Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle knew Monday’s scheduled men’s basketball game against Sacramento State was dicey.
A few hours before tip-off, OSU had just eight available players, as the rest of the team was out out due to COVID-19 protocols, injuries or personal reasons. That’s cutting it close, but eight is enough to play a game.
Then came warmups, which commences about 90 minutes before game time. A couple players began to feel sick, then some COVID tests came back positive. Suddenly, 45 minutes before tip-off, the Beavers were down to four players.
“I felt terrible grabbing the Sac State coach (Brandon Laird) 45 minutes before tip to let him know,” Tinkle said. “He said it’s not ideal. But he thanked us because we were communicating with him throughout.”
It’s been worse for Laird. He told Tinkle that earlier this season, players from an opposing team walked off the floor 30 minutes before a game because of COVID-19 issues.
“At least this was a little more advanced notice, but not by much,” Tinkle said.
Oregon State and the Pac-12 Conference are a year removed from the most challenging basketball season in recent memory because of COVID-19. Yet one season later, many things haven’t changed. Vaccinations have allowed for some aspects of normalcy, but life remains far from normal. Tinkle he’s had 10 or more players only once during his last 10 practices, .
“It’s tough when you don’t know who can practice from day to day,” Tinkle said.
Even tougher for an Oregon State team trying to climb our of a huge hole it dug with a 10-game losing streak in November and December. The Beavers, who made an historic Elite Eight run a year ago, have lately shown signs of life, as they’re on a two-game winning streak with victories over Nicholls and Utah.
The bad news? COVID-19 postponements don’t help build momentum. The Beavers have played just two games since Dec. 18. Three games — Colorado, Sacramento State and Saturday’s matchup against rival Oregon — have been postponed. Oregon State’s next scheduled game is Thursday, Jan. 13, at USC, although it’s possible a makeup game could be added early next week.
The team’s promise is starting to emerge. Tinkle said he began seeing signs that players were more engaged in the program’s offensive principles during a Dec. 18 loss to Texas A&M. Since then, OSU had its two highest scoring games of the season, finishing 83 points against Nicholls and 88 against Utah.
Tinkle recalls after one December loss, a player mentioned to others in the locker room that it’s time to “focus more on we and less on me.”
“The guys, after getting drilled day after day after day, they were tired of losing games,” Tinkle said. “Guys thought we were talented enough to just go out there and kind of play one-on-one. They’ve come realize how dependent they are on each other.”
It’s more than just chemistry and buy-in. Some of the team’s veterans are beginning to find a groove, particularly Roman Silva and Jarod Lucas.
Silva, bothered a troublesome knee for most of the season’s first two months, is feeling better. And it’s showing in his production. He played a season-high 26 minutes against Utah, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.
The 7-foot-1 Silva was a crucial piece during Oregon State’s postseason run in 2020-21. Tinkle believes the Beavers’ patience with Silva — he rarely played more than 10-15 minutes a game during the season’s first 10 games — will pay off.
“We were looking at the big picture with him,” Tinkle said. “He’s getting more confident. His teammates, as they see he’s getting more confident, they’re willing to get (the ball) to him more. You just see way more positivity.”
Lucas is establishing himself as one of the Pac-12′s most dangerous scorers. The third-year sophomore guard has scored 25, 24 and 25 points in his past three games and is shooting 42.3% from three-point range this season (33 of 78). More importantly, he’s become more than a shooter dependent on a good pass and open looks. Lucas is creating shots with moves, something OSU desperately needs now that Ethan Thompson, who excelled in situations when the Beavers needed a basket on demand, has graduated.
Tinkle said Lucas worked diligently during the offseason on shot fakes and one- or two-dribble then pull-up jumpers.
“He makes those about as high a percentage as his free throws,” said Tinkle of Lucas, who has a career free throw percentage of 88%.
Also, junior college transfer Dashawn Davis is beginning to make a significant impact as OSU’s starting point guard. Davis has been the team’s workhorse of late, averaging 35 minutes a game in the past five contests. During the stretch, he’s averaging 10.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
Keeping Davis healthy is a priority, as OSU currently doesn’t have a backup. Sophomore Gianni Hunt, who backs up Davis, is out indefinitely due to personal reasons. Lucas and Dexter Akanno are playing spot minutes behind Davis, but they’re not big-minute point guards.
Now the Beavers need a few games to build momentum and confidence. Tinkle said he hates to reference the past, but he brings it up only to show that the Beavers have done it before. The coaches are showing video to players of the good things they’ve done in recent games. They’re beginning to accept roles.
“We feel pretty good about it, and then, boom the rug is pulled out from under you,” Tinkle said. “But you can’t dwell on it. We’re all dealing with it. Let’s just remember what it took to get the momentum going and try to keep it going.”
That said, Oregon State is 3-10. The Beavers’ NCAA hopes are all but gone, outside of Pac-12 tournament run like last season. But NCAA-or-bust isn’t alone the mark of a successful season.
At least that’s how Oregon State must approach the remaining two-plus months of the season.
“Our guys feel like we can turn things around and get to where we’re winning games, and finish high the conference, then carry momentum into the tournament,” Tinkle said.
“Obviously we’re disappointed. We lost games earlier we felt we should have won. But we still have a lot to play for. If the progress we’ve shown continues, we can turn things around. We play a lot of good teams along the conference slate, and crazier things have happened.”/
--Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel
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