CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Former Northwest boy’s basketball standout Tariq Silver is on the ride of his life in his first year with Oregon State men’s basketball.
The junior guard is a part of a 2020-21 team that captured the first Pac-12 Tournament championship in school history on March 13 after defeating Colorado 70-68.
The 12-seeded Beavers picked up right where they left off in conference-tournament play by advancing to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 with double-digit wins over Tennessee (70-56) and Oklahoma State (80-70).
After being picked to finish last in the league by various media outlets during the preseason, Silver said his team relished their role as underdogs until they recently discovered a “we-belong-here” mindset.
“From the beginning of the year, we kind of had that underdog mentality. We had a big loss to Arizona at home, and after the game, we just sat down and we talked. We decided that wasn’t how this year was gonna go. We all bought in and turned things around after that.
“Going into the tournament, we believed in ourselves and we were hungry. It kind of shows, so now we have confidence and things are rolling for us. We don’t really look at ourselves as underdogs anymore because everybody that’s here that made it this far is supposed to be here at this point. Now we just have to keep going.”
With 13 minutes left to play in the second half against the Cowboys, Silver hit a tough shot with a high degree of difficulty through contact to give his team a seven-point lead. Silver needed every bit of his 6-foot-5 frame to elevate over the defender for the made basket.
“Personally, that’s a shot that I work on all the time in my mid-range game,” Silver said. “In the moment, I wasn’t necessarily thinking about time and place. I seen an opening and just took the shot. I think a couple possessions later, I made a similar shot on the opposite elbow. Those are just rhythm shots for me. It was my opportunity to step up, and I was glad I could execute for the team.”
Starting over, again
Silver is no stranger to new beginnings, having made the decision to transfer from Clarksville to Northwest after his freshman year in high school.
The move paid off as Silver went on to lead the Vikings to their first district title in over 20 years in 2017 while also earning Player of the Year honors.
“My mom told me she felt like I needed to step into a bigger role,” Silver said on his reason for leaving. “I started my freshman year on varsity and then my sophomore year at Clarksville High I didn’t start. She wanted me to go somewhere where I had to step up, could display my abilities and be the player that she knew I could be, which was at Northwest. Elijah McCoin had just won district MVP the year before and he graduated. She felt like there was a hole there and wanted me to try and fill his shoes. It all played out good for me at the end of the day.”
After Silver signed his letter of intent to play Division I basketball at Eastern Michigan University, former Eagles head coach Benny White was relieved of his duties. In the midst of the firing of the coach who had recruited him, Silver was offered a release from the program, but he chose to stick it out.
Silver was redshirted in year one before averaging just 3.3 points per game in 22 games, played the following season.
It was then that Silver decided to trust his instincts again and embark on a new journey, this time by going the junior college route.
“I’d say it just has a lot to do with self-confidence,” Silver said on where the courage comes from to start anew. “At Eastern, I felt like I could be more than what I was given the opportunity to be. I put in a lot of work and believe in my ability. I wanted to go somewhere where I could showcase my skill, and I feel like junior college just happened to be the platform for me to do that.”
Rising in ranks at junior college
At TCC, Silver became the 17th-ranked player in the nation, according to JucoRecruiting.com. He averaged 12.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 2019-20.
“The person that got me there was Zach Settembre,” Silver said. He’s the head coach there right now. I kind of was leaning toward Trinity Valley for a little bit just off the fact that one of my teammates at Eastern came from there. They had a good staff, but Coach Zach recruited me harder than anybody else. He made me feel needed. I was the first Division I signee that went there. He drove from Tallahassee to Tennessee to meet my mom first and then drove from Tennessee to Michigan to me back-to-back. That type of effort kind of just showed that he was willing to do anything for me.”
During his lone season at Tallahassee, Silver helped guide the Eagles to an appearance in the state championship.
“Once I got there, we were loaded,” Silver said. “We had 11 Division I signees, and every practice was a grind. We pushed each other and had fun with it. It was a lot of skill development, and there was a lot of shots that went into it with the coaches. It was a great experience. We lost in the state championship to a tough Gulf Coast State team, and we actually had a chance to go to the national tournament before COVID hit, so really it was a successful year for us.”
After that year at TCC, Silver transferred to Oregon State.
For anyone on the fence about making a jump to junior college basketball, Silver says go for it.
“I feel like if you’re in a situation where your ability is kind of getting neglected and you want the exposure and get the opportunity to go, junior college can really reset your whole career,” Silver said. “I heard the Panhandle Conference was the best league in the country, so I wanted to go down there with the best competition possible. I feel like you have to play against the best in order to try and be the best because that’s when the best version of yourself comes out. It helped to rebuild my confidence, and I was able to prove to myself that I could really do this.”
He’s learned a lot about life off the basketball court from traveling and living in various cities around the country.
“Growing up, I lived in different spots,” Silver said. “I was born in North Carolina and lived in Tennessee for the majority of my life. I had the opportunity to live in Florida in elementary school and New York in middle school, so I bounced around a lot. Basketball has kind of blessed me to be able to go to different places and see a lot of different things. Being in Oregon is a lot different than any other place that I’ve been to, but I love it out there. The scenery is beautiful, the people are nice and I hope throughout my basketball career I can continue to see not just the U.S., but everything around the world.”
Always room for growth
With two years of collegiate eligibility remaining after this season, Silver is focused on two areas: winning and development.
“I just want to continue to grow and be the player that I always dreamed of,” Silver said. “Being here, I want to transform myself into either a prolific scorer or just someone who is in a situation where I can help a team win. Junior college taught me that if you’re on a winning team everybody eats. Just continue to better myself as a player, person and add to my resume for when I want to get into coaching after my pro career.”
Silver has a deep appreciation for the support from his family, friends and fans back home.
“I appreciate them riding with me for so long,” Silver said. “This is still the beginning of the journey. I hope they continue to cheer us on because we’re making history out here. I’m gonna keep representing for 931 no matter where I’m at.”
12-seeded Oregon State faces 8-seeded Loyola Chicago Saturday, March 27, at 1:40 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.