CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State men’s basketball student-athlete JaQuori McLaughlin has asked for his release from the program, head coach Wayne Tinkle announced Friday.
“I would first like to thank Coach Tinkle for providing such a tremendous opportunity as a student-athlete during my time at Oregon State University,” McLaughlin said. “He is a wonderful coach and person who takes great pride in doing things the right way. Sometimes in life things don’t always work out as planned, whether it be a job or a personal relationship, and tough decisions have to be made. Those decisions can be tough for adults in their daily lives, and can be magnified even more so for a teenager such as myself.
“Being a student-athlete is a lot of work and there are some challenges that I’ve been faced with that have impacted me and kept me from being able to compete to the best of my ability in a way that would help my team win games. After much thought I informed the coaching staff that I will no longer remain a member of the Beaver basketball team. It is truly a humbling experience to look in the mirror and decide that a change such as this is needed to help impact both myself and the OSU basketball program to be able to be successful in the long term. This was an important decision that I did not take lightly and I apologize to the fans that have been supportive and treated me so well, even through tough times. It is my hope that even without specific details you can still try to understand that this was about so much more than basketball.
“There is no doubt that Oregon State basketball is in the right hands and headed in the right direction. My family will always be thankful to the OSU coaching staff, my teammates, the athletic department, OSU and the great people that have supported me during my time in Corvallis.”
“Like all of the programs at Oregon State, we hold our student-athletes to a high level of expectations on the court, off the court and in the classroom,” Tinkle said. “Unfortunately sometimes that can be too much to ask for. JaQuori is a great kid with a tremendous heart and we wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”
McLaughlin, a native of Tacoma, Wash., started 35 of the 38 games at Oregon State the past two seasons.
As a freshman, McLaughlin averaged 10.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 0.8 steals in 33.8 minutes per game, while shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from beyond the arc. He played 1,083 minutes, the second most by a freshman in program history to only Gary Payton, who played 1,115 minutes in 1986-87. McLaughlin made 58 3-pointers, the most by a freshman in Oregon State history and the seventh most in the school’s single-season history. He attempted 158 triples, the eighth most in single-season program history.
McLaughlin started five of the first six games this season and was averaging 2.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting 23.8 percent from the field and 0-for-10 from beyond the arc. He played at least 27 minutes in each of the first five games but was limited to seven minutes in the last contest against Marist due to foul trouble.
“I would first like to thank Coach Tinkle for providing such a tremendous opportunity as a student-athlete during my time at Oregon State University,” McLaughlin said. “He is a wonderful coach and person who takes great pride in doing things the right way. Sometimes in life things don’t always work out as planned, whether it be a job or a personal relationship, and tough decisions have to be made. Those decisions can be tough for adults in their daily lives, and can be magnified even more so for a teenager such as myself.
“Being a student-athlete is a lot of work and there are some challenges that I’ve been faced with that have impacted me and kept me from being able to compete to the best of my ability in a way that would help my team win games. After much thought I informed the coaching staff that I will no longer remain a member of the Beaver basketball team. It is truly a humbling experience to look in the mirror and decide that a change such as this is needed to help impact both myself and the OSU basketball program to be able to be successful in the long term. This was an important decision that I did not take lightly and I apologize to the fans that have been supportive and treated me so well, even through tough times. It is my hope that even without specific details you can still try to understand that this was about so much more than basketball.
“There is no doubt that Oregon State basketball is in the right hands and headed in the right direction. My family will always be thankful to the OSU coaching staff, my teammates, the athletic department, OSU and the great people that have supported me during my time in Corvallis.”
“Like all of the programs at Oregon State, we hold our student-athletes to a high level of expectations on the court, off the court and in the classroom,” Tinkle said. “Unfortunately sometimes that can be too much to ask for. JaQuori is a great kid with a tremendous heart and we wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”
McLaughlin, a native of Tacoma, Wash., started 35 of the 38 games at Oregon State the past two seasons.
As a freshman, McLaughlin averaged 10.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 0.8 steals in 33.8 minutes per game, while shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from beyond the arc. He played 1,083 minutes, the second most by a freshman in program history to only Gary Payton, who played 1,115 minutes in 1986-87. McLaughlin made 58 3-pointers, the most by a freshman in Oregon State history and the seventh most in the school’s single-season history. He attempted 158 triples, the eighth most in single-season program history.
McLaughlin started five of the first six games this season and was averaging 2.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting 23.8 percent from the field and 0-for-10 from beyond the arc. He played at least 27 minutes in each of the first five games but was limited to seven minutes in the last contest against Marist due to foul trouble.
