out this week, both of which address the Beavers' backcourt situation.

One was as expected and hoped, though no surgery is ever a sure thing, as the Tinkle clan shared that sophomore to be guard Tres Tinkle's planned surgery on the foot he fractured late in the season went well, and recovery is on schedule.

Head Coach Wayne Tinkle also made a move to address the back-court void left by the departure of Derrick Bruce last week, signing JC transfer guard Ronnie Stacy.

Stacy, originally from Alexander City, AL, and Benjamin Russell High, comes to Corvallis via Tyler (Texas Junior College). The 6'4" guard averaged 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists his senior year, and then went on to start 33 of 34 games in his first season for Tyler, though he only averaged about 10 minutes per game.

He averaged 4.4 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, but upped that significantly to 8.6 points, on 48% shooting, and 2.7 rebounds last season.

"Ronnie is big, physical and athletic. He's a pass-it-first guy and a glue guy with other kids," Mike Marquis, his coach at Tyler, said. "He shares the ball extremely well and is not looking for his own. He's getting better and better."

And once again, the atmosphere at Oregon State was cited as the reason for choosing the Beavers for Stacy, who also had an offer from Memphis, and interest from several Bib XII & B1G Ten teams.

"He really loved the kids on the team," Marquis added. "He was very, very impressed. He'll fit in well for them, and be a good teammate."

Stacy has 3 years to play 2 seasons of eligibility remaining.

Oregon State now has 2 available scholarships remaining.

Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com