Portland State (14-16, 5-11)
Projected starting five:
Sr. G Charles Odum
Jr. G Michael Harthun
Jr. G Lateef McMullan
Sr. F Chehales Tapscott
Sr. C Nathan Lozeau
Important departures:
Chris Harriel: 12.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Melvin Jones: 11.5 ppg, 2.4 apg, 72 3-pointers made per game
Phillip Thomas: 9.7 ppg
Top returnees:
Odum: 14 ppg, 2.8 apg
Tapscott: 11.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg
Dane Johnson: 2.8 apg
Additions:
Harthun: transfer from Washington State who redshirted in 2010-11
Renado Parker: transfer from North Idaho Junior College (14.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.1 steals per game)
McMullan: transfer from Citrus Junior College (16.3 ppg, 4.2 apg)
Schedule highlights:
Toughest nonconference match up: at Oregon or Oregon State.
Hardest conference stretch: 12-day span at end of January/beginning of February, at Eastern Washington, vs. Montana State, vs. Montana, at Weber State.
Outlook:
The Vikings started 6-2 in the early part of 2010-11 and were 9-5 in nonconference games. Then injuries started piling up, and PSU – which was already in its final year of probation from postseason play – went 5-11 in the Big Sky. The Vikings had just nine players available in 13 of 30 games and lost 33 player games to injury overall. With an off-season of recovery, one of the more experienced teams in the conference will rely on its continual upswing under head coach Tyler Geving (13-19 in 1st year, 14-16 last year) and the experience of Odum, Tapscott, et al., to get back into the NCAA Tournament.
