Oregon State forward Michael Rataj has committed to Scott Drew and Baylor; he becomes the second transfer portal addition for the Bears’ 2025 class, joining Tennessee wing Cameron Carr.
Rataj, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward, led Oregon State in scoring this past season with 16.9 points per game on 48% shooting from the field and 79% from the free-throw line. Rataj shot 35% from beyond the arc, making 33 of his 94 attempts. The First-Team All-WCC forward also averaged 7.2 rebounds, two assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Originally from Augsburg, Germany, Rataj has played in 87 games over his three years at Oregon State and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Why The Fit Looks Good
A 6-foot-9 stretch four is a great luxury in modern college basketball. Rataj can score it in a lot of ways. He’s tough in the paint and skilled with post-moves around the basket. He doesn’t get rushed. He’s an excellent rebounder, particularly on the defensive end. He gets to the foul line a lot with five attempts per game and shoots it at almost 80%. You can play him with another big man or use him as your small ball center.
Easy rule of thumb when evaluating non P4 players…..
If in watching their game tape from current team/conference they aren't consistently one of the top 2-3 most athletic players in every game, they are not athletic enough for the B12. Harsh reality but reality.
Ray J just put up a 43-8-11 line the other night in G League.
His 3rd 40 pt game this season.
Unfortunately, that's meaningless in the long run because the G League is the worst defensive basketball league to ever exist.
It really sucks that there's no real developmental league or minor league system in basketball. All we have is a glorified rec league -- the best players in which have no prayer of ever advancing past it.
And that's not a knock on RayJ. We've seen a lot of really good players rot on the vine in the G League while putting up monster stat lines.
