Kwame Evans – Syndication Server

‘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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Jackson Shelstad ranked as one of nation’s most impactful freshman in 2023-24 season

Oregon Ducks’ point guard Jackson Shelstad has been ranked as one of the most impactful true freshman in the nation this year.

The Oregon Ducks have gotten a nice spark this season after a frustrating couple of years that saw them miss out on the NCAA Tournament, but the addition of a trio of highly-rated true freshmen has turned things around in a big way in Eugene.

The leader of that trio is point guard Jackson Shelstad, a player who has quickly taken over as one of the most exciting to watch on the team after hitting a buzzer-beater to beat Michigan in his first career game at home. From there, he has gone on to break a freshman scoring record at Oregon as well.

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While both Kwame Evans and Mookie Cook deserve a lot of attention as well, it’s Shelstad who is drawing the most eyeballs currently. This past week, he was named the fifth-most impactful true freshmen in the nation so far, according to USA TODAY’s College Sports Wire:

Shelstad is following in the footsteps of his idol, Payton Pritchard, a graduate from West Linn High School who starred at Oregon for four years and is now a quality role player in the NBA with the Boston Celtics.

Shelstad is also from West Linn High School and in his freshman season has already taken the reigns as the starting point guard for Dana Altman and the Ducks, averaging nearly 15 points per game for the only undefeated team in Pac-12 play. If Shelstad keeps playing like this he might not be able to keep copying Pritchard, because he could end up in the NBA before his senior year.

Evans was ranked as an honorable mention for the list as well.

In Saturday’s win over California, Shelstad tied Tyler Dorsey, for the most consecutive games scoring 10 points or more as a freshman since 2000. As the roster continues to get healthier, we will see how big of an impact he can have going forward, and what type of hype he can draw on the national stage as we get into March.

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What will the reintroduction of N’Faly Dante look like for Oregon?

What will the return of N’Faly Dante look like for the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team?

When the Oregon Ducks’ two best big men, N’Faly Dante and Nate Bittle, suffered injuries at the beginning of the 2023-24 men’s basketball season, it seemed like the start of a book Oregon basketball fans have read too many times in the last few years.

It was a book that (spoiler alert) ended in the NIT. But, through 15 games the Ducks are 12-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play as they prepare to host the California Golden Bears on Saturday. Dante’s return seems imminent and Bittle might not be far behind.

One of the biggest reasons for Oregon’s early season success is head coach Dana Altman’s use of a small and fast lineup. In contrast to Altman’s’ usual interior scoring offense, Oregon’s small ball strategy relies on efficient shooting and strong perimeter defense. There are benefits and costs to both approaches, which Altman highlighted after Tuesday’s practice.

“Playing small gives some people fits,” Altman said. “We’re only a plus-two on the boards, so I’d like to see that number go way up if we get our bigs back. One of the benefits is we’re only averaging 11 turnovers a game.”

Once Dante returns, it seems likely that the two approaches will be blended, focusing on the perimeter against some opponents and staying inside against others.

“You’ve got to play different ways against different teams. And that ability is something that’s important,” Altman said. “And you know, playing small ball around Dante is different than playing small ball around KJ (Evans), because it really gives us an inside threat, so we can really spread the floor with shooters. We’ve got three guys shooting over 40% and Bam (Tracey) is right at 40%. I hate to jinx it. So playing around Dante would be an option or playing around Nate would be an option.”

When Dante is reinserted into the lineup, there may be some growing pains. Firstly, after not playing for two months, Dante’s conditioning won’t be immediately up to par, so he’ll have to be slowly reintroduced. Secondly, it may be difficult for the rest of the team to flip a switch and change their style of play from small ball to a more traditional style of play.

“You know, we’ve been playing a certain way, and we’ve kind of settled into it. But you guys know, to be where we need to be, we can’t play small ball the rest of the year,” Altman said. “We got to play big teams like Arizona. Colorado has got some size, Utah has got size. You know, we’ve gotten away with it.

“But you know, to be where we want to be, to try to get to where we want to be… Going into the season, we had one all-conference player, and that’s for a reason. And I’m not saying these other guys haven’t played well or done a good job because they have, but Dante is still Dante. He still got 15 points, (shooting) 60%, getting double-teamed every time he caught it last year, and almost 9 rebounds. You know, when we won big games, you know, Dante played well.”

Dante is certainly an X-factor for the Ducks. In the three games Oregon has lost this season, they’ve been out-rebounded by an average margin of 9.33, something Dante would help solve. In his only game this season, Dante snagged 21 rebounds — an Oregon record. Additionally — as Altman pointed out — Dante often draws double teams when posting up with the ball, which could lead to open looks for Oregon’s fiery shooters.

Once Dante returns, the Ducks may have all the pieces they need to stay at the top of the Pac-12. They’ll need to pick up some big wins in the regular season and play well in the Pac-12 tournament, but if Oregon continues the way they have been, they have a shot at being a quality tournament team in March. And, once that time of year rolls around, having the option to pivot to a small ball lineup could be an asset for the Ducks.

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N’Faly Dante nearing return for Ducks after ramping up in practice

Oregon Ducks star center, N’Faly Dante, who’s been held off the court by a knee injury since November should return soon per Dana Altman.

Since their first game of the 2023-24 men’s basketball season, the Oregon Ducks have been without their starting center and best player, N’Faly Dante, the only All-Conference player returning from the 2023 season.

After scoring 16 points and grabbing 21 rebounds in the Ducks season opener against Georgia, Dante injured his knee and required surgery. But there is a chance Dante will be back playing for Oregon soon.

In the Ducks’ Tuesday practice, Dante was seen participating for the first time since his injury. In media availability after practice, head coach Dana Altman said that how Dante’s body responds in the next few days will be telling of when he could play next.

“He did well, you know. The big key is how he does tomorrow,” Altman said. “We worked him a little bit yesterday, worked him a lot more today. Tomorrow’s our day off, so we wanted to give it a trial run. Thursday will be a big day to see how it responds.”

In Dante’s absence, the Ducks have substituted senior center Mahamadou Diawara, and they’ve also used a small lineup with 6’9″ freshman power forward Kwame Evans in the center spot, which has worked well. Since Dante’s injury, Oregon is 12-3 overall and 4-0 in the Pac-12.

Altman still thinks Dante will be able to reintegrate with the lineup quickly once he returns since he’s stayed in decent shape throughout his recovery.

“He’s kept himself in good shape,” Altman said. “You know, we have underwater treadmills. We have things where we can keep the pressure off, we’re fortunate for those facilities. You know, he’s not in great shape by any means, but he’s not totally out of shape. He watched what he ate a little bit, did some good things. The seven minutes he played today were really good.”

Dante could make his reappearance as early as Saturday in Oregon’s game against the California Golden Bears, who are in last place in the Pac-12. Cal doesn’t have a 7-footer on their roster, which could give Dante a good matchup for his return. If he doesn’t come back against Cal, his next opportunity is the Ducks game against the Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday, January 18th, in Boulder, which is setting up to be one of the biggest games of the year up to this point.

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MBB Recap: Ducks grab a tight win against Huskies on the road

The Oregon Ducks won their third game of the Pac-12 season on Thursday on the road against Washington.

The Oregon Ducks moved to 3-0 in the Pac-12 with a win over Washington on the road Thursday night in a game that went down to the wire. The result came down to each team’s final shot, Oregon hitting theirs and Washington missing.

Oregon started the game slow and allowed Washington to build a big lead, but near the end of the first half, they brought the score closer. In the second half, the Ducks scored much more efficiently, which carried them to victory.

Once again, the Ducks were led by their star freshmen: Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans, with the pair combining for 32 points in Thursday’s game. Jermaine Couisnard was also spectacular, scoring 16 points and hitting the Ducks winning shot.

Additionally, 4-star Freshman Mookie Cook made his collegiate debut on Thursday, after missing the first 13 games of the season while recovering from ankle surgery. The young forward played 6 minutes and shot 2/3 from the field for 4 points.

Below are all of my instant reactions to Oregon’s rivalry win against Washington.

Duck fans react to Oregon’s win over UCLA as Jackson Shelstad continues to shine

The Oregon Ducks got a big win over UCLA as freshman Jackson Shelstad continues to shine.

It’s always fun when you can recognize greatness blossoming in front of you.

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball program has seen some struggles over the past couple of years, but they look to be turning it around in 2023, led by a dynamic pair of true freshmen on the roster in Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans.

Shelstad has really burst onto the scene as of late, scoring 15 or more points in the last five games for the Ducks as the team has gone on to win seven of their last eight, including going 2-0 in Pac-12 play with wins over UCLA and USC.

The Ducks got a big win over the Bruins on Saturday, where Shelstad once again led the way with 20 points, 16 of which came in the second half.

As you would expect, Oregon fans loved the matinee showing, and celebrated the victory on social media:

With an opportunity to lead, Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans usher Ducks into new era

Led by freshmen Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans, the Oregon Ducks appear to be heading towards a bright future in Eugene.

The final season of Pac-12 conference play began for the Oregon Ducks on Thursday night, an eventual 82-74 win over the USC Trojans. Throughout the first two months of the season, things looked to be pretty much the same in Eugene; injuries were still a major factor, free throw shooting was spotty, at best, and despite flashes of playing really well, head coach Dana Altman was spending far too much time slapping an open hand on the scorer’s table and stomping up and down the bench.

As the season has aged, though, some differences have started to reveal themselves. This Oregon team shoots the deep ball a little bit better than a year ago, and the defense has certainly improved. Assists and steals are up as well.

What’s been the most clear, though, is that a new era of Oregon basketball is unveiling itself. A new era led by true freshmen Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans.

As the two 5-star recruits in Oregon’s 2023 signing class, there were high hopes that an infusion of youthful talent would be the spark that could get this team back to the NCAA Tournament after missing the big dance in back-to-back seasons. So far, the duo has made good on those expectations, highlighted by a combined 43 points in their first-ever conference game.

“If you’d have told me before the season when we had (N’Faly) Dante and Nate (Bittle) that (the freshmen) would do that, yeah, then I would be surprised,” Altman said. “But circumstances are such that they’re getting a lot more opportunities. And tonight, they really took advantage of that.”

With one game left on the 2023 calendar, Altman’s team sits at 9-3, with a clear trajectory ahead. While injuries have been an issue — Dante hasn’t played since the season-opener, Bittle is out indefinitely, Jesse Zarzuela is out for the season, and Mookie Cook has yet to make his collegiate debut — this Ducks’ team hasn’t allowed that to derail them. They’ve fought hard, kept noses down, and gritted out some tough victories.

They’ve also put in the work.

Not two years ago, in the weeks after the 2021-22 season, Altman was telling media members that he was frustrated with the work ethic on the team, saying that he never had to chase any of the players out of the gym. Now, he’s remarking about how hard his true freshman point guard is working already, claiming 8 games into his collegiate career that he has the “It Factor.”

“You either have that competitiveness, that confidence, or you don’t,” Altman said on Thursday. “Either you got a little bit of the ‘it factor’ or you don’t. Jackson’s got a little bit of ‘it.’ He thinks he’s a player. You’ve got to, you’ve got the ball in your hands all of the time. You’ve got to believe in yourself, and he does because he puts the time in. It’s not fake. Confidence comes with preparation, and he works really hard. He’s got a lot of time in the gym.”

After two years of up-and-down seasons ending in disappointment, that’s about as refreshing of a statement as Oregon fans can ask for. After back-to-back seasons of wondering where the leadership was going to come from, and who was going to drag the team through the fire, the Ducks have multiple options. Years after the departure of Payton Pritchard, Oregon’s last “big star,” Dana Altman has Payton Pritchard 2.0.

It sure feels like the start of a new era.

That’s not to say that there aren’t some remnants of the 2021 and 2022 Ducks still hanging around. Injuries continue to be an issue that has threatened to derail this season; there are still far too many bricked three-pointers here and there; the Ducks are still shooting just 68% from the charity stripe. But there’s also heart, and effort, and a back-to-basics mentality that can be felt. There was also an energy present inside Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday night that stemmed from a belief that things are heading in the right direction.

We’ll see how it plays out over the next few weeks. When Dante returns, and Cook makes his debut, we’ll get a solid look at how good this Oregon team can really be. For now, though, I think we can sit back and feel confident that the groundwork has been laid for a bright future ahead, and a new era of Oregon basketball.

Ducks Wire Photographer Ethan Landa had a great view for the game. Here are some of his best images of the 82-74 win over USC.

MBB Recap: Short-handed Ducks lose big against the Syracuse Orange

Oregon men’s basketball lost their third game this season 83-63 to the Syracuse Orange.

The Syracuse Orange handed the Oregon men’s basketball team their third loss of the season on Sunday morning, in embarrassing fashion. After this loss, Oregon has one non-conference game left before they kick off the Pac-12 season against USC on December 28th.

Oregon couldn’t get anything going on either side of the floor against Syracuse. The Orange forced the Ducks into tough shots throughout the game, while Oregon looked lackadaisical defensively.

The Ducks are being held back by injuries, particularly by the absence of their two centers, N’faly Dante and Nate Bittle. If either of those players were available on Sunday, it’s unlikely Syracuse would’ve finished with 50 points in the paint.

Below are the rest of my thoughts on Oregon’s toughest loss of the season.

Dana Altman talks 5-star freshmen, jump to Big Ten, and new-look Ducks heading into 2023 season

It’s been quite a while since we’ve gotten the opportunity to last speak to Oregon Ducks men’s basketball coach Dana Altman. In fact, I think the last time I was in a room with him was the night that he went on a rant about the program, the fans, and the outlook of things going forward, making national headlines in the sport.

It’s safe to say that a lot of things have happened from then until now.

For starters, the Ducks will now be playing in a new conference starting a year from now after the University of Oregon jumped from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. That seems like pretty major news that would be worth getting Altman’s opinion on.

After that, we have also been gifted a pretty new-look roster in Eugene, which features a few holdovers from last year — N’Faly Dante, Nate Bittle, Keeshawn Barthelemy, and Jermaine Couisnard, among others — but boasts a pair of 5-star freshmen with another highly-rated 4-star player who made up the No. 8 ranked 2023 recruiting class for the Ducks.

There’s another good topic of conversation.

With those new additions, a big influx of incoming transfers, and every other storyline that has built up over the offseason, it’s safe to say that there was no shortage of things to discuss with Altman in his first media availability on Thursday afternoon.

Here are Altman’s most notable quotes from that interview:

2024 NBA mock draft: Who’s projected to go to the OKC Thunder

Thoughts on the Thunder’s projected additions in next year’s draft?

The 2023 NBA draft is history. The Oklahoma City Thunder enjoyed a quiet night, adding two rookies to their roster. The Thunder selected Cason Wallace at No. 10 and Keyontae Johnson at No. 50.

Next year promises to be more eventful. The Thunder could own four first-round picks:

Thunder first-round pick
LA Clippers first-round pick
Top-four protected Houston Rockets first-round pick
Top-10 protected Utah Jazz first-round pick

As is tradition, ESPN published its first mock of the 2024 class the day after the draft. In this exercise, the Thunder only owned two draft picks — their own at No. 15 and the Rockets’ at No. 5.

Who did Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have OKC select?

At the No. 5 pick, the Thunder came away with 19-year-old Kentucky guard Justin Edwards. At the No. 15 pick, the Thunder selected 18-year-old Oregon forward Kwame Evans.

Edwards is a five-star wing from Philadelphia. Evans is a five-star wing from Maryland. In this mock, the Thunder passed on selecting Jalen Williams’ brother Cody. He went No. 6 to the Jazz.

If the Thunder have the No. 5 pick via the Rockets, that would be a huge win and an extra talent boost to their young core.

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