2016-17 PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS ROSTER 2016-17 Portland State Vikings (left to right): Assistant Coach Jase Coburn, Associate Head Coach Jeff Hironaka, Director of Operations Keithan Gregg, Special Advisor Barry Adams, Deontae North, Daniel Davydov, De’Sean Parsons, Tyrell Henderson, Traylin Farris, Calaen Robinson, Namdi Okonkwo, Bryce Canda, Brendan Rumel, Zach Gengler, Brandon Hollins, Khari Holloway, Montie Leunen, Michael Mayhew, Braxton Tucker, Bill Barton, Assistant Coach Chris Skinkis, Athletic Trainer Jim Wallis, Head Coach Tyler Geving. No. Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Yr. Exp. Hometown (Schools) NAME PRONUNCIATIONS 0 Bryce Canda G 6-4 200 JR JC Portland, OR (Grant HS/Central Wyoming JC) Daniel Davydov DAV-uh-dov Tyler Geving GEV-ing (hard G) 1 Zach Gengler G 6-2 180 SR 3V Silverton, OR (Silverton HS) Jeff Hironaka HIGH-ROW–na–kuh 2 Michael Mayhew G 6-2 195 SO JC Flower Mound, TX (Marcus HS/Hill College) Khari Holloway KY-ree Montie Leunen LOO-nen 3 Deontae North G 6-4 190 JR JC Corona, CA (Centennial HS/Long Beach St./South Plains JC) Deontae North DEE-on-tay Namdi Okonkwo nam-DEE 4 Brendan Rumel F 6-10 235 FR HS Tucson, AZ (Rincon HS) oh-KWONK-whoa 5 Tyrell Henderson G 6-3 180 FR HS Tempe, AZ (Corona del Sol HS) Calaen Robinson KAY-len Brendan Rumel RUM-ul 10 Daniel Davydov G 6-0 175 SO 1V Bellevue, WA (Seattle Academy) 11 Calaen Robinson G 6-2 190 SR 1V Tempe, AZ (Corona Del Sol HS/Arizona State) VIKINGS BY SIZE Daniel Davydov 6-0 13 De’Sean Parsons F 6-7 195 SR 1V Sacramento, CA (Grant Union HS/Salt Lake CC) Zach Gengler 6-2 Calaen Robinson 6-2 15 Braxton Tucker F 6-6 220 JR 1V/RS Tacoma, WA (Spanaway Lake HS/North Idaho JC) Michael Mayhew 6-2 22 Brandon Hollins F 6-6 200 JR JC St. Louis, MO (Jennings HS/Paris JC) Khari Holloway 6-2 Tyrell Henderson 6-3 23 Khari Holloway G 6-2 185 SR 1V Jackson, MS (Mountain Pointe HS/Mesa CC) Bryce Canda 6-4 25 Namdi Okonkwo C 7-0 210 SR 1V Dallas, TX (Westwind Prep (AZ)/Western Wyoming JC) Montie Leunen 6-4 Deontae North 6-4 30 Traylin Farris C 6-8 225 JR JC Pearland, TX (Manvel HS/Incarnate Word/Odessa JC) Braxton Tucker 6-6 Brandon Hollins 6-6 34 Montie Leunen F 6-4 190 SR 2V Portland, OR (Westview HS/Shasta JC) De’Sean Parsons 6-7 Traylin Farris 6-8 HEAD COACH: Tyler Geving (Central Washington, 1996, 8th year) Brendan Rumel 6-10 ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH: Jeff Hironaka Namdi Ononkwo 7-0 ASSISTANT COACHES: Jase Coburn, Chris Skinkis VIKINGS BY YEAR DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS: Keithan Gregg Freshmen: 2 Sophomores: 2 SPECIAL ASSISTANT/ADVISOR: Barry Adams Juniors: 5 ATHLETIC TRAINER: Jim Wallis Seniors: 6 www.GoViks.com 2016-17 Portland State Vikings Basketball • 1 Geving expects the usual suspects to be at the 2016-17 PORTLAND STATE top of the Big Sky again this season. “Weber State and Montana should always be up there. North Dakota has a lot returning, as do Idaho and Idaho State. Those are SEASON PREVIEW probably the top five teams going into the season,” he said. As the 2016-17 season approaches, Portland State 2, SR) had seven starts for the Vikings last year in a deep Due to the Big Sky Conference’s 18-game unbal- Basketball Coach Tyler Geving has his team striving for backcourt. anced schedule, Portland State will not host Idaho or the one thing it lacked last year until late in the season - Freshman Tyrell Henderson (6-3, G) comes from a Eastern Washington, and will not travel to Idaho State consistency. strong high school program and should have a good fu- and Weber State. “We are really need to find consistency this ture in the Viking program. Sophomore Daniel Davydov The Big Sky Conference tournament will take place season if we want to be better,” said Geving. “We didn’t (6-0, G) also returns, but is working his way back from in Reno, NV for the second year. All 12 teams will be part win the close ones last year. We had eight games I an ACL injury to his knee. of the tournament as it takes place at the Reno Events counted that were really close at the end that we lost. Joining Tucker on the front line is another returner Center. “You have to find a way to win the close ones, in De’Sean Parsons (6-7, F). Parsons came on strong last “I loved having the conference tournament in maybe make a couple more free throws, play better season, averaging 11 points and shooting 60% from Reno,” said Geving. “I think it was a step in the right defense, just be more consistent. We had trouble with the field over the last 12 games. His athleticism and direction in our league in terms of exposure. It was a consistency last year and starting different lineups while versatility allow the Vikings to play a variety of lineups, great set-up in Reno and I am looking forward to it trying to find an identity. Once we found it the last seven including playing small and creating mismatches on the again. It was really good for us as we got to play a team games of the season, we were pretty good.” offensive end. like Weber State (the eventual champion) at a neutral Indeed they were, winning five of those seven, “We want to get up and down the court and score site and took them to the wire.” and nearly knocking off eventually Big Sky Conference at a high rate. We have had some success playing small- Champion Weber State in a tournament quarterfinal er, so that is something we will look at again. De’Sean COMING SOON: game. is a tough matchup when he plays at the ‘four’,” said AN ALL NEW VIKING PAVILION “We need to do that a lot sooner this year,” said Geving. “There will be times when we do that and it will The Peter W. Stott Center will remain the home Geving. be a strength.” court for the Vikings in 2016-17 while major construc- In fact, the Vikings struggled with free throw However, with that style of play comes another tion is underway on the eastern portion of the building. (.659) and three-point shooting (.322) last year, ranking concern: Rebounding. That development will become the new Viking Pavilion, last in the Big Sky in both categories. Those missed “When you decide to play small, one of the things a venue that will seat 3000+ for basketball. A comple- opportunities contributed to the lack of consistency. you can give up is rebounding. On the offensive end you tion date is scheduled for winter 2018. PSU will find an But Geving believes his squad is ready to take the can spread people out and get some mismatches, but on alternate home court for 2017-18 until the new Pavilion next step and he has seen it in the off-season. defense you can be at a disadvantage. So we have put a is opened. “I like our team chemistry. This past spring and big emphasis on becoming a better rebounding team,” summer have been really good for us. (Junior transfer said Geving. guard) Bryce Canda was here in the spring. We had 11 Helping in that area will be junior transfers Traylin FAST BREAKS guys here over the summer. We got a head start from Farris (6-8, C) and Brandon Hollins (6-6, F) and freshman • Portland State led the Big Sky Conference in assists where we were in seasons past,” said Geving. “This is a Brendan Rumel (6-10, F). The Vikings also return seniors (17.0), steals (8.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4) in group that likes each other on and off the court too. The Namdi Okonkwo (7-0, C) and Montie Leunen (6-4, F). 2015-16. The Vikings set a school record for steals in culture in the locker room has been as good as it has in Farris played his freshman season of Division I a season with 263… PSU ranked 11th in the nation in a long time. It has been an easy group to coach.” basketball at Incarnate Word where he averaged 10.1 assists and 10th in steals. The Vikings led the Big Sky Those good feelings heading into the season points and 4.7 rebounds. Last year, he played at Odessa Conference in both categories as well as assist-to-turn- should be the start of improving on the 13-18 campaign Junior College. Hollins is a transfer from Paris Junior over ratio. of last year (8-10 in the Big Sky). The Vikings have two College. • Portland State has lost only eight non-conference starters and seven letterwinners back from that squad, Rumel will be an intriguing prospect. He already home games in the last nine seasons (42-8). PSU is but actually it is three and eight, as Braxton Tucker (6-6, has good offensive skills and defensive footwork. Now 24-8 against Division I schools and 18-0 against lower F) returns after sitting out 2015-16 due to a knee injury. he needs to adjust to the more physical level of play. division schools. Tucker was a starter in 2014-15, averaging 11.5 points, Geving expects Rumel to develop into a key player over • Portland State begins its 21st season as a member 5.3 rebounds and shooting .500 from the field.