Oregon State names Montana’s Wayne Tinkle as new head coach

Oregon State named Montana head coach Wayne Tinkle as its new basketball coach on Monday, capping off the last coaching search in major college basketball this offseason. The Beavers fired coach Craig Robinson, the brother of First Lady Michelle Obama, earlier this month after he previously got a vote of confidence from the administration.

The search seemed to point squarely toward former UCLA coach Ben Howland, but it ended up not being the right fit. The next candidate in line looked like Arizona assistant Damon Stoudamire, though the Beavers eventually settled on Tinkle.

Tinkle’s teams at Montana went to the postseason four years in a row between 2009-10 and 2012-13, including three NCAA Tournament appearances and one CBI appearance. In 2012-13, the Grizzlies won a Big Sky-record 19 conference games, and that same year, Tinkle became the first Montana coach to win the Big Sky Coach of the Year award twice in a row. He was also named the sexiest coach in the game by CollegeInsider.com, which is ... something.

Unless Tinkle’s coaching style changes, Oregon State fans can expect a slow-paced offense in Corvallis. Only once in his eight years in Missoula did Tinkle’s teams average over 65 possessions per game. In every year but 2011-12 and 2012-13, the Grizzlies ranked 275th or slower in tempo, according to KenPom.com.

Tinkle faces a tough task at Oregon State. The program hasn’t been to an NCAA Tournament since 1990, and it struggles with a poor local recruiting area and a lack of tradition compared to its Pac-12 brethren. The Beavers lose all five of their starters from last season, so this figures to be a major rebuilding year.