The clock was winding down in overtime of an 83-83 game between the Oregon Ducks and the Michigan Wolverines. Point guard Jermaine Cousinard advanced the ball past half court and glanced to head coach Dana Altman, expecting him to call the Ducks’ final timeout.
Play on.
Couisnard stood with the ball near midcourt as the clock counted down to single digits. He never seemed to get a play started, but with four seconds left, Couisnard dished the ball to Jackson Shelstad, a true freshman point guard raised in Oregon, who let it fly, draining a 25-foot three-pointer.
Ducks win, 86-83.
It was a big moment in a young season for Oregon which has already seen some major bumps in the road due to injuries. It was also a big moment in the young career for a true freshman that has garnered as much hype in Eugene as we’ve seen in quite some time.
Shelstad is a graduate of West Linn High School, the alma mater of Ducks’ legend, Payton Pritchard. After his game-winning shot against Michigan, — a feat Pritchard accomplished against the Wolverines in 2019 — the comparisons of Shelstad to the Boston Celtics point guard have intensified even more.
It’s been three games, and Shelstad has fewer than 30 shot attempts, but he is settling in quickly. In those three games, the young PG is averaging 10.7 points in just 23 minutes, while shooting over 50% from deep. Coach Altman is impressed, but he sees many aspects of the game where Shelstad can improve.
“I think he’s gonna grow into a really good player. He’s already a good player now, but I think there’s so much more in front of him,” Altman said. “He’s gotta get a little bigger, a little stronger. That will come with age and in the weight room. But his instincts are so good. You know, he dumps out one to Mo (Diawara) in overtime. The ball just gets out of his hands. Good shooter. Good feel. He had a couple of nice drives to start the second half that we really needed.”
As for where Shelstad can improve, Altman highlighted becoming a better two-way player.
“He’s got to get a little more focused on the defensive end, the same focus to run the offense and get our sets down,” Altman said. “He’s got to do a little better job on the boards. I don’t think he got one rebound the other day. He’s got to rebound. Everybody’s got to, you know, just what it is without Dante out there getting 20. You know, we need somebody getting them, you know, so, but that’s everybody. That’s all our guys, that’s just not Jackson.”
Seven games into the season, the Ducks look and feel so much different than any Oregon men’s team in recent years. A record of 5-2 is obviously a better start than 3-4 in 2022, but Oregon has been more aggressive, played faster, and been more cohesive than last season, and they look as though they can make a tournament push.
Not all of that credit goes to Shelstad, but one of the biggest changes from last year to now is the presence of elite freshmen. In addition to Shelstad, the Ducks brought in 5-star Kwame Evans Jr. and 4-star Mookie Cook for 2023. Evans has started in a few games this season, and shown strong flashes. Cook has been kept off the court because of an injury, but he should make his Oregon debut in late December or early January. That trio of freshmen will have a big impact on Oregon’s chance of making the NCAA tournament in March, so it’s nice to see Shelstad playing this well so early in his Oregon career.
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