More coming, stay tuned to this thread
By Brenden Slaughter
After a rough weekend against the Washington schools, the Oregon State Men’s Basketball Team took back to the practice court today to prepare for the No.13 Oregon Ducks.
The Ducks have arguably been the Pac-12’s hottest team this season, albeit UCLA is still ranked higher, but Oregon defeated UCLA in the head to head matchup. Playing your rival is never an easy task, but playing your rival on the road, especially when they are a top 15 team, makes the task enormous.
“If this game doesn’t excite us with a passion, I don’t know what will,” sophomore guard Stevie Thompson Jr. said with a grin. “We have realize that it is a big game, and it is a very exciting game with passionate atmosphere. We are going to have to match their intensity.”
One of the reasons that Oregon has been so successful this season is because of their frontcourt of Jordan Bell and Chris Boucher.
“They are really smart and they know where to be,” sophomore forward Drew Eubanks said. “Boucher is really long and flies around. Same with (Dillon) Brooks and Bell. You just have to be really prepared.”
It appeared that before the Washington trip, that the Beavers were beginning to make strides on the defensive sides of the ball, as they stifled both USC and UCLA, but then frustration on the road led to poor performances against UW and WSU.
“Frustration on offense carried over to defense, and we didn’t get back in transition,” Thompson Jr. said. “We weren’t being the aggressor on defense, we were reacting to what they were doing. Not being able to get out in transition on offense, is affecting us on defense because we aren’t able to get easy baskets and we are spending a lot of energy on the offensive end.”
The Beavers will look to continue to improve as a unit until Tres Tinkle returns and is able to bolster this Oregon State lineup. It is still worth noting that Tinkle, Thompson Jr., and Eubanks have all only been on the floor together for one game this season. Without those guys being able to build chemistry on the court with one another, it definitely contributes to OSU’s rough season.
“I’m just trying to stay as positive as possible,” Thompson Jr. said. “It is definitely frustrating with all of the team’s injuries that have affected us to this point. The main thing is trying to stay positive and realize that we can still make the most out of our situation.”
OSU head coach Wayne Tinkle mentioned that there are several guys that are trying to step up in Tres’ absence, but he wants his guys to focus on the basic’s of basketball first and foremost.
“There are guys that are making improvements,” Wayne Tinkle said. “(Eubanks) is playing better and better even though it doesn’t always show up in the stats, but he is more comfortable out there. (Gligor Rakocevic) gave us some good minutes, (Kendal Manuel) has been pretty good, but a little inconsistent. (Thompson Jr’s) percentages have gotten a little better, so it's good to see that. We are still putting way too much focus on who’s scoring, and trying to carry the load while Tres is out and we need to put more focus on the fundamentals.
Eubanks agrees with his coach that he is playing better, but still addressed he needs to still improve a lot on the defensive end.
“I’m still very confident in my game,” Eubanks said. “I still need to improve a lot defensively and rotations I’ve gotten away from. I felt like I was solid at the beginning of the year, and now I’m starting to take steps back defensively. But it isn’t anything you can’t work out with hard practice and focus.”
Despite the season not going how the Beavers hoped it would, they still have goals that they hope to achieve as the season progresses to make them a more fundamentally sound basketball team in this season, and moving forward.
“We have to just keep getting better everyday, and keep progressing in the games and showing improvement, and hopefully string together some wins,” Thompson Jr. said.
This season may not end the way that the Beavers had hoped for when they began the season, but a lot of that is credited to the Beavers having only one true senior (N’Diaye). Despite not having a lot of upperclassmen leadership, the Beavers often turn to junior Matt Dahlen, who has been apart of this team in some way, shape or form since Tinkle arrived.
“This is my third year, and so I’m older than most of these guys, and I know what the coaches want,” Dahlen said. “ I need to be better at being vocal and leading by example with where we are at as a team. I gotta try and bring confidence to these guys, and tell them to play their game. We will ride through this tough patch."
By Brenden Slaughter
After a rough weekend against the Washington schools, the Oregon State Men’s Basketball Team took back to the practice court today to prepare for the No.13 Oregon Ducks.
The Ducks have arguably been the Pac-12’s hottest team this season, albeit UCLA is still ranked higher, but Oregon defeated UCLA in the head to head matchup. Playing your rival is never an easy task, but playing your rival on the road, especially when they are a top 15 team, makes the task enormous.
“If this game doesn’t excite us with a passion, I don’t know what will,” sophomore guard Stevie Thompson Jr. said with a grin. “We have realize that it is a big game, and it is a very exciting game with passionate atmosphere. We are going to have to match their intensity.”
One of the reasons that Oregon has been so successful this season is because of their frontcourt of Jordan Bell and Chris Boucher.
“They are really smart and they know where to be,” sophomore forward Drew Eubanks said. “Boucher is really long and flies around. Same with (Dillon) Brooks and Bell. You just have to be really prepared.”
It appeared that before the Washington trip, that the Beavers were beginning to make strides on the defensive sides of the ball, as they stifled both USC and UCLA, but then frustration on the road led to poor performances against UW and WSU.
“Frustration on offense carried over to defense, and we didn’t get back in transition,” Thompson Jr. said. “We weren’t being the aggressor on defense, we were reacting to what they were doing. Not being able to get out in transition on offense, is affecting us on defense because we aren’t able to get easy baskets and we are spending a lot of energy on the offensive end.”
The Beavers will look to continue to improve as a unit until Tres Tinkle returns and is able to bolster this Oregon State lineup. It is still worth noting that Tinkle, Thompson Jr., and Eubanks have all only been on the floor together for one game this season. Without those guys being able to build chemistry on the court with one another, it definitely contributes to OSU’s rough season.
“I’m just trying to stay as positive as possible,” Thompson Jr. said. “It is definitely frustrating with all of the team’s injuries that have affected us to this point. The main thing is trying to stay positive and realize that we can still make the most out of our situation.”
OSU head coach Wayne Tinkle mentioned that there are several guys that are trying to step up in Tres’ absence, but he wants his guys to focus on the basic’s of basketball first and foremost.
“There are guys that are making improvements,” Wayne Tinkle said. “(Eubanks) is playing better and better even though it doesn’t always show up in the stats, but he is more comfortable out there. (Gligor Rakocevic) gave us some good minutes, (Kendal Manuel) has been pretty good, but a little inconsistent. (Thompson Jr’s) percentages have gotten a little better, so it's good to see that. We are still putting way too much focus on who’s scoring, and trying to carry the load while Tres is out and we need to put more focus on the fundamentals.
Eubanks agrees with his coach that he is playing better, but still addressed he needs to still improve a lot on the defensive end.
“I’m still very confident in my game,” Eubanks said. “I still need to improve a lot defensively and rotations I’ve gotten away from. I felt like I was solid at the beginning of the year, and now I’m starting to take steps back defensively. But it isn’t anything you can’t work out with hard practice and focus.”
Despite the season not going how the Beavers hoped it would, they still have goals that they hope to achieve as the season progresses to make them a more fundamentally sound basketball team in this season, and moving forward.
“We have to just keep getting better everyday, and keep progressing in the games and showing improvement, and hopefully string together some wins,” Thompson Jr. said.
This season may not end the way that the Beavers had hoped for when they began the season, but a lot of that is credited to the Beavers having only one true senior (N’Diaye). Despite not having a lot of upperclassmen leadership, the Beavers often turn to junior Matt Dahlen, who has been apart of this team in some way, shape or form since Tinkle arrived.
“This is my third year, and so I’m older than most of these guys, and I know what the coaches want,” Dahlen said. “ I need to be better at being vocal and leading by example with where we are at as a team. I gotta try and bring confidence to these guys, and tell them to play their game. We will ride through this tough patch."
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