Aaron Moore Dismissed From Portland State Team

I had heard this rumor earlier in the week, but wasn’t able to confirm it until now – Aaron Moore is no longer with the Portland State basketball team. From the Portland Tribune:

Geving was vague in talking about why Moore — who did not play in Portland State’s 79-62 Saturday road loss to Weber State — is no longer with the Vikings. 

“You’ve got to just, at some point, draw your foot in the sand,” Geving said. “We’re going to move forward, and I still believe we’re going to be better for it, because Saturday night we played hard.” 

Geving said removing Moore from the team was a difficult decision for him on a personal level. 

“Is it easy?” Geving said. “No, it’s not easy. Is it painful? Yeah, it pains me. But I also know our players are going to respond to it better. I’m going to earn the respect of my players a little bit more as opposed to if I just let it continue to go on. Then all of a sudden players are going to go, ‘Well, coach teaches us to act like that, we all get to act like that.’”

Moore averaged 13.2 PPG and 7.1 RPG last season, and often had the look of a guy that could be an all-conference player. Through the early part of this season (he did battle through some injuries), those numbers were down to 11.8 PPG and 5.8 RPG. In their Big Sky opener, he gave Idaho State fans the double bird, which seems as though it may have been the last straw for Moore at PSU.

The Vikings are 0-2 in Big Sky play, and now very thin on the perimeter. JUCO forward Tiegbe Bamba is still out with injury, leaving Kyle Richardson and Brandon Cataldo as the only healthy big men on the roster. They have some talented guards, but they need to hope that the dismissal of Moore brings a lot of addition by subtraction, particularly defensively (where their 1.13 PPP allowed is 332nd in the country) if they are going to turn things around this season.


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Should Tyler Geving Get a Contract Extension?

Greg Crawford, for one, thinks so:

Take all this into consideration and perhaps you might agree, why Geving should get a long term extension. In his second year on the job, of a four year deal after replacing Ken Bone who departed for Washington State, Portland State's men's basketball program was placed on APR (Academic Progress Rating) for some of the lowest scores in the country. The terms dealt a severe blow to Portland State basketball. Loss of scholarships, loss of practice time and no post-season for that one year period. At the time, I was telling people, that Portland State basketball would take five years to recover. Many laughed, they are not laughing now. Geving has turned the academic side around, something he inherited and not on his watch, to the point that Portland State now gets perfect APR scores.

What are everyone else's thoughts?

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Portland State Signs Aaron Moore and Marcus Hall

Portland State also has a couple of additions to their roster for the upcoming season. The JUCO route has been good to Tyler Geving, and he continues to go for that type of player this year.

The first to sign was Marcus Hall, who went to Fresno City College last year. He averaged 12.9 points and 4.1 rebounds there last year. As 6'4'', he can shoot the ball well from the outside (45.2% from downtown), and is a versatile defender and athlete. He is not a big scorer, but will do all of the little things for the Vikings next season.

"Marcus is obviously a good defender, rebounder and athlete and he can really knock down open shots," Geving said. "Marcus does a little bit of everything. But most of all, he has winning qualities, and he proved that by winning Most Valuable Player honors and leading his team to the California Juco championship."

Today, the Vikings also signed Aaron Moore, who is 6'8'' and will be a junior this season. He averaged 14 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last year. While PSU loses Chehales Tapscott and Nate Lozeau down low, Moore, returner Renado Parker, and Lamont Prosser (a JUCO forward that was signed in the fall) should continue to give them a solid trio up front.

"The best thing that Aaron brings to our team is a lot of versatility. He can face up and shoot it out to 18 feet, and he can also get a basket down on the block for us," said Geving. "He is a good athlete and a very good rebounder. Losing Chehales (Tapscott to graduation), that is something we need to address is rebounding. We have to make sure we are getting the job done on the boards and Aaron can do that.

Moore is the fourth member of their class, when including transfer Tim Douglas.

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Portland State Gets a Division I Transfer

This happened last week, but somehow I forgot to write an article about it.


Portland State signed Tim Douglas to an aid agreement, meaning the future junior will suit up for the Vikings after sitting out a year due to transfer rules. He spent two seasons with the University of Portland, starting 24 games.

Douglas, a 5-10 guard from Cerritos, CA, has played the past two seasons at Portland. He was given his release by the Pilot program following the 2011-12 season. In two years with the Pilots, Douglas played in 59 games, making 24 starts at point guard. He averaged 8.1 points, 3.0 assists, shot .411 from the field and .792 at the free throw line. Ironically, his career-best game was a 27-point effort against the Vikings in the Stott Center on Dec. 18, 2010.

There are good and bad things about Douglas' game. He is very quick, and can be a dynamic threat. He had a nice assist rate, which is obviously key for a PG. He also has a tendency to turn the ball over (31.3 TO Rate last year), and needs to improve his outside shot, since he shot just 28% from downtown last year.

But, it sure will be nice for Tyler Geving to have another veteran PG to plug in after next season. Charles Odum was the senior leader in the backcourt this year, Lateef McMullan will be the senior this year, and then it will likely be Douglas and Gary Winston (who will be a sophomore this year) in the backcourt in 2013-14. You could certainly do a lot worse, that is for sure.

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Three Other Big Sky Teams Fall Thursday

We looked at Sacramento State's loss last night, but three other Big Sky teams fell on Thursday night, leaving some bad tastes in their mouth heading into the Christmas break (soon hopefully to be filled by the taste of a delicious Christmas dinner).

Portland State continued their trend of mixing a great offensive performance with a bad defensive one, as they fell 92-86 to Cal State Fullerton. Amazingly, it was the fourth time in five games that Portland State has given up 85 points in a game, which is something that Tyler Geving needs to clean up. The Titans shot 49% from the field and made 11 three-pointers in this game.

PSU had a stellar offensive game in their own right, finishing with 6 guys in double figures. Charles Odum had another efficient game, finishing with 19 points. Chehales Tapscott also had a nice all-around day, with 12 points, 7 boards, and 6 assists. They are still not getting much play-making from Lateef McMullan, who had 14 points, but only 3 assists against 3 turnovers. They need him to get others involved.

Portland State is a team that doesn't force turnovers (they are absolutely one of the worst in America), and their defensive efficiency could soon be among the worst in the country. Their talent states that they should be one of the top 4 teams in the Big Sky, but to do so, they will need to get some steps at key moments in games, and they have yet to show that they are capable of that. One thing is for sure, they will be an exciting team, and you can bet that lots of points will be put on the board in their games.

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Northern Colorado took on Colorado State, a nice rivalry since the schools are about 20 minutes apart, but they simply could not stop the Rams on Thursday night, losing 92-78. Dorian Green for CSU had a career-high 36 points in this game, which boggles my mind a little bit.

"They're just not focused on [defense]. They just don't understand the importance of it," Hill said. "We have two guys in this program (Mike Proctor and Elliott Lloyd) who played any type of significant minutes on that team last year or the year before. I know Emmanuel [Addo] was on that team; I know Tate [Unruh] was on the team; I know Tevin [Svihovec] was around in practice. But unless you have a significant role in those seasons, you don't understand what it takes. And they don't understand right now. They have to be baptized and get it on their own, because that's what kids have to do.

The loss drops UNC to 3-8, and there is some talk about how much the Bears struggled last season before going on a run in conference play, but this has the look of a much different ballclub.

It is not like Northern Colorado is void of good players, they are simply too young right now to get it done every night, as they have shown so far this season.  They are a team that does not bring it defensively every night, and it shows. Offensively, they are their own worst enemy. They are an excellent outside shooting team but they turn the ball over a ton.

Their schedule has potentially set them up to get off to a quick start in conference play, as they begin with home games against Northern Arizona and Idaho State. Based on the way they have played this year, no outcome in these games would surprise me.

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Idaho State was hoping that the coaching change would provide a spark, but it did not such thing against Wyoming, as they fell 80-56. The loss drops the Bengals to 2-9, while Wyoming continues their quietly impressive year, improving to 12-2.

Kenny McGowen led the team with 23 points, while no other Bengal was in double figures.

“It was more of the same thing pretty much. We come out. We play through stretches for a while and then it just all goes kaput at some point. Offensively I told the team that I don't know if there is an offense we can scheme up to go out and make the shot for you. At some point you have to go out and make the play. We did pretty good defensively against them. We get them down to the shot clock at under 10 seconds I don't know how many times. They come off a ball screen and go make a play."

Looking at the way things have ended in non-conference play, it is tough to make an argument that Idaho State will be anywhere but the cellar. They need to start getting full team efforts on both ends of the court, as they just can't seem to put a full game together.

Anything else you guys noticed from these three games?

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Player To Watch: Renado Parker of Portland State

If there is one guy you may not know yet, but could be a big factor in the Big Sky race this year, it is Renado Parker. Parker is a transfer that has become eligible now that the first semester is over, and he could be a huge boost off the bench for a Portland State team that is not very deep.

Here is what Coach Tyler Geving had to say about him before the season:

“Renado has done a great job in early season workouts. When you get him the ball on the block, even though he is only 6-5 or 6-6, he is as good as anyone getting the ball in the basket.”

He played two solid seasons at community college, and then went to Idaho. He was in the Vandals program for one semester, and may have been the most talented recruit for Idaho. He decided to move on, and has found a home at Portland State now that he has become eligible. An article from his high school days talks about his talent then, though he had some academic issues (which is likely why he went the JUCO route).

In his sophomore season, he averaged about 14 points and 6 rebounds from the floor, showing an efficient low-post game. He showed all of that talent in his first game back for the Vikings. In 23 minutes, he has 12 points (on 5/6 shooting) and 8 rebounds (including 4 offensive). Teams would take that level of production from their starters, let alone their third big. The key will be whether he can play defense, and that is a huge area of need for the Vikings.

For a team that already has potential All-Conference players in Chehales Tapscott and Nate Lozeau but little depth behind them. That should change now, as Parker is in the mold of Tapscott. He is undersized but he simply gets it done, and should put up nice numbers at the Big Sky level. His production and continued development could be a big factor in whether or not Portland State is a player in the Big Sky.

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Greg Crawford's Debut at CSNNW

West Coast basketball writer Greg Crawford began his gig at CSNNW, and had a couple of Big Sky related things to say.

Jim Hayford-- Hayford moved from D-3 Whitworth to D-1 Eastern Washington this year as head coach. A rare jump in college basketball, but a great hire for Eastern Washington. A winner is a winner and do not be surprised if it does not take him long to make the Eagles into a basketball power in Cheney. This guy "gets it" and his progress at Eastern will be fun to watch.

He also had a blurb in there about Portland State head man Tyler Geving.

We wish him the best of luck with his new writing endeavor!

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A Look at Portland State

Portland State's website had a great preview article, so let's take a look at it. If you are interested in learning about the Vikings I encourage you to read it all, it is nice and thorough.

Odum, a 6-foot guard, averaged a team-high 14.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting .524 from the field. Those numbers improved to 15.3, 3.7, 2.9 and .565 in league games, earning him second team All-Big Sky Conference.

Odum is the star of the backcourt, and he could be a first team Conference player this season. He was a very efficient scorer and solid distributor in his first year for the Vikings. If he can improve his ballhandling and outside shoot a bit, we will be talking about him with Damian Lillard and Will Cherry as the top guards in the Big Sky.

Tapscott is a good shooter inside and out and also gets to the free throw line with regularity.

“Chehales has a chance to be All-Conference this year. We went 1-5 without him (while injured), so you could make a case that he was our best player last season,” said Geving.

I have written quite a bit about Chehales Tapscott on this site, and think he could be the best post man in the Conference, even if he is not really a true post (at 6'5''). He is the leading rebounder in the Conference, and I think he will be first-team Big Sky. Look for him to become a household name, as he can score in a variety of ways.

Harthun is a 6-3 transfer from Washington State who will ably step into a perimeter shooter role. Although he never got his career going at WSU, Harthun is a proven scorer and winner. As a senior at South Medford (OR) High School, he averaged 21.0 points and six assists per game. He was a three-time All-Conference and All-State performer, scoring 1,949 points as a four-year starter, which ranks second in school history behind former teammate Kyle Singler, who is now in the NBA. Harthun will be particularly valuable due to the graduation of shooters Melvin Jones and Phil Nelson.

Michael Harthun has a lot of talent but didn't produce much in his last stop. He's got the ability to be a difference maker for the Vikings if he used the redshirt year to his advantage. His development will be a key factor for them.

The third returning redshirt is 6-10 center Brandon Cataldo. After missing his senior season of high school with a broken leg, Cataldo needed a year to recover and improve his conditioning. However, in that redshirt year he proved to be a very skilled big man, with good footwork, good hands, passing and shooting ability. If he continues to progress and improve his conditioning, Cataldo will form an excellent big-man tandem with Lozeau.

I think Cataldo could be a big-time talent for Portland State, and a guy not many fans knowing going into the season. He is very skilled and polished as the article says, and if he can stay in shape and stay healthy he could be huge for the Vikings. Watch for Cataldo this year.

First and foremost, Geving cited the need for a pure point guard, and believes he got his man with junior transfer Lateef McMullan. “I feel really good about the point guard spot. We got a real competitor. A tough kid who is a winner. He's also played Division I basketball before.

I have been hearing lots of raving about McMullan, who averaged about 16 PPG and 4 APG last season. He also has Divison I experience, as he played his freshman year at UC Riverside.

There is a lot more good info on incoming recruits in the article, and more on all of the players, including a lot of good quotes from Coach Tyler Geving. I have picked them third in the Big Sky this year, because I think the nucleus of Odum and Tapscott will be complemented well by guys like Harthun, Cataldo, and McMullan. If nothing else, Portland State should be fun to watch, because they will probably again lead the Big Sky in scoring.

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Some Thoughts on Lamont Prosser

Portland State recently got a commitment from Lamont Prosser, a 6'8'', 275 pound JUCO forward. He plays at Sheridan College in Sheridan, WY.

Last year as a freshman he averaged about 12 PPG and 7 RPG, shooting a solid 54% for the year. Solid numbers for a freshman anywhere, even a junior college in Wyoming.

He also put up good numbers at prep school, with about 17 PPG, 12 RPG, and over 2 blocks per game. As important, he appears to be a solid guy whose character has drawn the praise of his coaches.

From all accounts he has good footwork around the basket and soft hands, which (along with his strength) allows him to be an effective inside scorer. His height and weight suggest that he can take up some space down low, which is an effective asset as long as he stays in shape.

A Twitter profile called RecruitDirt had this to say about Prosser:

Lamont Prosser from Sheridan JC commits to Portland St 2 days ago...did anybody relay this to the world???...kid is a Top 5 juco player!...

All in all, Prosser seems to be a nice signing for the Vikings. He is a little bit under the radar, but space eaters down low that can score around the basket and rebound their share are quality assets in the Big Sky. With Chehales Tapscott exhausting his eligibility after this season, it was important for Coach Geving to get a big man, and Prosser appears likely to be able to step in and play right away.

An Early Look at Portland State's Schedule

Portland State was one of the last schedules released among the Big Sky teams, so let's take a look at some of their key games, most notably their out of conference slate.

They start the season on the road on November 11 against Denver out of the Sun Belt Conference. While not a marquee game by any stretch of the imagination, Denver has been a respectable team over the past couple of years, so a road win to start the year would be solid.

Two other conference road games of note are against Oregon and Oregon State, and it would be huge if they could beat even one of the in-state rivals. They will play Oregon on December 12 and Oregon State on December 18th. Oregon is coming off of a solid first year under Dana Altman, and Oregon State has recruited some nice players under Craig Robinson, but these are games the Vikings should go into thinking they can win. Their other non-conference road games come against Utah Valley and Cal State Fullerton.

Their home slate, like is customary for Big Sky teams, is not one that is going to excite a lot of fans. They take on Seattle, Linfield, Walla Walla, and Cal State Bakersfield. On the one hand, this is not a lot of competition and they should win these games. On the other hand, it could be nice confidence builders for them before the Big Sky season. Late in the year they will get a home Bracket Busters game.

They will also play in the Jim Thorpe Classic in Laramie. There they will take on the hometown Wyoming Cowboys, and then have neutral court games against Louisiana Tech and Maryland East-Shore. Talent-wise they should come out of that 2-1.

This will be an interesting season for Coach Tyler Geving and Portland State. After a couple of bad seasons following the departure of Ken Bone, expectations are starting to pick back up, as on paper this team has the talent to finish near the top of the Big Sky. How they fare in the non-conference slate will certainly be a harbinger of what is to come in conference play. With their schedule, 9 wins should be a reachable goal, and anything less than 8 would be a little disappointing, in my opinion.

What do you think? What is a reasonable expectation for the Vikings in the non-conference?

Could Portland State Win the Big Sky?

Recently we looked at who might be the third best team in the Big Sky, considering for the sake of the argument that Weber State and Montana would be 1-2. In the post, I consider Portland State perhaps the favorite to be 3rd.

But Craw's Corner has gone a step further, making a bold prediction that Portland State would win the Big Sky:

The Portland State Vikings will win the Big Sky championship this year in men's basketball. Yes those Vikings who play in a clean, sparkling, but awfully small arena, the Stott Center, which is seldom filled, but as noted, has the best band of any school in the country, with the band having an average of what I would guess 50 years old.

While Portland State is long on talent, I personally don't see them winning the Big Sky, and here is why:

- Coach Tyler Geving may someday be a very good coach, but he is not there yet. He is only 38, and after two seasons (albeit marred by some messes left by Ken Bone), there has been one thing about his resume that has stood out - PSU has been terrible defensively. Two years ago they had an AdjD of 112.4 (meaning opponents scored 112.4 points per 100 possessions against the Vikings), which was 338th in the country. Last year, they were down to 113.8, which ranked 334th in the NCAA. I don't care what league you are in, that will not get it done. They need to emphasize defense, and Geving hasn't shown yet that he can do that.

- They don't have a ton of experienced depth. Charles Odum and Chehales Tapscott are their senior leaders. Michael Harthun and Brandon Cataldo are talented but it's tough to say how good they will be. Lateef McMullan looks like he will be a solid contributor coming in as a JUCO. But what will their depth look like? I'm not sure.

- I think Weber State is actually going to be very good this year. Craw says it's "easy to win the Big Sky," but I don't think it will be easy at all to beat Weber State this year. They will be deep at all positions, they have great shooters, and they have an excellent coach in Randy Rahe. To top it off, you know they will be hungry after their preseason top ranking in the Big Sky was derailed by the injury to Damian Lillard. He will be back, and they will be good.

What are all of your thoughts? Does Portland State really have a chance to win the Big Sky?

Portland State Posts Solid Academic Scores

For a school that had some problems with the NCAA under Ken Bone, this has to be good news.

From the twitter feed of Head Coach Tyler Geving:

Summer school grades out this week and a great job by our players. Back to Back years of perfect APR scores. Off to a good start again.