New Portland State men’s basketball coach Jase Coburn has overseen a lot of turnover the last two years.
The Vikings brought in 10 new players last year. After taking over the lead role this offseason, Coburn has brought in seven more new additions along with elevating two coaches on his staff and bringing in two others.
In total, there are three coaches and two players on the current roster that were on the team when the pandemic halted play in Boise in the spring of 2020.
With that in mind, Coburn’s goal is to the slew of new players and coaches have time to develop and learn his system this summer. Workouts started at the beginning of July and will run through August.
“We’re going to have a heavy focus on player development,” Coburn said. “I want these guys to have the opportunity to get better as players and help these guys reach their dreams and goals and aspirations … That’s really important to me and I know it’s really important to players too.
“The second thing is everybody getting to understand what it is we’re going to do offensively, what it is we’re going to do defensively and start to install our system. With any new head coach there’s going to be things done that are similar to what’s been done in the past but there’s going to be things that are different too. That will be a lot of fun, getting to for the first time, getting to install what we want to do.”
The staff Coburn brought in, holdover promotions in assistant Scott Sommer and director of basketball operations Alberto De La Torre and new additions Matt Dunn and Jamaal Williams, mirror Coburn’s tenacity and bring in a varied depth of experience that will help the first-year coach as he gets the program off the ground.
“All three of them have their own different niche to things,” Coburn said. “When building a staff that was also important. They all have their areas that they’ve been really successful in and are going to be successful in.
“It’s like building a team. Everyone can do something different and they all have their unique strengths.”
There’s one word Coburn kept using during our interview earlier this month: Fun.
It’s unclear what system the first-year coach plans to run or even what the rotation will look like with so many new players. But, it’s clear Coburn and the new staff will have fun figuring that out.
“It’ll be fun,” Coburn said. “I’m excited not only for myself but for the team too. I know they’re anxious to get rolling. It’ll be a lot of fun.”
MOVING DOWN THE ROAD
In a bit of mid-week bombshell news, Portland State Athletic Director Valerie Cleary announced she’d be stepping down from her position to take a similar role down the road at the Multnomah Athletic Club.
The elite facility in Goose Hollow, adjacent to the Vikings’ former football home at Providence Park, takes her away from dealing with the budget fluctuations of a public university — especially in the wake of massive losses during the COVID pandemic — while also minimally changing her daily commute.
As the athletic director at the MAC, she’ll oversee the club's 26 sports, extensive health and fitness programs, and hundreds of junior recreational camps and classes. She’ll also serve on the club’s Executive Leadership team and get to use her fundraising expertise on building the club for the future. She’s also taking over a program that historically has dominated the region in college football, holding winning records over both Oregon (20-11-3) and Oregon State (11-7-4), though the rivalries have been dormant since 1926.
Cleary left her mark on the Portland State program in her five years at the helm, seeing out the development and construction of the Viking Pavilion, which opened in 2018, setting up the university with the facilities to compete with some of the goliaths in the Big Sky Conference.
The school said it is starting a national search for her replacement. It’s unclear what timeline they are working with to fill the role.
The biggest role of the new AD, along with the continued COVID recovery response and budget bounceback, will be to continue to pursue funding for a football stadium closer to campus, preferably within walking distance of the downtown campus.
The Vikings played last season exclusively at Hillsboro Stadium, a 15-mile drive away, and haven’t played a majority of games in Portland since the 2017 season. A last-ditch effort to join a remodel of the field at nearby Lincoln High School, which would have relocated both the football and track teams downtown, fell apart due to a funding issue.
SAVE THE DATE
The Big Sky Conference released the 2021-22 schedules for both men’s and women’s basketball this week, with the Vikings getting some intriguing draws.
The schedule is back to pre-pandemic norms, with a 20-game double round robin and games on (mostly) Thursdays and Saturdays, ditching the two-game weekend series used to conserve travel last season.
The Vikings men and women both open against Idaho State on Dec. 2, the women hosting the defending conference champs at the Pavilion and the men playing in Pocatello. The men host their first conference game on Dec. 30 against defending champion Eastern Washington.
The schedule works out for the men’s team, with the only long stretches away from home being a one-week tour of Montana and a trip to the Palouse at the end of the season.
The women, however, have two three-game road stretches, including two full weeks away from home at the end of February.
SEASON KICKOFF
Football is back.
The Big Sky Kickoff is this weekend in Spokane, with the Vikings sending quarterback Davis Alexander and All-American defensive back Anthony Adams to the event, which will air on ESPN+ on Sunday.
Adams, who is moving from safety to cornerback this fall, was named the top returning defensive back in FCS by Hero Sports. The publication also ranked Emmanuel Daigbe as the No. 25 returning wide receiver.
Speaking of cornerbacks, former Vikings corner Arin Mannery announced he would be transferring to the other side of the country, continuing his FCS career at Maine.
Speaking of recruiting, the Vikings volleyball team squared up its roster with five additions. The volleyball team starts its season with an exhibition on Aug. 23.
In other schedule release news, the women’s soccer team will open its season on Aug. 21 against Seattle U in Hillsboro.
AROUND THE BIG SKY
Not quite leaving Portland, former All-Big Sky guard Edniesha Curry was hired by the Trail Blazers as an assistant coach.
MSU alum Travis Jonsen celebrated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the White House on Tuesday, taking a picture with our first president:
On the subject of offseason lists, in addition to its position lists naming a handful of Big Sky standouts, Hero Sports also listed MSU’s Taylor Tuiasosopo (51) and Montana’s Patrick O’Connell (58) as the best in the country wearing their jersey numbers, adding to a list that also includes MSU’s Amandre Williams (96), UC Davis’ McCallan Castles (87), Sac State’s Pierre Williams (84), Idaho State’s Tanner Conner (80), Montana’s Conlan Beaver (78), Weber State’s Ty Whitworth (75) and EWU’s Tristen Taylor (65). Expect to see Anthony Adams on the list about two weeks before the season kicks off.
Tough situation for former Sac State football player and coach Greg Knapp:
NAU student-athletes helped the Flagstaff community recover after floods hit the region this week:
The Jacks also hired a director of basketball operations for its women’s basketball staff:
Thanks for reading another Big Sky Valhalla. There’s a big weekend ahead of us with the return of football. I’ll have the recap of all the action here next week. Subscribe and share to stay up to date.