Redsirt freshman will start at point guard for Oregon State

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Corvallis Gazette-Times

When Josh Tarver was recruited by the Oregon State men’s basketball coaches, it was made clear he would be the point guard of the future.

After a year of waiting, his time has finally come.

The Beavers are asking the 6-foot-3, 185-pound redshirt freshman from Portland’s Jesuit High to lead the team. That’s a big responsibility for someone who’s yet to play a college game, but Tarver believes he’s ready.

“I know it’s a huge role,” Tarver said. “Right now everything seems a little fast for me. I’m trying to get used to it. The coaches know that, so they are helping me through it. I’m learning the process of being a point guard at the college level.”

Even though he came to OSU with impressive credentials, running the offense here will be different than at Jesuit because of the speed and complexity of the game.

There will be no time to survey the court at his leisure because opponents react faster. And he’s not always the best athlete on the court anymore.

“We need to have stability at that position,” coach Jay John said. “Without question stability at that position is a critical component to this team. That’s who we are. The quicker we get development, growth, maturity and experience out of that position, the better we are going to be.”

Pressure isn’t being purposely put on him, it’s just a fact. He’s replacing four-year starter Lamar Hurd, who evolved into the team’s most important player by last season.

After Hurd went down in the second half of the season with a groin injury, the Beavers unraveled. Jason Fontenet, Wesley Washington and Brett Casey couldn’t keep the team going.

“Losing Lamar was a hard injury to take on the team,” senior center Kyle Jeffers said. “Our team wasn’t ready for that change to happen. He was a strong, reliable player handling the ball. When we lost that, it threw our mental state off.”

Tarver could have contributed last season, but a broken foot discovered right before the first full practice forced him to redshirt. He ran a fast break during a workout and the pain hit, but finished the brief practice because he thought it was a sprained ankle.

The fracture actually occurred six months before the season, and he doesn’t know how it happened. Tarver was told the specifics after being examined by doctors.

“I thought something was bothering me (before), but I didn’t pay attention to it,” Tarver said. “When I heard what happened, at first I was wondering when I was going to come back. Then I was in a boot for six weeks, and then I had to wait another month and a half. By then it was Pac-10 (season), so I’d rather take a redshirt than sit out half a season.”

His loss was a major blow in many ways. John wanted him to play so he would be prepared for this season as the starter.

Tarver may have saved the season when Hurd was hurt if he had been available. Instead, he just watched and learned as the Beavers went without a postseason appearance.

“I saw how it was done,” Tarver said. “I watched practice every day. When I got healthy I played in practice and those were Pac-10 players I was playing against. I got lessons learned there. They taught me things. I learned a lot by just watching.”

Tarver’s experience came from running the scout team. He worked on his shot and hit the weights, adding 10 pounds.

He spent extra time watching video of successful point guards, and how they approached defenses. Now he’s studying video of himself to find ways to improve.

“I just want to go out there and be the team leader,” Tarver said. “I want to point it in the right direction. When stuff breaks down, I want to get people to know what they are doing. I know who the go-to guys are and what to do. It’s important to do that because people will be mixed up if you don’t know what you are doing and everything just breaks down.”

During these early workouts Tarver is trying to take command with his hustle and being vocal. He hopes his enthusiasm carries from practice to games.

His main goal is to get the ball to the three upperclassmen in the frontcourt — Marcel Jones, Sasa Cuic and Jeffers. However, one of the biggest challenges is gaining the confidence of his teammates along the way.

“I think going through practice, I have to gain their trust more,” Tarver said. “I expect to yell at them and they respond to that. And I expect them to yell at me when I do something wrong so we have communication. We have to respond to each other. That’s the bond I’m trying to get with the team right now.”

Since Tarver has been pegged as the point guard of the future, his older teammates accept him without hesitation. They know they need someone to run the team efficiently, and make them look good.

“He’s in the most crucial position on this team,” Jeffers said. “He has the ball 80 percent of the time, if not more. I trust him with the ball. That’s the key. That’s an important thing you need in your point guard, and that’s trust. When we lost Lamar, I lost trust in that position and obviously the results can tell you why.”

Josh Tarver

WHO: Starting point guard on the Oregon State men’s basketball team

CLASS: Redshirt freshman

HEIGHT, WEIGHT: 6-3, 185

HOMETOWN: Portland

BORN: San Bernardino, Calif.

MAJOR: Business administration

FAMILY: Son of John and Jean Tarver. His father was an NFL running back from 1972-75. ... One older brother Zach is a wide receiver on the OSU football team and younger brother Seth just joined him on the basketball team. ... Another brother, Shon, played basketball for UCLA (1991-94). ... His sister, Taryn, ran track at Oregon.

ECT: Led Jesuit High to the Oregon 4A state title as a senior. ... Was second-team all-state as a junior and senior. Third-team as a sophomore. ... Averaged at least 14 points and 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals in each of those seasons. ... Three-time All-Metro League.