Can DaMarco Minor Lead the Beavers in Scoring this Season?
In his junior season at SIU-Edwardsville, DaMarco Minor was "the guy." He led the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game, and even more impressively, led the team in rebounding at 8.5 per game, despite standing at just 6-foot-1. As he said in an interview with The Field of 68, "Those point guards and shooting guards just wanna be pretty. They don't want to get down there and do the dirty work...I just like doing the dirty work."
His toughness comes through in his style of play, but also his story – the Chicago native played junior college basketball his freshman year before transferring to SIU-Edwardsville, where he immediately took on a leadership role. He averaged 14.3 points during his sophomore year, his first at the D-I level, and still managed to grab 5.5 boards per game.
For the Beavers this year, he will see significant minutes, and will likely claim a starting back court role along with Josiah Lake. The question for Minor is whether his scoring will translate from the Ohio Valley Conference to the WCC – but, given his style of play, it's likely that it does. Minor is a player that likes to shoot off of the bounce and attack the basket using his handle, and considering the reckless abandon with which he plays, this style could work, even against bigger teams.
A big time transition scorer, Minor could help push the pace for the Beavers, who ranked 249 out of 362 teams in pace of play last season. Upping the possessions per game for Oregon State could lead to more opportunities on the offensive end, but also allow for more transition threes, not just for Minor, but for the entire team.
Overall, Minor provides so many different positive attributes that he will truly be an invaluable piece for this Beavers roster. His toughness is needed and will be required throughout the season, whether on the glass or driving to the rack. He could be one of the top scorers on the team for 2024-25, and will no doubt be a leader for Wayne Tinkle's squad.
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Keenan Womack is a sportswriter native to Dallas, Texas, who has spent the last 12 years in Austin, the home of his alma mater, the University of Texas. Keenan has covered sports for SB Nation, Bleacher Report, Rivals/Orangebloods, a host of his own sites and now, Fan Nation. Focusing on basketball, Keenan was on the beat for the Longhorns hoops team for the last two-and-a-half years before moving on to pursue other opportunities. He is married and lives with his wife close to the Moody Center, so they can continue to catch games together.