The first game of the 2023-24 Portland State basketball season is just one month away and the Vikings are working out daily at Viking Pavilion in preparation for a highly-anticipated campaign.
 
Head Coach Jase Coburn begins his third year at the helm of The Ship with the most returning players of his tenure. The Vikings have eight letterwinners back and one redshirt from last season. It does not sound significant, but in the era of the transfer portal that could be a key to the coming year.
 
The Vikings of 2023-24 will rely on familiarity, experience and increased size as they embark on the new season.
 
Portland State got big minutes from guards Jorell Saterfield (6-4), Bobby Harvey (6-4), Isiah Kirby (6-4) and Keshaun Saunders (6-5), and forwards Hunter Woods (6-6), Isaiah Johnson (6-6), Kendall Munson (6-8) and Hayden Curtiss (6-11) last season. All eight are juniors or seniors and are among 10 Vikings on the roster who have competed in a combined 674 Division I basketball games in their careers.
 
"We are going to rely heavily on our returning guys. It is the most we have had in quite some time. Their familiarity with one another, the coaching staff, the league – that is all exciting to have a lot of guys who know what the expectations are," said Coburn.
 
"We have a lot of guys who have started games and played a lot of minutes for us. Jorell Saterfield, Hunter Woods, Isaiah Johnson, Bobby Harvey, Isiah Kirby, Keshaun Saunders all started games. Kendall Munson and Hayden Curtiss have played a lot of minutes here as well. In this transfer portal era, it is important to have that many guys back. It should be a big year for all of them because a lot of guys make a big leap in their second year.
 
"In this transfer portal era, I don't think there are a lot of teams that have nine players coming back. We need to build on that and continue on as a cohesive group. The "culture" word is thrown around a lot and I think we have a great culture."
 
Significant additions to the team come in the form of two large men, KJ Allen (6-6, 255) – a transfer from Texas Tech, and Tre-Vaughn Minott (6-9, 260) – a transfer from South Carolina.
 
"One thing we knew we needed to improve at the end of last year was getting bigger and stronger. We watched Montana State win the league two years in a row by playing through two big men. So, adding TV (Minott) was a huge deal," said Coburn. "A lot of our league played through the post last year so we wanted a guy who would give us a different element that maybe we haven't had in the past. At the same time he was looking for an opportunity and someone who believed in him.
 
"We saw the success and importance that Isaiah Johnson had for us last year, and we felt we needed to bring another guy like him in here. We knew KJ could help us even more in that style of play. People are going to be really surprised when they see KJ play and the things he can do. He was a really big pick up for us."
 
That size gives the Vikings a lot of options for success as it combines with the talented perimeter players that return for this season. Shooting and scoring will come from the likes of Saterfield (13.1 ppg, 65 3-pt FG), Harvey (7.4 ppg, 57 3-pt FG), Woods (9.9 ppg, 47 3-pt FG) and Johnson (7.3 ppg, .556 FG%) among others.
 
"We should be very versatile and adaptable to our opponents. I think we can play multiple styles," Coburn said. "During my time here we have played a little smaller and relied on speed. We still have that, but at the same time we can now play bigger without losing speed. Those guys (Minott and Allen) can really move for their size. I don't feel like we will be on our heels at any time. We will be able to match up with any team toe to toe."
 
The ball handling situation might be the biggest question mark for Portland State going into the season. PSU will miss last year's starting point guard Cameron Parker, an All-Big Sky Conference selection, who led the Vikings in scoring, the Big Sky in assists, and had a .525/.429/.826 shooting slash line.
 
But again, Coburn has lots of options. Among returning players, Saunders and Kirby are competing to handle point guard duties. Also new in the backcourt are guards Ismail Habib (JR, 6-0) and Kelcy Phipps (FR, 6-2) as well as returning redshirt Cole Farrell (FR, 6-5).
 
All of those players bring something to the table with unique skill sets.
 
"They are all in the thick of a battle right now to play minutes at point guard. We are looking for big things from them. It is always going to be an on-going thing. Whoever the starter is on game one isn't necessarily who it is down the line. Just like the big guys, all of our point guards are different. Everyone has his strengths and a pathway to play," Coburn said.
 
"We know and understand how good of a player Cam was. We might not replace him but we are going to rely on the strengths of the guys we have now. We get to figure out a different way to play that position now."
 
The Vikings open their season on Nov. 6 at Air Force – a team they beat in Portland last season - then travel to UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 9. PSU's home opener will be a Sunday, Nov. 12 contest with Linfield. The non-conference battle for city bragging rights against Portland will be at Viking Pavilion on Nov. 28. Big Sky Conference play opens on the road on Dec. 28.
 

FAST BREAKS

• Jase Coburn (26-36) begins his third season as Head Coach of the Vikings. He was named Portland State's new head basketball coach on April 16, 2021. He is the 14th men's basketball coach in Portland State history and the seventh since PSU joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. Coburn is in his 11th season at PSU after serving as an assistant coach then associate head coach (2013-21)… Coburn is assisted by associate head coach Matt Dunn and assistant coaches Quinton Upshur and Nate Laing.
• PSU has nine players returning from last season, including eight letterwinners and one redshirt. Starters Jorell Saterfield (6-4, SR, G, 13.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 65 3-pt FG) and Hunter Woods (6-6, SR, F, 9.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 45 steals, 45 3-pt FG) are among the top returners… the Vikings also feature SRs Bobby Harvey (6-4, 7.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 57 3-pt FG), Isiah Kirby (6-4, 5.7 ppg) and Keshaun Saunders (6-5, 4.5 ppg) in the backcourt… in addition is RS FR Cole Farrell (6-5)… other front court returners include JRs Isaiah Johnson (6-6, 7.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .556 FG%, 23 blk), Kendall Munson (6-8, 2.5 ppg, .541 FG%, 18 blk) and Hayden Curtiss (6-11, 2.1 ppg, .588 FG%).
• The Viking program has added four newcomers for 2023-24, two portal transfers, one from junior college player and one from high school… SR F KJ Allen (6-6, 2.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg) transferred to PSU from Texas Tech, while JR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (6-9, 1.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 12 blk, .685 FG%) comes from South Carolina… SO G Ismail Habib (6-0, 11.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3.7 rpg) is a junior college signee from South Plains College (TX)… FR G Kelcy Phipps (6-2) comes from the same high school (Bishop Montgomery) in Torrance, CA as teammate Isaiah Johnson.
• SR G Bobby Harvey enters the 2023-24 season with a streak of 27 straight games with a made three-point field goal.
• SR F Hunter Woods ranked third in the Big Sky Conference in steals (45) last season... SR G Jorell Saterfield was sixth in the Big Sky in three-point field goals made (65).
• In the era of the portal, Portland State's roster includes 10 players who have played Division I basketball at other schools. Entering the 2023-24 season, Portland State has 674 games of Division I experience among 10 players: Keshaun Saunders (117), Hunter Woods (115), Kendall Munson (75), Jorell Saterfield (64), Isaiah Johnson (63), Hayden Curtiss (61), Bobby Harvey (53), Isiah Kirby (52), KJ Allen (45), Tre-Vaughn Minott (29). The only players that have not played a Division I game are RS FR Cole Farrell, FR Kelcy Phipps and SO Ismail Habib.

 

THE SCHEDULE

• The 2023-24 schedule will consist of 31 games prior to the Big Sky Tournament. The Vikings will play 13 at home, 16 on the road and two neutral site games. There will be nine Big Sky Conference home games and four non-conference home games.
• Portland State will play a traditional 18-game, home-and-home schedule during the Big Sky Conference season. The season opens on Dec. 28 and concludes on Mar. 4, with the Big Sky Tournament May 9-13 at Boise's Idaho Central Arena.
• Portland State plays five of its first six games, and 11 of the first 15, on the road.
• PSU will see teams from all over the west as it is scheduled to face two Summit League opponents; two each from the West Coast Conference, Big West Conference and Mountain West Conference; and one each from the Pac-12 Conference and Western Athletic Conference.
• The Vikings play in the California Baptist Tournament during non-conference competition, Nov. 17-19, at California Baptist University. The tournament includes California Baptist, Cal Poly and St. Thomas. The Vikings went 1-1 against the participants last season, beating California Baptist, 74-72, and losing to Cal Poly, 72-49, in non-conference games. The Vikings have never played St. Thomas.
• PSU will take part in the newly-formed Big Sky – Summit Challenge during the first week of 2024. The Vikings play at Kansas City on Jan. 6.

 

LOOKING BACK AT 2022-23

• Portland State went 12-19 overall, 6-7 at home, 5-9 on the road and 1-3 in neutral site games... the Vikings' longest winning streak was three games and included victories over Oregon State and Air Force.
• Portland State went into last season having never beaten in-state foe Oregon State. The Vikings remedied that with not one, but two victories over the Beavers in the month of November. PSU won at OSU, 79-66, then a week later matched up with OSU in the consolation game of the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament, winning 83-71.
• Last season, Portland State led the Big Sky Conference in steals (7.1) for the eighth season in a row, as well as blocked shots (3.4), turnover margin (+3.9) and turnovers forced (16.0)… PSU ranked 11th in the nation in fast break points (15.2), 12th in bench points (27.9) and 17th in turnovers forced (16.0).
• SR G Cameron Parker had the kind of final season that college basketball players can only dream about. Parker averaged a team-leading 18.1 points - the most by a Viking in eight seasons - a Big Sky-best 6.3 assists and he shot .525 from the field, .429 from three-point range and .826 at the line... Parker was a two-time Big Sky Conference Player of the Week and was named second team All-Big Sky… Parker passed 1,000 career points (1,419) and 800 career assists (813), finishing his career ranked 33rd in assists in NCAA history. He was one of only two active players to reach the 1,000/800 mark in the 2022-23 season... Parker also set a PSU record for free throws made in a season (195), ranking fifth in the nation. He ranked seventh in the nation in assists.
• PSU's 2022-23 season was marked by dramatic game winners, the two most exciting coming against Northern Arizona. On Jan. 12, PSU trailed by five with 17.8 seconds left. But JR F Hunter Woods managed two three-pointers in the closing seconds - with the second coming at the buzzer - for a 75-74 win. On Feb. 11 in Flagstaff, the Vikings were down 87-85 with 0.4 seconds left and had to go the length of the floor. Woods took the ball out of bounds, heaving a high-arcing pass to the opposite end of the floor. SO F Isaiah Johnson leaped in the air between two NAU defenders, caught the pass, and in the same motion tossed up a fallaway shot off the glass from 12 feet out on the right side of the key. Buzzer, glass, swish... 88-87, Vikings. The game-winning shot dominated the sports media news cycle and was picked as the ESPN SportsCenter No. 1 Play of the Day... PSU also made a late game-winner at California Baptist (12/22) when JR G Jorell Saterfield hit a floater with 8.2 seconds to play for a 74-72 win. The lead had changed hands eight times in the last 3:25 of the contest.