Oregon State Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Beavers
By Tuck Clarry
Starters
The aforementioned biggest hole to fill for the Beavers is the loss of Thompson. He was a self-starter on offense that initiated a lot of the late-in-the-shot-clock looks that Oregon State relied on their slow-churning pace of play (ranked 306 in KenPom’s adjusted tempo last year). Juniors Gianni Hunt and Jarod Lucas look to help fill that void, with Lucas being the highest returning scorer at 12.7 points per game.
The two are solid defenders, a must in Tinkle’s system, and while not quite as iso-gifted as Thompson, are solid perimeter shooters with Lucas shooting 38% and Hunt at 37%. Hunt could be a breakout candidate in his expanded role and will no doubt be a nuisance for opposing point guards looking to start their offense.
A big get in the transfer portal was Minnesota guard Tre Williams. While Williams doesn’t have quite the outside shooting as the other two, he should serve as the iso bail-out that Thompson was utilized as late in possessions.
The biggest x-factor is senior forward Warith Alatishe, who is coming off 9.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season. Alatishe does it all in terms of defense and rebounding, finishing as an All-Defense honorable mention for the conference. He’s an elite shot-blocker and on-ball defender with solid secondary jumps for defensive rebounding after contesting a shot.
He’s likely going to be asked to take on a bigger role in the offense as well, which should help him once he looks to play professionally. Alatishe will need to work on his ball-handling and shooting (only attempted 14 threes last season) to make the next level.
Redshirt senior Roman Silva will also be asked to lead the offense as the lead post-scorer for the team. Silva was a 65% field goal shooter last season, in large part because of how low on the block he liked to operate. Beavers fans can expect some clear-out moments where they try to get Silva alone down low for a late-in-the-clock look.