CORVALLIS, Ore. — The Oregon State men’s basketball team’s 15-man roster features nine new faces that Head Coach Wayne Tinkle hopes will make a difference in road games.
OSU is gearing up for the start of the season, which is just days away. After winning a scrimmage against Cal, 76-66, there is a combination of new faces on this roster – including international players, transfers, and freshmen.
The guys say it feels like home.
“Definitely say just spending time outside of basketball, we complete in the lines and outside, everyone’s kinda close,” says junior guard Dez White.
“I think that we are very close off the court has been a big thing that translated on the court, so we always hang out with each other doing stuff like team bonding and we really came close like a family in like, a month and a half,” says junior forward Isaiah Sy.
Majority of the Beavers’ losses last season came from games on the road with the Beavs winning only three out of 10 away games. Coach Tinkle says he’s confident in this roster’s ability to play in hostile environments.
“Our performance this past weekend, even though it was a scrimmage, it was I think a great first step to the mentality you get from the time you get on the bus here to when you get down there and you get to work and treat is as a business trip. We’ve got some great experience. We’ve got some young guys that are more veteran than their age may show, so I think it builds well for this team to be able to show how better success on the road and really turn Gill into a monster for our opponents to try and come and win here.”
Oregon State gets to show fans what they’re all about come Saturday, Oct. 25, in an exhibition game against Western Oregon. Tip off is slated for 2 p.m.