When the Oregon Ducks’ two best big men, N’Faly Dante and Nate Bittle, suffered injuries at the beginning of the 2023-24 men’s basketball season, it seemed like the start of a book Oregon basketball fans have read too many times in the last few years.
It was a book that (spoiler alert) ended in the NIT. But, through 15 games the Ducks are 12-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play as they prepare to host the California Golden Bears on Saturday. Dante’s return seems imminent and Bittle might not be far behind.
One of the biggest reasons for Oregon’s early season success is head coach Dana Altman’s use of a small and fast lineup. In contrast to Altman’s’ usual interior scoring offense, Oregon’s small ball strategy relies on efficient shooting and strong perimeter defense. There are benefits and costs to both approaches, which Altman highlighted after Tuesday’s practice.
“Playing small gives some people fits,” Altman said. “We’re only a plus-two on the boards, so I’d like to see that number go way up if we get our bigs back. One of the benefits is we’re only averaging 11 turnovers a game.”
Once Dante returns, it seems likely that the two approaches will be blended, focusing on the perimeter against some opponents and staying inside against others.
“You’ve got to play different ways against different teams. And that ability is something that’s important,” Altman said. “And you know, playing small ball around Dante is different than playing small ball around KJ (Evans), because it really gives us an inside threat, so we can really spread the floor with shooters. We’ve got three guys shooting over 40% and Bam (Tracey) is right at 40%. I hate to jinx it. So playing around Dante would be an option or playing around Nate would be an option.”
When Dante is reinserted into the lineup, there may be some growing pains. Firstly, after not playing for two months, Dante’s conditioning won’t be immediately up to par, so he’ll have to be slowly reintroduced. Secondly, it may be difficult for the rest of the team to flip a switch and change their style of play from small ball to a more traditional style of play.
“You know, we’ve been playing a certain way, and we’ve kind of settled into it. But you guys know, to be where we need to be, we can’t play small ball the rest of the year,” Altman said. “We got to play big teams like Arizona. Colorado has got some size, Utah has got size. You know, we’ve gotten away with it.
“But you know, to be where we want to be, to try to get to where we want to be… Going into the season, we had one all-conference player, and that’s for a reason. And I’m not saying these other guys haven’t played well or done a good job because they have, but Dante is still Dante. He still got 15 points, (shooting) 60%, getting double-teamed every time he caught it last year, and almost 9 rebounds. You know, when we won big games, you know, Dante played well.”
Dante is certainly an X-factor for the Ducks. In the three games Oregon has lost this season, they’ve been out-rebounded by an average margin of 9.33, something Dante would help solve. In his only game this season, Dante snagged 21 rebounds — an Oregon record. Additionally — as Altman pointed out — Dante often draws double teams when posting up with the ball, which could lead to open looks for Oregon’s fiery shooters.
Once Dante returns, the Ducks may have all the pieces they need to stay at the top of the Pac-12. They’ll need to pick up some big wins in the regular season and play well in the Pac-12 tournament, but if Oregon continues the way they have been, they have a shot at being a quality tournament team in March. And, once that time of year rolls around, having the option to pivot to a small ball lineup could be an asset for the Ducks.
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