Tag: Dana Altman

Ducks look to stay on top with upset opportunity against No. 9 Arizona

The Oregon Ducks have a big-time opportunity to beat the Arizona Wildcats in their last ever matchup as conference foes.

The Oregon Ducks have a solo spot atop the Pac-12 Conference Standings. The Arizona Wildcats are currently ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press poll.

Which team needs to win on Saturday afternoon for this to be declared an upset?

While the obvious answer is Oregon — a team that hasn’t been ranked inside the top 25 all season long, and is currently sitting a little too close to the NCAA tournament bubble for comfort — it’s fair to look at Dana Altman’s squad this year and reasonably believe that they can hold their own at this level.

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The Ducks are 14-5 through 19 games, with a 6-2 conference record. Contrarily, Arizona is 14-5 with a 5-3 conference record. The level of competition has not been the same, but nobody will look at you sideways for declaring that the Ducks and Wildcats belong on the same court Saturday afternoon.

It should also come as no surprise to anyone who has watched Pac-12 basketball over the last decade that in the final meeting between these two as conference foes, there is a lot at stake.

Since 2010, Arizona has won six conference titles, while Oregon has won four. The Wildcats have also won five Pac-12 tournaments in that time, while the Ducks have won three. In the last decade and change, no two teams have better held the role of “class of the conference” than these two schools, so it feels appropriate that they duke it out in the final meeting for the foreseeable future.

With a lot on the line, Altman knows that this game is going to be a physical one on Saturday afternoon in Eugene.

“They are big and strong inside, which makes it good that we have (N’Faly) Dante and Nate (Bittle) back to try and match some of that size,” Altman said on Thursday night after an 80-61 win over Arizona State. “So it will be a physical game and determine who communicates the best defensively because they can score.”

The need to perform well defensively is what should give Oregon fans and coaches the biggest reason for hesitance. So far this season, while the Ducks rank 2nd in the conference offensively, their defense comes in at 11th out west.

Altman has been quick to recite his favorite stat this past week as well, telling media members both on Tuesday after practice and on Thursday after the game that the team is 1-5 this year when allowing 80 points to be scored on them.

“You don’t have to be too smart to figure it out — that number’s too high,” Altman said.

So how do they go about making sure it doesn’t happen against a Wildcats team that averages 89 points per game?

“We’re going to have to communicate on the defensive end and rebounding margin; they really get on the boards. We’re going to have to do a great job there.”

The presence of Dante and Bittle will certainly help, but it’s going to take a team effort in Eugene. Should the Ducks be able to stifle Arizona, and assuming that the shots are falling offensively, there absolutely is a world where Altman walks away from his last-ever conference game against the Wildcats on Saturday evening with a win.

Will it be an upset? That’s yet to be determined.

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In a season full of peaks and valleys, Dana Altman’s Ducks made a statement vs. Arizona State

The Oregon Ducks made a statement with their blowout win over the Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday night.

This season has been one of peaks and valleys for the Oregon Ducks, and Thursday night’s game against the Arizona State Sun Devils was no exception.

It started with a peak: Center Nate Bittle — who had been sidelined with a wrist injury that required surgery in late November — was officially making his return to the court after nine weeks, and entering the starting lineup to some surprise.

Bittle’s first shot back on the court, and Oregon’s first shot of the game, was a drained three-pointer. The 7-foot center gestured towards his shooting arm with braggadocious style before quickly tugging on his jersey and asking to be pulled from the game just 67 seconds after the opening tip.

Bittle ran to the bench and continued up into the tunnel — a valley.

The valley continued for the Ducks, who went on to miss 14 of their first 17 shots from the floor, eventually falling behind by 10 points early in the game, a margin that felt gracious at the time for anyone watching.

Fortunately for Dana Altman, that would be the lowest point of the night. Another inspired timeout speech on the Oregon bench sparked the team a bit, and they ended the first half on a nice run, going into the half only trailing by 5.

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The second half offered a return to the peak. A quick 8-3 run to tie the game; a drained three from freshman Kwame Evans to take the lead; and a drained transition three from Keeshawn Barthelemy to put the Ducks up by 5, their biggest lead of the game.

From 15:57 to 3:20 in the second half — a 12-minute and 37-second stretch — the Ducks went without missing a field goal, hitting 13 straight and ballooning their lead up to 22 at some points. They ultimately won 80-61, beating one of the two teams who entered the night tied with them for first place in the Pac-12 Conference.

I’m not going to lie, I walked out of the arena, into the concourse, and down to the media room feeling impressed. A win over a team like Arizona State — who smoked the Ducks in this same building a year ago — was notable, and doing it in the way that Oregon did meant something more than just a check in the win column.

Was it a statement win? From my perspective in the press row, it certainly felt like one. Ultimately, I think that depends on who you ask.

“Oh, I don’t know,” head coach Dana Altman uttered after the game, lifting his hands to the air and letting them loudly clap down on his thighs. “Every game is important, you know?”

Yes, at this point in a season where Oregon is sitting on the right side of the bubble in ESPN’s bracketology midway through the year, every game is important for the Ducks to win, especially at home. This one, though, carried with it a bit more weight.

“We needed to win the game, I know that,” Altman admitted.

Winning the game would be one thing. Dominating another top-ranked team in the conference in the way that they did, though… That’s where the statement was made.

I had more success getting someone to agree with me when asking Barthelemy his thoughts after scoring 12 points off of the bench on 5-for-6 shooting.

“It was definitely a statement win for us,” Barthelemy said. “Like I said, ASU was tied with us and we needed this one at home, especially coming off two L’s in a row. We just had to come out with a different type of energy, and we did that.”

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Though Altman may have hesitated to admit it, this win mattered more than most so far this season. After two straight years of missing out on the NCAA Tournament, it’s felt like the 2023-24 group has been walking a tightrope of pushing into a new era or succumbing to old habits. Injuries have been an issue; free throw shooting has been an issue; three-point shooting has been an issue, and defensive intensity has been brought up more than a few times from Altman after practice.

Following the mountain road trip sweep, it felt like these Ducks might have been bluffing with their six-game winning streak earlier in the year, and that No. 1 ranking in the Pac-12 might quickly be exposed. Midway through that first half, I was pretty convinced this was the case.

But the Ducks found a way to climb out of the valley and turn things around rather quickly, which is something we’ve seen on multiple occasions this season. The night ended with them standing on as high of a peak as we’ve seen all season, sitting alone at the top of the conference once again.

“I’m really proud of our guys and the coaching staff for a great game plan,” Barthelemy said. “We did what we had to do.”

In a season that has seen several peaks and valleys, more opportunities for both will continue to come. The next may be the biggest of the season, with No. 9 Arizona traveling to Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday afternoon.

A lot of eyeballs will be turned to Eugene to see what Dana Altman and his Ducks can do.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they made another statement.

Ducks Wire’s Ethan Landa was taking photos at Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday night. Here are some of his best images from the contest:

‘Unselfish:’ How to describe KJ Evans, Oregon’s budding power forward

Kwame Evans is a budding star for the Oregon Ducks, but that doesn’t stop him from remaining selfless.

After road losses to Colorado and Utah last week, things felt bleak for Oregon Ducks men’s basketball. On the surface things were fine. The Ducks were tied for first place in the Pac-12 and they still held a spot in March Madness according to ESPN’s Bracketology. But the Buffaloes and Utes made it feel as though the Ducks didn’t have the defensive skill to contend with quality teams in the Pac-12 and beyond.

But on Thursday night, the Ducks were fortunate to win decisively over the Arizona State Sun Devils. The 80-61 victory reminded me that ebbs and flows are part of basketball’s nature and that I shouldn’t overreact to the way things look in one or two games.

After all, I’m pleasantly surprised Oregon is in the position they are at this point in the season. Following early-season injuries to N’Faly Dante, Nate Bittle, and Jesse Zarzuela, I lost some hope that the Ducks could stay competitive. But Dana Altman relied on his depth players and the Ducks emerged as leaders in the Pac-12.

The biggest reason Oregon was able to thrive through Dante and Bittle’s absence was the play of freshmen Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans Jr. Both players were thrust into the fray early, and they performed well. During Dante’s absence, Evans averaged 9.5 points and almost 6 rebounds, while Shelstad averaged 14.8 points and 2.6 assists. But since Dante has returned, the freshmen pair’s production has taken a bit of a hit.

A smaller role and less production haven’t seemed to discourage Evans. For most of the season, he has been a starter, but in the last two games, Evans has come off the bench. After the win on Thursday, Coach Altman revealed that the idea to come off the bench was player-led, not coach-ordered.

“KJ really wants to help the team,” Altman said. “You know, he came to me — knew he wasn’t playing really good — and said, ‘Coach, maybe I just need to come off the bench and try to get something going.’ I like that unselfishness. Again, if we’re gonna play 10 guys or whatever, guys gotta say, ‘What can I do for the team?’ And, you see how that unselfishness pans out. You know he had a good stretch, comes off the bench, and really was a big part of that run offensively and defensively.”

Evans’ move to the second unit worked for him on Thursday. The freshman power forward scored 8 points — on 50% shooting, grabbed 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, in just 17 minutes. He also gave a spark to the Ducks’ offense after a cold first half with 5 quick points at the start of Oregon’s 13/13 FG streak in the second half.

After the game, veteran point guard Keeshawn Barthelemy spoke about Evans and his decision to ask Altman to start on the bench.

“KJ is one of those kids that his maturity is well beyond his years, you know, like in terms of his mentality,” Barthelemy said. “And I’m super proud of him to have done that. Like I said with Nate (Bittle), it takes sacrifice to win at this level, especially when you have so many guys who can play at a high level. He’s been good for us all year long, and for him to have taken that step of unselfishness is really good, and he impacted the game tonight, obviously, so I’m really proud of him.”

Despite some recent struggles, KJ Evans has proved early in his Oregon career that he has the talent — on both ends of the floor — to be a star for the Ducks. Through 19 games, Evans has four games with 15 or more points and six games with 8 or more rebounds. Evans also leads the Ducks in steals per 100 possessions (3.9), and besides Dante and Bittle — neither of whom has played more than five games — Evans has the highest player efficiency rating (21.6) of any Oregon player.

On Saturday, Oregon has Arizona. The Wildcats lost to the Oregon State Beavers on Thursday night, but they remain one of the best teams in America, especially on offense. Their 89.9 points per game is 2nd in the country. And after the game on Thursday, Altman highlighted defense as the area where Oregon needs to improve the most.

Even with Evans likely coming off the bench against the Wildcats, his defensive effort could make a difference in the game, since Arizona has scorers everywhere. But regardless of Saturday’s outcome or Evans’ impact, Oregon basketball fans can feel confident they have a star for the future.

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MBB Recap: Oregon blows by Arizona State to snap losing streak

The Oregon Ducks came back home strong after losing two games on the road. They beat Arizona State 80-61 on Thursday night.

The Oregon Ducks needed this win.

After picking up their first two losses of the Pac-12 season in just four days last week, the Ducks needed to bounce back and defend their home court, which is exactly what they did against Arizona State.

At first, it looked like the Ducks might lose their third straight. The Sun Devils led by 10 points at one point in the first half, but that lead was cut to 5 after the first 20 minutes.

In the second half, the Ducks were a different team. Oregon couldn’t miss a shot from the floor, and they tightened up their defense, leading them to a 19-point win. Here’s a look at how everything went down on Thursday night.

Defense is key for the Ducks with string of hugely important games on the schedule

Dana Altman, head coach of the Oregon Ducks, spoke to media about Oregon’s recent defensive struggles.

“We’ve gotta guard. God dang it.”

That was the start of Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman’s message to the team this week following back-to-back losses to Colorado and Utah. The Ducks allowed an average of 83 points in the two games and their worst defense came down the stretch.

“We’re 1-5 in games we gave up 80 points. Easy baskets,” Altman continued. “We’re just not as committed on the defensive end as we need to be. Kevin gave me some stats: we’re 2nd in the league offensively and 11th defensively. So that’ll give you an idea of how far we have to go.

“Yesterday was our day off, today we did nothing but defense. I don’t know if it will help us for Thursday, but we’ve got to get better. You know, we know that we can’t give up 80. (Utah) shot 68% in the second half and scored 48 points. Not going to win many games.”

The Ducks’ biggest struggles on defense have come on the perimeter. Colorado and Utah both shot above 40% from three-point range against Oregon because the Ducks weren’t closing out shooters well enough. The game against Utah was decided by three points, so one more defensive stop could’ve been the difference in the game.

One of the bright spots on Oregon’s road trip was N’Faly Dante, who was playing his second and third games back after being kept off the floor by injury for two months. Dante was impressive on both ends of the floor, and the Ducks are visibly a better team with him in the game.

“Yes we need that, we need that,” Altman said about Dante’s defensive effort. “We all know that we need that. Everybody bought in and I think we’re going to pick it up. We don’t have any other choice but to pick it up, all of us.”

This week, Oregon matches up with the Arizona schools, first with Arizona State and then with Arizona. If the Ducks want to ditch their losing streak, defensive improvement will be paramount as Altman said. It will be especially important on Saturday when Oregon hosts Arizona. The Wildcats score 89.9 points per game, the third most of any team in the country, and they do it with a 48.8 field goal percentage. The Ducks will need more than just Dante to be engaged defensively for 40 minutes.

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Oregon’s Nate Bittle expected to return this week vs. Arizona State

According to Dana Altman, Nate Bittle could return to the floor for the Oregon Ducks as soon as Thursday.

For most of the season, the Oregon Ducks have been without starting forward/center Nate Bittle. Bittle injured his wrist against Tennessee State on November 17th and hasn’t returned since, although Ducks’ head coach Dana Altman said last week that a return for Bittle is close.

This week, on Wednesday, Altman provided another update on Bittle’s progress and whether or not he could return this week in one of Oregon’s home games against Arizona State or Arizona.

“I think so. He didn’t feel comfortable last Sunday, but he practiced hard today,” Altman said. “So we’ll see how it feels tomorrow. And I won’t make any promises, but if he gets through tomorrow and gets through shoot around and he feels okay. I’d sure like to play him.”

And Ducks fans would sure like to see him play. In 2022, Bittle averaged 7.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while also playing strong defense — something Oregon needs. The re-addition of Bittle into the starting lineup would also make the opposing teams less likely to double-team N’Faly Dante, because it would leave a wide-open Bittle under the basket for a free bucket.

Regardless of when Bittle returns, he, like Dante, will be gradually reintroduced to the lineup. Altman did point out last week, that Bittle’s conditioning hasn’t taken as much of a hit as Dante’s because Bittle had an upper-body injury and could run during his recovery, while Dante had a leg injury and couldn’t.

In his first few games back, I expect Bittle to come off the bench and give the Ducks good minutes on both ends of the floor. After that, it will all depend on who is producing the most. Dante has the starting center spot secured, and Bittle will have competition at power forward with freshman Kwame Evans Jr., who has had a strong start to his Oregon career.

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Bracketology Update: Oregon falls after consecutive road losses

After back-to-back losses, Oregon falls two seed spots in ESPN’s most recent Bracketology update.

After losing 70-86 to the Colorado Buffaloes and 77-80 to the Utah Utes, the Oregon Ducks’ March Madness stock dropped. Previously, Joe Lunardi of ESPN ranked the Ducks as a 10-seed in his biweekly NCAA tournament predictions, ESPN Bracketology. But now, Lunardi has placed Oregon as the “last team in,” meaning if the season ended today they would be the lowest overall seed to secure an at-large bid for the tournament.

The honorable title of “last team in” means that Oregon would play in the 12-seed play-in game — one of the first games of the tournament. If they were to win that game, they would qualify for the round of the 64, matching up against one of the four 5-seeds.

Both of the Ducks’ recent losses came on the road, and they would’ve been big games to win. Before Oregon’s fruitless road trip, the Ducks were in sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, but now they share that spot with Arizona and Arizona State.

Some of the biggest struggles in Oregon’s last two games came on the defensive end of the ball. Across both games, the Ducks allowed their opponent to shoot 50.44% from the field and score an average of 83 points. The Ducks are scoring well, but they’ll need to ramp up their defense if they want to compete for the Pac-12 title.

Oregon will face Arizona State and Arizona this week, the other two schools at the top of the Pac-12, which makes these games incredibly important. Arizona has one of the top offenses in the country, so the Ducks will need to improve their defense, or they won’t have a chance against the Wildcats.

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Dana Altman hopes former DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield will return to Eugene

Former men’s basketball assistant coach Tony Stubblefield is available once again and Dana Altman would welcome him back to Oregon.

It’s no coincidence that in the two seasons right after former assistant men’s basketball coach Tony Stubblefield left to coach DePaul the Ducks missed the NCAA tournament.

Stubblefield was Altman’s right-hand man for 11 seasons and played a huge part in recruiting and developing players such as Tyler Dorsey, Jordan Bell, Chris Boucher and a whole host of other great players who have come to Eugene over the past decade.

Now Stubblefield is available once again as DePaul lets him go after two-plus seasons on the job. In preparation for this coming week’s games with the Arizona schools, Altman voiced his admiration for his former assistant and friend.

“I’ll tell you what, Tony Stubblefield is a good basketball coach. He’ll have 50 or 60 job offers this week. Everybody knows the DePaul situation, how tough it is, how underfunded they are,” he said. “And in that league (The Big East), you’ve got some teams that are very well funded in NIL and he was fighting an uphill battle from the go. And when they changed the rules on the NIL, he really was. So I know it’s not what he wanted. It’s not what the school wanted, but Tony Stubblefield is a good basketball coach.”

Those “50-60 job offers” Altman mentioned surely will include other head coaching jobs, but if Stubblefield ever wanted to return to Oregon, Altman would be the first one to welcome him back home.

“I’ve talked to him, you know, I sure hope that he’ll at least take a look at us.”

Altman says that nothing will happen until after the season, if it happens at all, but there is a hope that a reunion will take place.

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‘N’Faly Dante plays to win;’ Oregon’s big man brings the heart as Ducks make tournament push

Oregon Ducks center N’Faly Dante made his return after missing 8 weeks with an injury, and his heart is fueling the Ducks’ tournament push.

A week and a half ago, Oregon Ducks’ All-American center N’Faly Dante made his long-awaited return to the court in Eugene. After 8 weeks of street clothes and a seat on the end of the bench that stemmed from an early season knee surgery, the big man was seeing some action.

It was a Saturday night conference matchup with the California Golden Bears, and the 6-foot-11, 265-pounder gave 17 minutes of grit-and-grind effort, putting up 8 points, 2 rebounds, and one block. A game later, this time on the road against Colorado, Dante offered up 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block, and 1 assist in 19 minutes against the Buffaloes.

It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon that Dante started to really look like himself again. On the road at Utah, the minutes restriction was lifted, and N’Faly went to work, putting up 23 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.

While the numbers are great, and the presence of a dominant big-man is certainly a boost that this Oregon Ducks’ team needs at the current moment in the schedule, what Dante brings to the table means more than that. In fact, if you asked head coach Dana Altman, it means much more than you can truly put into words.

“There’s playing to win and there’s playing; N’Faly Dante plays to win,” Altman said on Tuesday after practice, marveling at what his center was able to give two days prior in a losing effort.

“Dante played at another level,” Altman said. “I mean, he’s been out eight weeks, and he looked like the only conditioned, tough, hard-nosed guy we had. And Jermaine  (Couisnard) did a tremendous job on the offensive end, but Dante…”

After getting a minor procedure done on his knee after the first game of the season back in November, Dante has been unable to condition properly while he worked back to full health. His shooting stroke improved, since he could work on fundamentals without exerting his lower half, but Altman often cautioned anyone who would listen over the last month that we shouldn’t expect the “vintage” N’Faly back on the floor in short order.

I’m willing to say that what we saw on Sunday in Salt Lake City was “vintage” N’Faly.

“There was a series there where he gets his shot blocked, he’s standing out of bounds, he flies down the court, gets a hand on it, gets a steal, flies to the other end, and gets a dunk,” Altman recounted with a grin. “He led us in everything. He was 10 for 15 from the field, rebounding he led us, 11 deflections, six assists, one turnover — it was a heck of a performance.”

The next step is finding out how to properly build around him. While the Ducks did a fantastic job of weathering the injury storm throughout December not only with Dante sidelined, but also without fellow center Nate Bittle, they need to quickly readjust and learn how to properly play around a true big man. Going into last weekend, Oregon held a solo lead in the conference, but after back-to-back losses vs. Colorado and Utah, they are now in a three-way tie at the top.

According to ESPN’s latest bracketology, Oregon is considered as a team barely on the right side of the bubble, with very little room for error.

It became apparent on the mountain road trip that the perceived safety blanket of having N’Faly back on the court may have ultimately been a detriment.

“We’ve got a bad habit of just watching him. You know, we’ve got to do a better job,” Altman said. “He could have had a couple more assists. But guys, you know, we throw it in and everybody’s just like, ‘Go get a bucket, Dante.’ You know, we’ve got to help him out a little bit. And I think we’re putting way too much pressure on him defensively. ‘Oh Dante will clean up my mistake,’ you know?”

While the on-court production that Dante brings with his return is hugely beneficial, the heart that he provides off of the floor is immeasurable. Whether it’s his practice habits and efforts in the gym, his voice in the locker room, or his coaching on the bench during timeouts, Altman has found one of his favorite players to coach in recent memory.

“I can’t say enough good things about him; I’m just fortunate to coach him,” Altman said. “He practices hard. He cares about his teammates. He’s been loyal to Oregon. I love the kid. NIL, he’s more worried about taking care of his family back in Mali than himself. That unselfishness like that, what a quality. He just continues to impress me.”

It was hard not to be impressed by what N’Faly did on Sunday afternoon against Utah. Over the next couple of months, Dante’s last in Eugene, Duck fans will look to appreciate what the big man brings to the team, both on and off the court.

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Altman: Mookie Cook out this week following injury against Utah

Mookie Cook won’t be available for the Oregon Ducks this week after a foot injury against the Utah Utes.

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.

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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