Meet The Beavers: Tres Tinkle
October 28, 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.
One of the seven fresh faces is 6-foot-8 forward Tres Tinkle, one of the premier recruits on the West Coast and the son of head coach Wayne Tinkle. The Montana Gatorade Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015, Tres was a four-time all-state and four-time Western Conference all-star, who was a four-time all-state academic selection. The prospective political science or engineering major graduated from Hellgate High in Missoula with a 3.9 grade-point average.
Do you remember your first dunk?
TINKLE: “The first time I dunked I was in eighth grade, during recess. It kind of happened overnight, it was weird. I used to not be able to get close and then one day I was just jumping up and touching the rim, thinking 'Hey, this is pretty easy.' I asked one of my friends to get me a ball and sure enough, I got it. It was strange, because the night before I wasn't getting close to it, and the next day I was dunking. It was something special, for sure.”
What pregame routines or superstitions do you have?
TINKLE: “Right before the tipoff I do the sign of the cross, then hit the ground three times to knock on wood, and then I pound my chest three times. That's about it. I'm pretty superstitious.”
What number would you choose if you could choose your own number?
TINKLE: “3. I've always worn 3, ever since I was young. Obviously it's my name, I was born on June 3, and I was the third child in my family. Three is my lucky number.”
What is the best sports movie you've ever seen?
TINKLE: “I'd say 'Hardball,' the baseball movie. I like it because there's a good central story and a message. It shows overcoming adversity and tough times and coming together as a group. In order to achieve success everybody has to be friendly and you have to create good chemistry and that's exactly what they did, coming from the bottom to the top. That's something we can all try to live by and learn from.”
Which Pac-12 city are you most looking forward to visiting?
TINKLE: “Probably Los Angeles. I know people who live there, playing USC and UCLA will be fun and I've got something in the back of my head I want to take care of.”
What other sport did you like to play growing up?
TINKLE: “Baseball was my second-favorite sport. But in Montana they didn't have high school baseball so you could only play in the summer, and that interfered with basketball so I had to pick one or the other. I liked basketball more so that put an end to baseball but it was one of my first loves. I was a pitcher, hitter and first baseman.”
Do you prefer to play Call of Duty, FIFA 16, or Madden 16?
TINKLE: “FIFA is fun, but I'm terrible at it. I have the best chance of winning in Madden. My team is the Bears; that's my favorite NFL team so I like to use them. I like to use the Lions, because of Calvin Johnson, and the Vikings, with Adrian Peterson.”
What would be your favorite vacation destination?
TINKLE: “Any Caribbean island. It seems relaxing and fun, to be on the beach in warm weather. I like the beach and I've never been to the Caribbean before.”
You mention golf as something you like to do in your spare time. What is the best part of your game?
TINKLE: “Probably my driving, it's the only thing I'm good at. I can hit the ball far but when it comes to chipping and putting, that's what I need to work on. I got a hole-in-one once. So I hang that over my dad's head, because he doesn't have one yet. I was pretty lucky.”
What was your immediate reaction when you learned your father had been hired as Oregon State's head coach?
TINKLE: “I was shocked. I knew he was going through the process; it's just something you think of but it doesn't seem real until it actually happens. It was surreal. I didn't know what to think at first. I was excited for him … to have a chance to play for him was awesome but it kind of altered my recruiting. It was weird at first but as time went on I was more excited for him, excited for myself, excited for the team we have and the success we can have.”
