The Oregon Ducks have avoided the “one-and-done” trend in college basketball for much of the past decade, but that might not be the case for much longer.
Earlier this week, Dana Altman and his team signed another impressive recruiting class, inking 5-star PG Dior Johnson, 5-star C Ke’el Ware, and top JUCO prospect Tyrone Williams. All three project to be major pieces on the roster going forward, but we might have to question how long they will stick around.
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This is particularly the case with Johnson, who comes to Eugene as arguably the No. 1 PG prospect in the nation. He had big-money offers to play in the G-League or overseas rather than going to college, but he chose instead to come to Oregon.
“Dior Johnson is really quick, really can push the ball,” Altman said on Friday. “He’s probably only going to be with us for a year because he’s got aspirations of moving on pretty quickly, but that’s the game. That’s where we’re at, and if he has a great year, I hope he does.”
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With players across the country habitually only making a pit-stop at the college level now before taking their shot at the NBA, it comes as no surprise that a one-and-done player finally made his way to Eugene. After the massive boost that recruiting has seen under Altman and Coach Crutchfield, the Ducks’ lead recruiter, the talent level has risen to a point where NBA prospects are no longer few and far between.
That’s one of the downsides of recruiting at a high level. While it is great to have these players come to Eugene and pursue an NCAA Championship, we have to understand that the stay may be short-lived.
That trend may start with Johnson. You could argue it isn’t even close to a bad thing. What else are you going to do, recruit lesser players in the hopes that they stay more a year or two more?
No, instead you should embrace the trend and try to catch lightning in a bottle, getting the most from these incredibly talented players while you can before they move on. In a perfect world, hopefully championships will come with it.
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