Mookie Cook and Nate Bittle cleared for all basketball activities

Oregon Ducks men’s basketball players Mookie Cook and Nate Bittle have been cleared for all basketball activities.

In the middle of the Oregon Ducks appearance on Big Ten football’s media days, Oregon Ducks men’s basketball received some good news: senior center Nate Bittle and freshman wing Mookie Cook have been cleared for all basketball activities, according to a report from Jon Rothstein.

Last season, Bittle was kept out for most of the first half of the season with a wrist injury, and shortly after his return, he contracted an illness that hindered him for months and kept him off the court for the rest of the year. Cook needed surgery at the start of the 2023 season and then was reinjured four games after his debut.

Both players were expected to return by the start of the season in November, but receiving clean bills of health in July will help them tremendously come November.

Cook and Bittle could both be major impact players for Oregon this season. With N’Faly Dante’s eligibility waiver request being denied, Bittle is the Ducks’ most talented and experienced center. Oregon head coach Dana Altman likes to run his offense through his big men, so Bittle could be touching the ball a lot.

Cook’s role is harder to predict since he has just four games of college experience. But with Jermaine Couisnard not returning in the fall, the Ducks will need a strong two-way wing, whether he comes off the bench or starts. This year, I don’t see Cook cracking the starting five, but I think he’ll be a valuable member of the second unit.