The Oregon Ducks’ 4-star freshman wing Mookie Cook will not play this week against the Arizona schools. Per head coach Dana Altman, Cook tweaked his foot against Utah which will keep him off the court.
Oregon’s game against Utah was just Cook’s fifth game as a Duck. Before the season began, Cook needed ankle surgery, and his recovery sidelined him for the first two months of the season. Cook made his debut on the road against the Washington Huskies, where he shot 2/3 from the field in just six minutes.
In his next four games at Oregon, Cook still didn’t play much. His surgery recovery and lack of conditioning played a role in his minutes limitation, but he may have seen his playing time increase in the next few games if not for his injury.
Dana Altman says that Mookie Cook will not be available for this weekend’s series vs. the Arizona schools. He tweaked something in his foot during the Utah game.
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) January 24, 2024
Since Oregon will be without Cook to come off the bench, Keeshawn Barthelemy, Jadrian Tracey, and Kario Oquendo will be the leaders of the Ducks’ second unit. Against Utah, the Oregon bench had only 16 points, which allowed the utes to build a lead when the starters were of the floor. Against the Wildcats — the third-best scoring team in the country, the Ducks won’t be able to rely solely on their starters, and production from the bench will be key.
The Ducks’ Sunday loss to the Utah Utes was their second in a row, the first being a road game against Colorado a few days prior. This week, they’ll host Arizona State on Thursday and Arizona on Saturday. Currently, Oregon is tied with both schools for first place in the Pac-12, so the result of these games will be impactful.
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