In 2008, the Viks won their conference, then the Big Sky tournament and earned their first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament. They entered as a 16-seed and had the luxury of taking on the top seeded Kansas Jayhawks. The Viks were out-sized around the perimeter and really had a tough time making anything happen. They did have 6-11 Senior center Scott Morrison, who was a big reason for their 2008 success, but Kansas was just too much.

2009 was a bit different. Point Guard Jeremiah Dominguez returned, the Viks had beat Gonzaga on the road, only lost by a point to the Pac-10 champion Washington Huskies on the road, and got more experience against the Baylor Bears. So they were a bit more prepared this year and that track record earned them a 13-seed.

PSU was the only team to represent Oregon in the 2009 NCAA tournament, so they were the only hope for the whole state. They drew the Xavier Musketeers and it was more along the lines of the type of size matchup Coach Ken Bone was looking for. But after a hard-fought first half, Xavier owned the 2nd half and any hope of a miracle upset quickly vanished.

Now the future is in doubt. Jeremiah Dominguez and Andre Murray are Seniors, so they won't be back in 2010. On top of their departures, Coach Ken Bone's services have been bought by Washington State.

Whatever the future holds, these past two years have been pretty spectacular for the Portland State program and I can only assume things will continue to get better. They've only been in the Big Sky since 1996 and were not eligible for post-season play the first 2 years. Now they've reached there twice in back-to-back seasons. What high school kid wouldn't want to play for Portland State knowing they have a good shot of reaching the NCAA tournament? And I have to believe there's going to be some coach that's been left in the dust who'd like to come to Portland and help, just as Glanville did with the football program. It's unfortunate, but pretty expected, and fans are proud nonetheless. The players have a lot to be proud of, but Jeremiah was hoping for the upset in his last game for the Viks. After losing to Kansas in 2008, the guys weren't down, but in 2009 there was some dejection because they had hope they could win.

Next year many veterans will be returning (unless they transfer). Jamie Jones had 16 points and 5 boards against Xavier and next year will be his senior season. Kyle Coston, Phil Nelson, big Julius Thomas, and athletic Dominic Waters should all be back.

NOTE (update in 2014): I just realized as I was editing this that I mentioned Julius Thomas. He's now the Tight End of the Denver Broncos.

Anyway, that's some pretty good experience and should be enough for them to compete in the Big Sky, and possibly win it again. They are under-sized, but are not going to be any smaller because the guys leaving are amongst the shortest on the roster.

Quite possibly the worst part is Ken Bone leaving. People knew he would probably be courted by other teams after 2 straight appearances. There was no doubt Portland State wouldn't be able to pay him enough money to stay if he were offered a deal by a team from a major conference and that's what happened with Wazzu.

So we'll see what the future holds.

Finally, I'll say thank you to Ken Bone, Jeremiah, and Murray; its been a great run and you'll be missed. Good luck at Wazzu to Coach Bone and good luck where-ever the road may lead for Dominguez and Murray.

GO VIKS!

NOTE (another 2014 update): Ken Bone has been fired from Washington State. And PSU was in the CIT tournament.