Oregon State Basketball: A Way-Too-Early Look At The 2020-2021 Roster

Who’s Gone

• Tres Tinkle | Senior - Forward (18.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG)
• Kylor Kelley | Senior - Center (11.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG)
• Payton Dastrup | Junior - Forward (2.0 PPG, 1.3 RPG)

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Analysis: How you even describe Oregon State basketball without Tres Tinkle is going to take some getting used to, as the program’s all-time leading scorer (who should also have his own page in the Beavers record book) finally won’t be on campus anymore. The loss of Tinkle can’t really be overstated, as he’s been literally everything for this program over the past few seasons. In terms of Kylor Kelley, the big man developed nicely into one of the country’s best rim protectors and often times, allowed Wayne Tinkle to use zone defenses and different match-ups because of his length and size on the interior. His absence will leave just two players stading at over 6’ 7” on the roster. With Dastrup departing via transfer, the Beavers definitely will have huge voids to fill in their front-court, where depth concerns could plague them all year.

Who’s Back (2020-2021 Eligibility Year)

• Ethan Thompson | Senior - Guard (14.8 PPG, 4.5 APG)
• Zach Reichle | Senior - Guard (7.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG)
• Alfred Hollins | Senior - Forward (5.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG)
• Jarod Lucas | Sophomore - Guard (4.6 PPG, 0.9 RPG)
• Gianni Hunt | Sophomore - Guard (2.8 PPG, 1.5 RPG)
• Sean Miller-Moore | Senior - Guard (2.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG)
• Roman Silva | Senior - Forward (1.9 PPG, 1.2 RPG)
• Antoine Vernon | Junior - Guard (0.6 PPG, 0.8 RPG)
• Dearon Tucker | Sophomore - Forward (0.6 PPG, 0.6 RPG)
• Julien Franklin | RS Freshman - Forward (DNP - 6’ 7”, 200 lbs)

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Analysis: Ten returnees would usually be a welcome sight for any team, but there’s a lot more questions than answers here for Oregon State. Thompson obviously steps into the featured role so around him, fellow starters Reichle and Hollins will need to keep progressing. Personally, I think Jarod Lucas has the most potential of the rest of the group as during his freshman year, he found his flow in most games when he logged more minutes. Beyond him though, it’s really a mixed bag. I’m not sure we truly know what kind of impact Hunt, Miller-Moore, Silva, Vernon and Tucker are capable of, because their playing time was so inconsistent and sporadic. Franklin should be a plug-and-play guy in the rotation after sitting out last season.

Who’s New

• Isaiah Johnson | Freshman - Forward (6’ 6”, 200 lbs)
• Rodrigue Andela | Junior - Forward (6’ 8”, 230 lbs)
• Tariq Silver | Junior - Guard (6’ 5”, 200 lbs)

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Analysis: Silver was a late junior college addition to the group of newcomers, who shows promise as a solid outside shooter with great size for a guard. He should be able to log minutes from the get-go to help out a mostly inexperienced cast. Johnson should help add a bit of versatility at the wing spot, but will need time to adjust, while Andela adds much-needed depth to the front-court. After last year’s massive recruiting haul, it’s a smaller and less impactful batch of recruits coming to Corvallis.

What To Expect

After back-to-back 18-13 campaigns, it’s a bit blurry forecasting what Oregon State will look like in 2020-2021. There’s early belief that the Pac-12 will be operating at the highest level in recent memory, with the ability for Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA and USC to all potentially be in the NCAA Tournament conversation. Most of those squads will be laden with returning veterans and talented newcomers, ready to step in as key contributors.

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The Beavers aren’t necessarily sailing along in the same boat. Besides Ethan Thompson, most the group has question marks surrounding them. Zach Reichle and Alfred Hollins were starters this past season, serving in extremely complimentary roles and haven’t proved themselves as anything more than that. Guard Jarod Lucas showed flashes of being a special talent, but will need time to develop the consistency playing in a more featured role.

In all, finding their way back to 18-13 for the third straight year will be a tall task for Oregon State in 2020-2021. Considering last year’s group logged a 7-11 mark in league play, the writing on the wall is not encouraging for a lesser talented squad. If the Beavers’ schedule comes in around the 30-game mark once again, I’d project this team as a 12-18 overall roster, with only a handful of wins against Pac-12 foes.