Beavers set out to return to postseason play

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Corvallis Gazette-Times

Leave it to Sasa Cuic to put perspective on the upcoming season for the Oregon State men’s basketball team.

The Beavers start tonight against Portland in Gill Coliseum and play Saturday and Sunday as part of the first Oregon Rain Invitational, and the junior forward sees a possibility for a strong season.

At the same time, Cuic won’t make any bold predictions. With six freshmen, two sophomores and only one scholarshiped senior, early projections don’t have the Beavers contending for the Pacific-10 Conference title.

Still, there is optimism.

Last season’s team had four seniors with starting experience coming off of OSU’s first postseason appearance in 15 years. High expectations were not met, making the disappointment of not matching that National Invitation Tournament appearance even greater.

“Last year we got caught in wanting to improve from the year before, from the NIT, which is the NCAA Tournament,” Cuic said. “What happened, happened; and now we come in with a clean sheet. We have a way younger team. All we can do is play the best we can. If that takes us to the NCAA Tournament, that’s wonderful. And if that’s the NIT, we’ll take it.”

However, there’s even the possibility of less. The Pac-10 media picked the Beavers to finish eighth in the conference.

Three returning starters are poised for big seasons. Cuic should be the go-to player after averaging 13.5 points a game last season. How his season goes depends on how he reacts to defenses giving him extra attention.

“Sasa is a smart guy,” coach Jay John said. “It was something Nick (DeWitz) struggled with last year. Sasa saw it and we discussed it all summer long.”

Junior forward Marcel Jones and senior center Kyle Jeffers have improved each season. Jones is an all-around player, while Jeffers can be a dominant rebounder.

That trio must start the season at midseason form and improve. That was what hurt the Beavers last year. The seniors faltered from the start, and took too long to recover.

“We are ready to prove to people we are a legit elite program,” Jones said. “All the guys are ready and willing to give what they got. We just want to play and show we are going to be one of the best teams in the conference.”

Redshirt freshman Josh Tarver and true freshman Vojian Svilar take over running the offense at point guard. Both played well in the team’s only exhibition game Sunday.

Tarver was athletic driving to the basket, and gained better command of the game in the second half. Svilar was smooth in his opportunities, and showed a good outside shot.

“We’ve been anxious to finally play,” Tarver said. “Now things are getting more serious and we are ready to go.”

One of the strengths of the team for this season — but more so in the future — is depth.

Senior Michael Johnson is a reliable backup for Jeffers or Cuic. Then there are several younger developing inside players in Liam Hughes, Calvin Hampton and Roeland Schaftenaar, who bring various strengths to the game.

Jack McGillis can relieve Jones at wing or go in as the off-guard. That position is deep with juniors Wesley Washington, Angelo Tsagarakis and freshman Seth Tarver competing for minutes.

Whatever happens this season, the Beavers hope to build from the start with a young team that will mostly be back next season. Only Jeffers and Johnson graduate.

“What I’m most pleased with is we have a group of guys wanting to work and believe in what we are doing,” John said. “They are giving effort to improve. We don’t have a megastar on our team. We have a lot of good players. In a 200-minute game we need the most amount of minutes of productive play from the guys on the court. The mindset is we are at that place, but we have to collectively get better.”