Meet The Beavers: Drew Eubanks
October 27, 2015 | Men's Basketball
The Oregon State men's basketball team opens its regular season on Saturday, Nov. 14 against Northwest Christian at Gill Coliseum. To help preview the 115th season in school history, and Year II of the Wayne Tinkle coaching era, we sat down with the team's newcomers to find out more about them.
Tinkle's first major in-state recruit is Reynolds High School graduate Drew Eubanks, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound center from Troutdale who earned four-star status from ESPN and a national top-150 ranking by Scout.com, 247 Sports and Rivals.com. Considered the state's top recruit by ESPN, Eubanks is a versatile athlete who earned all-state honors in basketball and baseball. He averaged 18 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.2 blocks as a senior and graduated with a 3.7 grade-point average.
Do you remember your first dunk?
EUBANKS: “It was my sophomore year in high school, my second game on the varsity, against Forest Grove. I was in the short corner, I got a pass, took one dribble and went up and dunked it with two hands. As I was running back on defense, I just kept smiling the whole time because I was so happy. I didn't score very much my sophomore year, so I was really happy.”
What pregame routines or superstitions do you have?
EUBANKS: “No, I don't have any. I just show up and play.”
What number would you choose if you could choose your own number?
EUBANKS: “I like 00. I wore that in high school my three years of varsity. I wish I could wear it here but I guess they don't have that number. But 12 is OK, that's my second favorite number.”
What is the best sports movie you've ever seen?
EUBANKS: “I like 'Coach Carter' a lot, that's a favorite one for basketball players. It is cool to see how they grow and bond as a team. Even though they don't win in the end, they still did really well.”
Which Pac-12 city are you most looking forward to visiting?
EUBANKS: “Probably Tucson. I've never been there before and I really want to play in the McKale Center.”
What other sport did you like to play growing up?
EUBANKS: “Baseball. I was always a pitcher. I like being able to control the tempo of the game. Everybody is watching the pitcher, so there's a little bit of pressure on you too. I like that.”
Do you prefer to play Call of Duty, FIFA 16, or Madden 16?
EUBANKS: “I hate sports games because I'm really bad at them. So I'd say Call of Duty. I'm alright at Call of Duty, I'm still not very good but I get so mad at sports games.”
What would be your favorite vacation destination?
EUBANKS: “Probably to Italy. My mom is Italian, so I'm half-Italian. It just looks like a cool place to go and I really want to go there.”
You were all-state in baseball and played in the 2015 Reser's Oregon All-Star Series. Describe yourself as a pitcher.
EUBANKS: “Probably Randy Johnson-esque. Really long, I throw over the top so I got a really hard down angle on the ball. I know I've hit 90 (MPH) before but normally I'm in the upper-80s. With two strikes, I just normally would throw my curveball.”
How would you pitch to a player like Mike Trout, Albert Pujols or some other great hitter?
EUBANKS: “I'd probably just try jamming inside and then go outside, just go inside-out. They are great players so I'm not sure how I would approach them.”
