Complete preseason notes in pdf

Portland State basketball is trending, to borrow a current phrase. After a much improved 2013-14 campaign that had the Vikings earning a post-season tournament berth, PSU expects more in 2014-15.

The Vikings, led by sixth-year Head Coach Tyler Geving, come off a 17-15 season - a nine-win improvement over the previous season. And with the strength of the team returning, PSU hopes to push past its Big Sky Tournament semifinal appearance of a season ago.

Portland State continues its preseason practice with an exhibition game scheduled for Nov. 8 against Linfield at the Stott Center (7:30 p.m.). PSU opens the season at USC on Nov. 15, and the home opener is Nov. 18 against Willamette. The Big Sky Conference season starts Jan. 1 with a home game against Southern Utah.

The Big Sky Conference will release its preseason polls on Thursday, Oct. 23.

TYLER GEVING SAYS
ON HIS TEAM'S IMPROVED SIZE: "Obviously we are a lot longer and little bit more athletic than we have been. I think our size will make a difference on the perimeter. Last year, playing four guards hurt a little bit from a defensive standpoint, but this year we are a little longer and more athletic on the perimeter. Collin (Spickerman) provides a good shot blocker at the rim. That makes us a better defensive team and able to pressure people a little bit more. I think our overall depth is better than it has been as well. We have to stay healthy, but I like our depth and think we can play a variety of guys."

ON HIS TEAM'S PREPARATION: "Practices have been good, getting the preseason trip (to the Bahamas) was beneficial for us. The kids realize we had some success last year because we had to play harder, get every 50-50 ball and do those little things (because of our lack of size) and some of that has carried over into this year."

ON THE VIKINGS OFFENSIVE CAPABILITIES: "We have a lot of guys that can probably score 20 a night which is good. But it can also be a bad thing if we don't share the ball. The big key for us is we have to buy in to sharing the basketball. If we do that, we have a chance for a real successful season. I also think we are going to be pretty hard to guard with a lot of guys that can score in different ways."

ON THE KEY TO THE VIKINGS SUCCESS: "Defensively, we have to improve with our rebounding and having more aggressiveness and intensity on the defensive end. And sharing the ball on the offensive end. Those are the two big keys for us."

ON THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE: "Last year is a great indicator of how competitive our league is (based on the closeness of the race). There is not a big difference from teams one to twelve in our league. I think there is a lot of parity, and there are a lot of teams that think they can win the conference championship. And once you get into the tournament on a neutral floor, I am sure everybody thinks they have a chance. It will make for an exciting race, and it won't be a one- or two-team race this year. It will probably be a five- or six-team race."

"I would be disappointed if we do not finish in the top half of the league. We have enough talent on paper to play up to that level, but all 12 teams in our league have the same goal: getting to the NCAA tourney. You need to stay healthy and have a little luck."

THE VIKING TEAM BREAKDOWN
Portland State has six returning letterwinners, three returning redshirts, and had a signing class of six.

Portland State already had a chance to work out with 10 practices and a three-game foreign tour in August. That allowed the nine returners and eight newcomers a chance to work together on the floor.

"The August practices were a good start and we were able to implement some things," said Geving. "Now we can go back, clean some things up and take them to a higher level. The areas we really want to hit on during the first month are rebounding and valuing the basketball."

Geving's team should follow the lead of his three senior guards, Gary Winston, Tim Douglas and DaShaun Wiggins. "They need to be leaders," he said. "Not necessarily verbal leaders, but as 23-year old, fifth-year seniors they need to play like grown men for us. They have played in lots of games, lots of minutes and in lots of pressure situations so they really need to be the on-floor leaders during the season."

Those three were part of the Vikings playing a four-guard (and sometimes five-guard) lineup last year. They will be the catalysts on the Viking roster this year with each adding a unique element to the triumvirate. 

Winston, a 6-foot shooter, begins his fourth season as a Viking. He earned second team All-Big Sky Conference honors in 2013-14 as he was once again the Vikings go-to three-point shooter. Winston averaged 11.3 points and 2.7 assists per game while hitting deep shots at a .422 clip. Winston ranks third all-time in PSU history with a .435 three-point percentage.

Wiggins, a 6-2 slasher, came onto the scene last year to be the Vikings leading scorer despite coming off the bench. Wiggins averaged 12.9 points and was named co-6th Man of the Year in the Big Sky Conference. His ability to create on the drive got him to the free throw line a remarkable 189 times, where he shot at a .762 clip.

Douglas, a 5-10 point, is the floor leader for the Vikings. His 99 assists and 33 steals led the Viking team last season. He averaged 11.8 points while playing a team-high 35 minutes per game.

Those three will be a tough guard as a unit for any team.

Also back for the Vikings are 6-2 sophomore guard Zach Gengler and 6-10 senior center Brandon Cataldo.

Gengler is a shooter as evidenced by his .478 three-point percentage in limited time as a freshman. His role will continue to expand this season and he will be counted on in a big way following the graduation of the seniors after the season.

Cataldo has shown great promise as a player and has the size to make a difference inside. He averaged 4.0 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting .588 from the floor and .760 at the line. Cataldo's good hands and footwork on offense could expand his playing time significantly in his final season.

Geving also has what may be a bit of a secret weapon in redshirt forward Tiegbe Bamba. Bamba sat out last season to heal from an achilles injury. At 6-6 and extremely athletic, he is an excellent rebounder and may fill the "4" position for the Vikings.

Another redshirt, 6-4 guard Sebastian Suarez, is a good shooter who will be looking for time at a wing position.

While the Vikings played a guard-heavy lineup out of necessity last season, Geving has balanced out his roster during off-season recruiting. There may still be some guard-heavy looks from the Vikings, but inside talent has been infused into the program.

Expected to have a big impact in the post is junior transfer Collin Spickerman, a Portland native who averaged 17.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocks last season at Clark College. Spickerman, at 6-8, may earn the starting nod inside for the Vikings.

Two other big men were added in 6-7 post Dorian Cason and 6-6 forward Braxton Tucker. Both are junior college transfers and have an opportunity for playing time inside. 

A key acquisition for the Viking program was the late signing of swingman Bryce White. At 6-5, he has excellent size and versatility on the wing. White, also a native of Portland, is just a sophomore. He transferred from Chemeketa Community College after averaging 27.5 points and 7.2 rebounds as a freshman. 

White showed that he may be ready to star right away after averaging a team-high 15.0 points on the Vikings foreign tour during August.

Two more guards with excellent upsides and futures in the Viking program who signed this year are Calaen Robinson and Iziahiah Sweeney. 

Robinson is a 6-2 transfer from Arizona State who will redshirt this season due to NCAA transfer rules. He is expected to be the Viking point guard after the graduation of Douglas. 

Sweeney is a freshman who is extremely athletic. His transition to the college level will dictate how much playing time he gets, but the 6-3 guard could play a role in 2014-15.

The Vikings also have four walk-ons to the program. They are returning guards Joel King (6-3) and Kyler Shula (5-10), and newcomers Daniel Davydov (6-0) and Montie Leunen (6-4).

QUICK NOTES
• Portland State will try to build on its 17-15/11-9 finish of 2013-14. The Vikings more than doubled their previous years' win total (8-20/5-15). The last time PSU won more than 17 games was a 23-10 season in 2008-09.

• In addition to the marked improvement last season, Portland State proved to be a team that performed well under pressure, going 10-6 in close games (seven points or less) and 3-1 in overtime... the Vikings came back to win seven games when trailing at halftime - the most by any team in the Big Sky Conference... PSU was 9-1 when leading at halftime, matching Montana State for the best record in that category... the Vikings lost only one game when leading at halftime - the fewest such losses by any team in the Big Sky.

• Portland State begins its 19th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference in 2014-15. PSU won Big Sky regular season titles in 2004-05 and 2007-08. The Vikings won Big Sky tournament titles, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2007-08 and 2008-09... PSU's trip to the CollegeInsider.com post-season tournament in 2013-14 was its first Division I post-season tournament other than its previous NCAA trips.

• The Big Sky expands to 12 schools with the return of the University of Idaho. The conference schedule will be reduced to 18 games. As a result, PSU will not travel to Montana and Montana State this season, and will not host Weber State and Idaho State... the Big Sky Conference Tournament also expands to the top eight teams (from seven) with no first-round byes... the Vikings' non-conference schedule includes four home games and six road games. PSU will travel to Pac-12 foes USC and Oregon, WCC opponents Portland and San Francisco, and Big West schools UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge... the Vikings have Willamette, SIU Edwardsville, Cal State Bakersfield and Walla Walla at home.

• PSU has gone 141-52 in 193 games at the Stott Center since the 1996-97 season and the reinstatement of the Viking basketball program. Including home games at Memorial Coliseum (12-6) and the Rose Garden (19-9), the Vikings are 172-67 at home over the past 18 seasons. 

• Portland State has lost only six non-conference home games since the start of the 2006-07 season (35-6). PSU is 21-6 against Division I schools, and 14-0 against lower division schools over that span.

• The Tyler Geving Basketball Show is available on Blog Talk Radio. The show will take place each Wednesday night, 10:30-11:00 pm, PDT. The link to listen changes each week, but the weekly link can be found at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tylergevingshow. Geving, a 10-year veteran of the Viking basketball program, is in his sixth season as head coach. He will talk Viking basketball, Big Sky basketball and review and preview games. Greg Crawford hosts the show.

VIKING BASKETBALL IS TOPS AMONG APR SCORES
Portland State men's basketball received public recognition from the NCAA last May for being among the top 10 percent of teams in multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores for the four-year period ending in 2012-13.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship.  The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance. 

Portland State basketball, which received APR sanctions five years ago, is now among the top programs in the nation in APR scores. Head Coach Tyler Geving has led the program to that accomplishment. PSU has the only men's basketball program in the Big Sky Conference and among the state of Oregon's four Division I programs to be among the top 10 percent recognized today by the NCAA. 

"It was a great team effort and lot of people were involved in it here over the last four years," said Geving. "First, the players have worked hard at getting the job done in the classroom. The academic staff here at Portland State and the assistant coaches have put a lot of effort into this as well, and it is a great accomplishment considering where we were four years ago."

VIKING ONE-LINERS (sometimes two)
• Portland State has two players from foreign countries on its roster; Tiegbe Bamba (France) and Sebastian Suarez (Chile). Since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97, Portland State has also had players from England, Canada (3), Nigeria and Lithuania.

• FR G Zach Gengler was the Oregon 5A High School Player of the Year in 2012-13.

• PSU has three players that competed for other Division I schools: Tim Douglas (Portland), Calaen Robinson (Arizona State) and Dorian Cason (Portland). Robinson will redshirt this season due to his NCAA transfer status.

• JR F Collin Spickerman and SO G Bryce White have both returned home after earning NWAACC Region Player of the Year awards. Spickerman prepped less than 10 miles from the PSU campus at Portland's Jesuit High School. He spent one season at Alaska Anchorage and one season at Clark (WA) College. Last winter he was the NWAACC West Region Player of the Year after averaging 17.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots per game. White prepped less than five miles from the PSU campus at Portland's Benson Tech. He was named the NWAACC South Region Player of the Year after averaging 27.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists at Chemeketa CC.

• With three fourth-year players on the roster this season (Gary Winston, Brandon Cataldo, Joel King), it marks only the second time the Viking program has had three fourth-year seniors in their Big Sky history (also 1999-2000 with Derek Nesland, Ivan Garner, Hasan Artharee). 

• FR G Iziahiah Sweeney won the 2014 Ballislife All American Dunk contest. The video is available on YouTube (you won't be disappointed).

• Head Coach Tyler Geving and Associate Head Coach Jeff Hironaka were both assistant coaches on the 2000-01 Seattle Pacific basketball staff.

• Special Advisor Barry Adams, a high school coaching legend in the state of Oregon, was elected to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame on March 10, 2014. Adams spent more than four decades as a prep coach in the state.

• Over the summer, fifth-year Assistant Coach Anthony Owens was named the new Head Coach at the University of Great Falls, his alma mater.

• Former Viking Ime Udoka played seven seasons in the NBA. He started 75 games for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2006-07. Udoka is now an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs.

• Julius Thomas, who holds Portland State records for games played (121), field goal percentage in a season and career (.671/.663), and career wins (78) is now the starting tight end and a Pro Bowler for the Denver Broncos. Thomas played on two Big Sky Conference Championship/NCAA Tournament teams (2007-08, 2008-09) at PSU. He competed in Super Bowl XLVIII last February.