Tag: Dana Altman

Oregon Ducks up to No. 12 in AP poll; ranked No. 11 in ESPN Power Rankings after 2-0 start

The competition hasn’t been pristine, but Oregon’s pair of impressive early-season victories has them moving up in the AP poll and ESPN Power Rankings this week.

The Oregon Ducks did everything they needed to do in the first week of the season, with dominant wins over Texas Southern and SMU in a matter of days.

The competition wasn’t as pristine as you’d hope to see before having to make a decision on whether or not this team is the real deal, but Oregon’s execution surely gave fans confidence that this will be an incredibly fun team to watch this season, and the ability to play as a cohesive unit on the floor despite bringing in a litany of new pieces together was supremely impressive.

After their 2-0 start to the season, the Ducks moved up one spot in the Associated Press Top-25, where they now sit at No. 12 in the polls. Here is how the top-15 shakes out:

  1. Gonzaga (2-0)
  2. UCLA (2-0)
  3. Kansas (2-0)
  4. Michigan (2-0)
  5. Villanova (1-1)
  6. Purdue (2-0)
  7. Duke (3-0)
  8. Texas (1-1)
  9. Baylor (1-0)
  10. Illinois (2-0)
  11. Memphis (2-0)
  12. Oregon (2-0)
  13. Kentucky (1-1)
  14. Alabama (2-0)
  15. Houston (2-0)

The Ducks also moved up a spot to No. 11 in ESPN’s Power Rankings, which made note of Oregon’s transfer portal prowess and high ceiling after the start of the season:

Once Oregon added Syracuse transfer Quincy Guerrier last summer, I was intrigued to see if Dana Altman would go with a small-ball lineup featuring the 6-foot-8 forward and 6-foot-7 Eric Williams Jr. as the lone frontcourt players. Through two games, Altman did just that, and it helped the Ducks to one of the more under-the-radar week one wins: a 23-point drilling of potential NCAA tournament team SMU. Will Richardson has taken a massive step forward in the backcourt, following the departures of Chris Duarte and LJ Figueroa. Richardson averaged 19.0 points, hitting eight of his 13 3-point attempts. It’s also worth noting that Altman has kept a pretty tight seven-man rotation, even in two blowouts; given that six of the players are between 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-8, the versatility and interchangeability of the roster enables Altman to mix and match for different lineups. It’s the perfect roster for him.

Coming up, Oregon has a big game against BYU on Tuesday up in the PK85, which is being held at the Moda Center. After that, all eyes will turn down the road towards their massive home game on December 18th against the Baylor Bears, who currently rank No. 9 in the nation.

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4-star PG Jackson Shelstad announces commitment to Oregon for 2023 class

The Ducks just picked up a 4-star recruit for the 2023 class with the commitment of Jackson Shelstad, the No. 1 PG in Oregon.

After signing a trio of highly-touted recruits earlier this week, it appears that Dana Altman added another blue-chip prospect to his bag, with 4-star point guard Jackson Shelstad announcing that he will be coming to Oregon for the 2023 season.

Shelstad, the No. 68 player in the nation and No. 1 player in Oregon for the 2023 class, is a 6-foot point guard from West Linn who chose the Ducks over Arizona State. He is now a staple in Oregon’s 2023 recruiting class, and will likely take over the PG role for Oregon a year after we expect Dior Johnson to make his jump to the NBA.

It’s hard to project what a team will look like a couple of years down the road, but grabbing a player like Shelstad and locking him down for the future is never a bad thing.

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‘Aspirations of moving on;’ Dana Altman plans to only have 5-star PG Dior Johnson for a year

Dior Johnson is one of the top PG prospects in the nation, which leads Dana Altman to believe his stay in Eugene will be short-lived before a leap to the NBA.

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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Everything we know following Oregon Ducks’ 86-63 beatdown over SMU Mustangs

The Ducks grabbed a resounding 86-63 win over the SMU Mustangs on Friday night, using a hot start and solid defense to pace the way to an easy win.

The Oregon Ducks got a commanding victory over the SMU Mustangs on Friday night, which gives them a nice boost of momentum going into next week when they get set to travel to Portland and take on the BYU Cougars in the PK85.

Oregon’s 86-63 win will look solid on the schedule this early on, especially considering that SMU was an NIT team last season and returned much of their core from that run.

The Ducks got off to an incredibly hot start in this game, making their first 7 shots and building an early lead over SMU. Their first missed basket didn’t come until the 14:33 minute mark, with Jacob Young and Quincy Guerrier doing the heavy lifting early on.

Once they cooled off on offense, it was the Oregon defense that stepped up in the first half, holding the Mustangs to under 30% shooting beyond the arc.

The second half was much of the same, with the Ducks building up a 24-point lead and using the final 12-15 minutes of the game to go through offensive sets and get some developmental work in the game. Overall, it was an impressive victory for the Ducks, and their season is off to a great start.

Here are some instant notes from the game:

Everything we know following No. 13 Oregon’s 83-66 season-opening win over Texas Southern

The Ducks looked solid in their first game of the season, beating Texas Southern 83-66. Here’s an instant reaction from the game.

At long last, the Oregon Ducks’ men’s basketball team kicked off its 2021 season at Matthew Knight Arena, picking up a 83-66 season-opening win over Texas Southern.

This was our first opportunity to see a whole host of new players on the roster, several of whom came to Eugene via the transfer portal this offseason.

In a surprise to many, the Ducks started out the game with a small-ball lineup, utilizing three guards and two forwards. They then went on to shoot 19 three-pointers in the first half. That trend continued in the second half, with Oregon attempting 36 for the entire game.

Oregon Ducks vs. Texas Southern basketball preview, prediction, and odds

Are you ready for some basketball? Here’s everything you need to know about Oregon’s season-opener against Texas Southern on Tuesday night.

Records:

Oregon Ducks (0-0, 0-0) vs. Texas Southern Tigers (0-0, 0-0)

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 9
Game Time: 4 p.m. PST
Venue: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, OR
Network: Pac-12 Network

While much of the college sporting world is deeply entrenched in the football realm at the moment, especially in the heat of a race for the College Football Playoff, hoops have finally returned.

After several months off, we are ready to hit the hardwood once again and see how high the Ducks can fly. Oregon will kick off the action on Tuesday night against the Texas Southern Tigers, a talented team that has an outside chance of making it to the NCAA Tournament this season.

The Ducks have some high expectations, with a massive influx of talent via the transfer portal, and one of the most respected coaches in the game. It will be our first time seeing many of the players on the floor on Tuesday, but here’s to hoping they get off to a hot start.

Up Next: Oregon’s Game Plan…

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N’Faly Dante about a month or so away from returning from knee injury

Oregon’s dominant big man N’Faly Dante is still recovering from a knee injury, and is about a month to six weeks away from returning.

The Oregon basketball season is getting near, and for the first time this season, we got a chance to speak to head coach Dana Altman and preview his squad.

While a lot of the talk centered around veteran point guard Will Richardson and the influx of talent that has been added via the transfer portal, there was one thing of note when it comes to the injury front. That has to do with former 5-star big-man N’Faly Dante, who missed much of last season with a knee injury.

According to Altman, Dante won’t quite be ready to play when the season tips off, but his return is expected before the end of the year.

“He’s working really hard,” Altman said on Thursday. “I love the effort that he’s putting in with the trainers, trying to get himself ready. But I would say that we’re at least, I don’t know, a month or six weeks away from getting him. That’s just a guess.”

Dante played in just six games last season, where he averaged 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal per game. His presence on the block is highly anticipated, where he is expected to play alongside fellow big-men Franck Kepnang and Nathan Bittle, both of whom were 5-star recruits as well.

With so many new players and moving pieces on the team, it is hard to predict what the rotations will look like on this team at the start of the year, but once Dante is healthy and ready to hit the floor, you can expect him to be a major part of the team’s expected success.

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Trio of Oregon Ducks named to award watch lists ahead of 2021-22 season

Will Richardson, Quincy Guerrier, and De’Vion Harmon. All are expected to play huge roles for the Ducks this season, with the trio up for preseason awards.

We are counting down the days until both the men’s and women’s Oregon Ducks basketball teams tip off the 2021-22 season, and as we get prepared to hit the hardwood, it is time to take stock of where both teams are at and what we can expect going forward.

It was revealed earlier this week that both squads are ranked inside the Top-15 — the men at No. 13 and the women at No. 10 — making them one of just three teams in the nation to have both programs able to say that.

Now, we also know that there are three players on Dana Altman’s team who are being considered for season-long awards, having been named to preseason watch lits. Here’s who to take a look at going forward:

Will Richardson — Bob Cousy Award Watch List

Sam Owens/IndyStar via USA TODAY Sports

Richardson is one of 20 players to be named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award watch list. Richardson was also selected to the Pac-12 preseason all-conference team after having a strong close to the 2020 season, helping the Ducks advance a couple of rounds in the NCAA Tournament.

He enters his senior season with the Ducks having a chance to get into the school’s top-10 list in steals, assists, three-point field goal percentage, and wins.

In 2020, former Oregon Duck Payton Pritchard was the first player in school history to win the Bob Cousy Award, and now Richardson has a chance to add to the list.

Up Next: Quincy Guerrier (Karl Malone Award)

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Oregon Ducks basketball programs hold unique, elite standing heading into 2021-22 season

The Ducks are only 1 of 3 schools in the nation to have both MBB and WBB teams ranked inside the Top-15 to start the season. That’s elite.

News came out on Tuesday morning that the Oregon Ducks’ women’s basketball team was opening the 2021-22 season at No. 10 in the Associated Press rankings. On Monday, the men’s team was announced to open the season at No. 13 on the same rankings heading into the season.

We’ve been anticipating this season for several months now, knowing that the Ducks have an incredible influx in talent via the transfer portal and some highly-rated recruits, and now it’s clear just what those additions might mean to the school. Given a chance to look at how the nation views these teams, we see that the Ducks program stands in an elite tier with few other schools.

What Kelly Graves and Dana Altman have been able to accomplish in their time at Oregon is remarkable, and it’s set up the Ducks for deep runs into March seemingly every year. At this point, an early exit in the tournament is seen as a disappointment for either team, and predictions have them both being major players down the stretch.

Of course, it’s one thing to hold a high ranking entering the season, but another to uphold those expectations and deliver. We will see if the Ducks can accomplish that going forward.

Kelly Graves and his team kick off the season with an exhibition game against Saint Martin’s on October 28th, while Dana Altman’s squad will get underway vs. Texas Southern on November 9th.

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No. 1 JUCO scorer, Tyrone Williams, commits to Dana Altman and the Ducks

Tyrone Williams, the top scorer at the JUCO level, commits to the Ducks, joining both Dior Johnson and Kel-el Ware in 2022-23 class.

Dana Altman continues to load up on talent.

The Oregon men’s basketball coach landed Tyrone Williams, the No. 1 scorer on the junior college level. Williams previously played for Grayson College in Denison, Texas.

The 6-foot-5 guard is from Philadephia and last year he averaged an incredible 27.6 points per game, while shooting 55.1 percent from the field, while making 43.5 percent of his three-point attempts. Williams also averaged 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

Because of the pandemic eligibility rules, Williams chose to return to junior college for a third season after the NCAA allowed all athletes to not count the 2020-21 season. But when he comes to Eugene for the 2022-23 season, he’ll be a veteran as a third-year JUCO player and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Williams is the third member of the 2022-23 class, joining both 5-star guard Dior Johnson and 7-foot center Kel’el Ware.