Joyner beginning to put Beaver basketball pieces together

First-year coach Justin Joyner likes his coaching staff and feels “really good” about the talent on hand for his 2026-27 Beavers (courtesy OSU sports communications)

CORVALLIS — Five months in, Justin Joyner sounds like a man sold on his new job.

“I am loving being a head coach,” says Joyner, who was hired as Oregon State’s men’s basketball coach on March 11. “And I don’t think there could be a better place for me, my family and our staff to be than in Corvallis and at Oregon State.”

Well, you knew he wasn’t going to diss the place — this quickly, anyway.

But Joyner has quickly discarded his Michigan Wolverines apparel and eagerly donned Beaver orange and black gear as he prepares to run his own program for the first time.

Joyner, 38, spent two years as an assistant to Michigan head coach Dusty May, earning a ring with the Wolverines in the Big Ten as they marched to an NCAA championship last season. Prior to that, Joyner spent six seasons as an assistant and associate head coach under Randy Bennett at St. Mary’s in the WCC.

But Joyner grew up in Concord, Calif., in the East Bay not far from Cal Berkeley. He was point guard at storied De La Salle High, leading the Spartans to a state Division 1 championship as a senior in 2006. That he will be part of the new Pac-12’s embryonic run in 2026-27 is not lost on him.

“I was raised on the Pac-12,” says Joyner, who played his college ball at Cal Santa Barbara. “I am honored to be a head coach in this league. Our job at Oregon State is to put together a great team. The rest of the Pac will do the same, and I think we can be one of the best leagues in the country.”

For nearly a month after being hired, Joyner filled a dual role, helping the Wolverines prepare for NCAA Tournament play, all the while working at putting together a coaching staff and trying to retain Beaver point guard Josiah Lake II. For three weeks, he was flying from Michigan to Oregon and back, to Buffalo, N.Y., and Chicago and Indianapolis and back.

“It was kind of crazy — a lot of workload,” he says. “When I was in Ann Arbor, I was trying to focus as much as I could on the Wolverines. I spent most of the week here in Corvallis focusing on the Beavs and our future here.”

It all worked out like a fairy tale. Michigan prevailed in the Big Dance, knocking off Howard, Saint Louis, Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona and UConn en route to the title. Lake, the Beavers’ centerpiece last season, stayed put. And Joyner compiled a staff that suits his tastes just fine.

Michael Plank and Danny Yoshikawa both carry the title of “associate head coach.” Plank spent the past five years as an assistant coach at San Francisco, three of those years while Joyner was working at WCC rival St. Mary’s. Plank carries local ties. He played at football, basketball and baseball and later coached basketball at Willamette in Salem, coached at Portland State under Tyler Geving from 2014-16, earned a Masters degree at Concordia and spent two seasons on Kyle Smith’s staff at Washington State.

“An elite connector of people, both internally and externally, and an elite manager of people — as good as I have ever been around,” Joyner says. “He is very connected in the Northwest, but that doesn’t mean he can’t recruit all over the country, or the world, really.”

Yoshikawa was an assistant at Cal Santa Barbara during Joyner’s time there as a player, and they worked together on Bennett’s staff at St. Mary’s. Yoshikawa had two stints as head coach at West Valley JC in Saratoga, Calif., in 11 seasons compiling a record of 299-78, including 33-0 while winning a state championship in 2023-24.

“Elite in player development and defense,” Joyner says. “Danny is not a ‘yes man.’ He will question things we are doing to make sure we are doing them the best we possibly can. He is one of the best evaluators I have been around. He knows what a great player looks like and usually doesn’t miss on evaluations.”

Justin Argenal, a boyhood friend and high school teammate of Joyner, will serve as assistant coach and the program’s general manager. Argenal began his coaching career as a grad assistant at Ole Miss, then spent three seasons on staffs at The Citadel, Louisiana Tech and Southeast Missouri State. He spent time as head coach at De La Salle High before a five-year stint as head coach at Division II Dominican University of California.

“Justin has been on staffs with Dusty May and (current Georgia head coach) Mike White,” Joyner says. “He has a wealth of experience, including as a head coach, so GM is a good role for him, too.”

Dominic Lippi and Alex Peavler are billed as assistant coaches. Lippi was on the staff with Joyner at St. Mary’s and was assistant coach the past three seasons at Cal Baptist, helping the Lancers to 25 wins, the WAC championship and the first NCAA Division I Tournament in program history. Lippi played his college ball at Whitman in Walla Walla, Wash.

“His dad (Don Lippi) was one of best high school coaches in California,” Joyner says. “He has had a lot of success wherever he has been. He is young, but is one of the best coaches I have been around.”

Peavler has spent time on staffs at Memphis, Indiana State and Saint Louis.

“I didn’t previously know Alex, but we got great recommendations from coaches he worked with,” Joyner says. “He will be a fresh set of eyes for our staff and will help our players evolve offensively.”

Plank and Yoshikawa will head up the Beaver defense, Lippi and Peavler will focus on offense and Argenal on rebounding.

Joyner believes his time spent working under Bennett and May has helped prepare him for a head coaching role.

From Bennett, Joyner says, he learned about “the consistency, the day-to-day approach, the winning of the margins, the things that require zero talent. That has made a huge impact on me as far as how I see the game and leadership.”

From May, it was about “the ability to be adaptable in today’s climate and to grow and evolve and become a better coach and leader. That was extremely beneficial for me to be around. When I got to Michigan in 2024, the (transfer) portal was hot and running but I didn’t have that much experience with it, or with building rosters quickly. We did that two years in a row in Michigan. I wouldn’t be as prepared for roster-building if I didn’t have that experience and hadn’t spent that time at Michigan.”

Oregon State will have an entirely new cast of players for the 2026-27 season with one important exception — Lake, the 6-2, 190-pound senior who was an All-WCC selection of a year ago and led the team in scoring, assists and steals. Here is a link to a recent story I did with JoJo.

The OSU coaches gathered their 13-player squad for a week of drills in June. On July 12, they convened for what will be a total of six weeks of practice sessions. The last week will take place in British Columbia, where the Beavers will play exhibition games against Trinity Western in Langley Township, B.C., on Aug. 18 and at the University of Victoria on Aug. 20 and 22.

NCAA rules now allow for one “international” trip per summer.

“It used to be once every four years,” Joyner says. “We knew we were bringing in a roster that would desperately need time to jell on and off the court. The easiest way to do that is a foreign tour. It gives us 10 extra practices, plus time together building relationships.”

Coaches are allowed eight hours a week of whole-team workouts with their players.

“We go five hours on the court and three in the weight room (a week),” Joyner says. “It has been good. We have done a ton of practicing and a lot of team-building stuff. We have gone bowling. Yesterday, we went to the pool and hung out. We are trying to gain connection, to gain a playing style that is going to be suitable for our roster on both sides of the ball. Hopefully it will result in a great product on the floor.”

Joyner’s first Oregon State team will feature Lake, nine Division I transfers, a JC transfer and two freshmen. How does the coach feel about the talent on hand?

“Really good,” Joyner says. “I love our guard play. JoJo is a great place to start.”

Joining Lake at the perimeter positions are several players who are both accomplished and promising.

Among those players, with Joyner’s comments on them:

Justin Joyner feels Daniel Freitag, who averaged 19.8 points per game for Buffalo last season, “has the physicality to be a great college player” (courtesy OSU sports communications)

• Daniel Freitag, 6-2, 190 junior transfer from Buffalo. Averaged a team-high 19.8 points in 23 games as a sophomore before suffering a season-ending concussion. Freitag — who played sparingly as a freshman at Wisconsin before a transfer to Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference — shot .361 from 3-point range and .827 from the foul line while averaging 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Joyner: “Daniel has the physicality to be a great college player. Now it is time for him to do it on a winning team.”

Joyner on DeShawn Gory, a transfer from Fresno State: “I’m not sure people understand how good a player he is” (courtesy OSU sports communications)

• DeShawn Gory, 6-6, 170 sophomore transfer from Fresno State. Averaged 13.7 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting .484 from the field as a freshman. Joyner: “I’m not sure people understand how good a player he is. A really good offensive player and rebounder. He can score, shoot it and finish around the rim. He will be a good offensive piece for us.”

• Chris Johnson, 6-5, 190 senior transfer from Central Florida. Averaged 6.3 points and 1.9 assists and shot .365 from 3-point range as a junior. Will be playing on his fourth team in four years. Joyner:

“Chris is a guy with unbelievable talent. He can really score, penetrate, make tough shots and be impactful defensively.”

• Legend Smiley, 6-5, 185 sophomore transfer from San Francisco. Averaged 8.1 points and shot .456 from the field, .420 from 3-point range and .875 from the foul line as a part-time starter as a freshman. Joyner: “He has the ability to shoot the ball at a high level, but also has great (court) awareness.”

The X factor could be Jemai Lake, JoJo’s little brother, a 6-2, 170-pound freshman who led Tualatin to a 6A state championship last season. He scored 27 points in a 70-69 win over Central Catholic in the championship game and was named OSAA 6A Player of the Year, averaging 20.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Lake originally committed to Montana, but changed his mind after Joyner was hired.

“Jemai has a chance to be really good,” Joyner says. “He just turned 18, so he lacks strength right now, but he has the potential to be impactful as a player. We were recruiting JoJo hard and Jemai wasn’t recruited as hard by the last (OSU) staff. He decided he wanted to be a Beaver, and we are glad to have him.”

The other perimeter player, Sean Blakely Drummond, is a 6-5, 200 sophomore who played only 10 minutes in five games for USF last season.

The six “bigs” include three 7-footers, a promising 6-11 incoming freshman and an accomplished, versatile 6-9 player. Their resumes:

• Jackson Rasmussen, 6-9, 210 sophomore transfer from Idaho. Averaged 13.5 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting .456 from the field and .321 on 3’s on his way to earning Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors. Joyner: “He can do a little bit of everything. He can play on the wing or on the interior, and he can stretch the floor. Jackson will be a big-time piece for us, an every-day guy.”

• Xavion Staton, 7-1, 225 sophomore transfer from BYU. A former Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year, he saw only 42 minutes of action in nine games as a freshman. Joyner: “He is long and talented, a guy who can play in the NBA because of his defensive prowess. He will do things defensively that will be important for us, and he has the ability to step out and make 3’s.”

• Dennis Evans, 7-2, 230 junior transfer from Grand Canyon. Averaged 2.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 25 games, but made 24 of 36 shots from the field. Joyner: “He will have an expanded role for us because of his prowess defensively. Dennis has proved to be one of the best rim protectors in the country, and he has the ability to score. He will be a huge part of our process moving forward.”

• Peteris Pinnis, 7-0, 275 sophomore transfer from Providence. The Latvia native played only 78 minutes in 15 games as a freshman. Joyner: “He will provide physicality, offensive production on the glass and interior defense.”

• Kahu Treacher, 6-10, 220 junior transfer from Eastern Arizona JC. The New Zealand native averaged 13.7 points and 6.2 rebounds as a sophomore. Joyner: “He can shoot, he can cut, he can move without the ball, he can guard defensively.”

• Yabi Aklog, 6-11, 230 freshman from Sammamish, Wash. All-State and a four-star recruit who averaged 20.2 points and 11 rebounds at Eastside Catholic High. Joyner: “Really good prospect.

Soft hands, great touch, a versatile big man.”

Aklog tells me he has already bonded with Joyner.

“I really like him,” he says. “It’s what I expected when I committed. He cares about the players as much as the team winning.”

Practice sessions so far, Aklog says, “have been real competitive. (Joyner) always says, ‘Toe the line, but don’t cross it,’ and we got real close to it. He got me a lot better and the whole team a lot better with just how competitive everybody is. We have had some real battles already in practice. It’s been nice.”

•

As our interview winds down, I ask Joyner about playing style.

At his introductory press conference, the coach said this: “We want to play fast. We want to hunt great shots in transition. We want to shoot a ton of 3’s. We want to get rim 2’s. We want to stay away from overload of mid-range jump shot.”

Now, he says this:

“We will shoot a little more mid-range than we hoped, because we have guys who can get in the paint and make shots. We have to find ways to generate great shots, whether it is 3’s, 2’s or free throws. The most important thing is having solid offensive efficiency. Our tempo should be good, given our plethora of guard play. We would like to play fast and get into offense quickly.”

Joyner expects solid contributions from his post players.

“It takes awhile for bigs of that stature to become productive college players,” he says. “If it doesn’t, they are usually in the NBA after a year. The guys we brought in on the front line are approaching their best years in college basketball.”

There are no guarantees for playing time, Joyner stresses.

“We could definitely play four guards (at a time),” he says. “We could do a lot of different things. Versatility will be big for us. It will ultimately come down to what the game calls for and what gives us the best chance of winning. Every game can be different. It is about being prepared to do the things it takes to win.”

At the introductory press conference, Joyner mentioned fund-raising for the basketball program as a priority. Last week, Joyner and his staff hosted a golf tournament for alums, donors and sponsors.

“Our team, headlined by (associate athletic directors) Aaron Escobar and Jeff Pivic, has been aggressive in trying to fund-raise and put us in a competitive place within the Pac-12, on the West Coast and nationally,” he tells me. “I understand it is a large part of a coach’s job in today’s economic climate. We are attacking it as best we can.”

The new Pac-12 is loaded with strong programs. Last season, Gonzaga (31-4), Utah State (29-7), San Diego State (22-11), Colorado State (21-13), Boise State (20-12) and Texas State (19-13) had strong programs. Can Oregon State immediately contend for a conference title? Can the Beavers finish in the top half of the league?

“I don’t know,” Joyner says honestly. “There are a lot of great programs in the league. There is a lot of experience. We have to stay healthy, continue to grow as teammates, get better individually and collectively. We are going to fight like hell to do so.”

At the introductory press conference, it was noted that Joyner, wife Tracy and daughter Weslee already have a home in Eugene. Tracy will begin her third season as the Oregon women’s soccer coach in the fall. Justin said then that he would live in Eugene to start, because “it makes the transition easy, Eugene being 45 minutes away. We will try and get much closer — hopefully Corvallis, but maybe a little bit farther. We are going to get as close as we can to this campus. We know how important it is that we ingratiate ourselves with this community moving forward.”

When I ask him where that stands now, Joyner’s response: “We are going to keep a house in Eugene. My family lives in Eugene. I am commuting for now, (but) I am looking at houses in Corvallis.”

I have one more question for Joyner. Fans are understandably concerned that, if Joyner has immediate success at Oregon State, he will be moving on to another, bigger program. His answer comes quickly.

“I want to be a Beaver,” he says. “Yeah, I want to be a Beaver. This place fits me. I wasn’t gift-wrapped a career. I am very much of a blue-collar mindset just like Corvallis is, like Beaver Nation is. It is very early to talk about those things, but I am really excited, really happy and proud to be a Beaver.”

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