Seth Tarver emerges as an offensive force after getting healthy

There’s the Mayo Clinic’s rather sterile medical definition for plantar fasciitis: A stabbing or burning heel pain, caused by inflammation of the plantar fascia, the tissue along the bottom of your foot that connects your heel bone to your toes.

And there’s a concise, yet more descriptive, definition for the left-heel pain that sabotaged Seth Tarver’s freshman year, when Oregon State’s standout guard didn’t come close to meeting the high expectations generated by a standout career at Jesuit High School and high recruiting rankings:

Season-killer.

“Every time I would step it just hurt really bad,” the 6-foot-5 sophomore said in recalling his first significant athletic injury. “My foot was swollen and I couldn’t do anything. It took away a lot of my ability.

“When the season ended I had to learn how to run again because I’d started walking on the outside of my left foot, my jumping foot,” to compensate for the pain. “I had to learn again how to do a lot of things I used to do naturally.”

He look those lessons seriously. Heading into today’s 2 p.m. home game against Tennessee Tech, Tarver is averaging a team-best 15.6 points and has scored at least 12 in each game. He also leads OSU in shooting (.529), 3-point shooting (.432) and is second in rebounding (6.1) and assists (2.0).

Most importantly, he’s averaging 33.9 minutes per game, nearly three times as many as 2006-07.

“It’s real satisfying,” he said. “I’m playing well, my teammates are playing well. I’m just trying to get better and help us win.”

What hasn’t changed is his work ethic and approach. Coach Jay John said Tarver’s personality is the same as a year ago, he’s just healthier.

“In terms of emotions, he just a rock,” John said. “Seth does not allow himself to get flustered by short-term failure. It grinds at him, but he stays on a methodical plan to fix it.

“He has a lot of patience and it takes patience and perseverance not to get emotionally out of shape. He just keeps grinding through it.”

Anyone who has had plantar fasciitis can attest to how painful it can be, especially during the first few steps in the morning, because the fascia have contracted overnight. Once the foot has limbered up, the pain generally decreases, but it can return after long periods of standing or after getting up from a seated position.

The treatments are rest, stretching, strengthening, change of shoes, arch supports, orthotics, night splints, anti-inflammatory agents and surgery. Tarver upgraded his footwear, wears orthotics, and other than an occasional tweak, hasn’t experienced any recurrence this season.

Tarver was considered one of OSU’s top in-state recruits in quite some time when he came to Corvallis from Jesuit. He was all-state, all-state tournament, and the Metro League Player of the Year as a junior and senior, and was ranked 79th nationwide by Hoop Scoop and as the No. 6 small forward on the West Coast by Scout Hoops.

He started the first five games, but scored only nine points and was replaced by Jack McGillis. Over the next three months, he would miss three games altogether, and play 10 minutes or less in 10 others.

“It was tough” to watch his brother, who had dominated at every previous level, be reduced to a bit role, said older brother Josh Tarver, Seth’s roommate and closest friend. “I’d never really seen him hurt before, so it had to be something bad.

“I knew he was hurt, and told him to do the best he can. I’d just tell him, ‘Let’s go, let’s pick it up together.’ I’d try to lift him up a couple times.

“I already knew what he could do. As soon as he healed, I knew he’d be one of the top guys on the team.”

Seth iced and stretched his injured foot, but kept its seriousness to himself and didn’t complain as others took minutes he would have claimed had he been healthy.

“It’s tough, but you just try to stay humble,” he said. “It’s a reality check. You really are as good as your last game, what you see is what you get.

“I’m not going to blame the whole season on my injury; feet are very important but what I did while I was playing, that was me. I was that bad, I guess.”

Seth said he started feeling better, “almost comfortable,” toward the end of the season. In the off-season he shot at least 200 jumpers every day, polished other aspects of his game, played well on OSU’s summer trip to Italy and hasn’t slowed down after averaging a double/double in OSU’s exhibition wins over Warner Pacific and Western Washington.

He had no outside game in 2006-07, was 0-for-8 from deep and 14 of 33 on free throws. This year he has 19 3-pointers, and is shooting .667 from the line.

“What we’re seeing now is only going to continue to get better,” John said. “He’s a good passer, he sees the floor, (and his shooting) has added a huge dimension to his game.

“He’s big enough that if you lose him defensively, it’s not easy to recover, he’s tall enough he can still bang a shot down. His range has gotten to 21 feet. He’s scoring at 1.46 points per shot; when he shoots it, it’s worth almost a point-and-half for us.”

Seth Tarver

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

SIZE: 6-foot-5, 205 pounds

HOMETOWN: Portland

EDUCATION: Graduated from Jesuit High in 2006. Busines major

FAMILY: Parents John and Jean Tarver; brothers Shon, Zach and Josh, sister Taryn

STATS: Has started eight games and is averaging 15.6 points and 6.1 rebounds

QUOTE: “Seth, without question, was our most improved player in the offseason. As his career goes on, (he) is going to be unstoppable.” — OSU coach Jay John