Tag: nate bittle

Getting to know Dana Altman’s Oregon Ducks ahead of the 2023 season tip-off

A comprehensive breakdown of the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team ahead of the 2023 season tip-off.

After coming into the 2022 season ranked 21st in the AP Poll, no Oregon Duck fan envisioned a third-round knockout to Wisconsin in the NIT as the team’s final fate. But, it encapsulated what was a disappointing season all around.

Now ahead of the 2023 season, the Ducks have a fresh new team. They’ve added several freshmen and some transfers as well. Oregon has also brought back a handful of their core starters, though they lost a few to the portal this offseason.

Below, I detail how high I think Oregon can fly this season, if they can get back to the NCAA tournament, and what they need to do to get there. We also look at which Ducks are back, who left, who has arrived, and how it all fits together.

Social Media Buzz: Oregon fans react to Kel’el Ware entering the transfer portal

Social Media Buzz: Oregon fans react to Kel’el Ware entering the transfer portal

Whether it was via the NBA Draft or the transfer portal, there was a prominent belief that Oregon Ducks freshman center Kel’el Ware was not going to be with the team for the start of the 2023-24 season. The freshman made it official on Monday with the announcement that he would enter the transfer portal, and not declare for the NBA Draft.

After coming to Eugene as a 5-star prospect, rated No. 7 in the 2022 class, It’s fair to say that Ware’s season with the Ducks was not as prolific as some expected. Ware played just 15.8 minutes a game, averaging 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He was projected to be an NBA Lottery pick early on in the year, but as the season went on, his draft stock fell with the lack of production. Part of that was because of the personnel on the team — N’Faly Dante and Nate Bittle also compete for those minutes on the post, and both had more production than Ware.

So while the move from Ware did not come as a major shock, it still elicited some reactions from Oregon fans online. Here is some of the best social media buzz after the news came out on Monday:

Roster Outlook: How Dana Altman’s squad could shape up for 2023-24 season

Dana Altman is likely to see some major roster turnover this offseason. Here’s who we think stays and goes for the Ducks.

The Oregon Ducks’ 2023 season has officially come to an end.

With a frustrating finish on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament against the Wisconsin Badgers, an arduous season was put to rest. It felt merciful, on one hand, but also left a lot of questions going forward.

In back-to-back years, Dana Altman and the Ducks have seen their season come to a close in the NIT, rather than the NCAA Tournament. For a program that has seen 5 Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights, and one Final Four run over the past couple of decades, that’s not going to cut it.

“We set the bar at Sweet Sixteens,” Altman told John Canzano on Wednesday.

Now that this season is behind him, Altman plans to dive head-first into evaluations of the program, working day and night to try and figure out how to turn things around and get back to the tournament, reaching that bar once again. Looking ahead, we know that he will have a few nice pieces to work with for sure, but also a lot of unknowns to traverse.

The Ducks have 13 scholarships to work with in 2023-24. A few of those already belong to players who have announced that they will return to Eugene for another year, and a handful of others will go to the three high school recruits who have signed with the Ducks in the 2023 class, with potentially a fourth being reserved for another addition. The rest will be given to “players who want to be here,” as Altman said in a legendarily revealing press conference that he gave on Tuesday night.

So with all of that in mind, what will the Ducks’ roster look like at the start of next season? It’s far too early to know for sure, but here’s our best guess on how things will shape out, and which players decide to do what.

Photos: Ducks get revenge over Buffaloes with big home victory

The Oregon Ducks got a big win over the Colorado Buffaloes at Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday night.

The Oregon Ducks had revenge on their minds going into Thursday night’s game against the Colorado Buffaloes. The last time these two teams met, Oregon left Boulder with a 27-point defeat hanging over their heads.

That wasn’t the case this time around. Even without their best player, N’Faly Dante, on the court due to a knee injury, Dana Altman’s squad was able to use great games from Nate Bittle and Quincy Guerrier to propel them to an important Pac-12 victory.

It was a win that may keep Oregon’s hopes for an at-large bid into the Pac-12 tournament alive, should they be able to keep things rolling forward, starting this weekend against the Utah Utes.

Here are some of the best photos from the game, shot by Ethan Landa:

Report: Dana Altman’s Ducks to get key pieces back healthy for road-stint vs. Colorado

The Ducks are getting some key pieces back on the floor at the right time, with Bittle, Couisnard, and Butler reportedly expected to play vs. Colorado.

One of the over-arching themes that Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks have had to deal with during the early part of this 2022-23 season has been injuries, and the fact that the team is playing down not just a man, but several key men throughout the first month-plus of the year.

That looks like it could be changing, though. According to a report from CBS Sports’ basketball insider Jon Rothstein, the Ducks are expected to get back a trio of important players on Thursday, with Nate Bittle, Jermaine Couisnard, and Ethan Butler all returning in a limited fashion. According to Rothstein, the three will still be on a minutes restriction but should see the floor against the Colorado Buffaloes.

This is major news for the Ducks, who have been without 4-5 of their top players for most of the season. Bittle came into the year with expectations of being a starter, but a foot injury that was suffered during the exhibition trip to Canada has held him out of practice. Meanwhile, Couisnard was one of the top transfer players that Oregon got this offseason, bringing him over from South Caroline.

With the Ducks starting the year at 8-6, suffering brutal home losses to both UC Irvine and Utah Valley, they are already in a situation where every game comes close to must-win territory. Getting these players back on the court as Oregon starts the tough mountain road trip to Boulder and Utah is a huge boost.

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Oregon’s first foray into Canada is a successful one

The Oregon men’s basketball team began a five-game Canadian tour with a 102-48 win over McGill University.

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team ventured up north into Canada for the start of a five-game exhibition tour and the Ducks managed to get the trip off to a nice start.

In the first contest, Oregon overcame a slow start but eventually found its footing in a 102-48 win over McGill University in Quebec.

Center Nate Bittle led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds and freshman forward Kel-El Ware made his unofficial debut with 17 points.

Keeshawn Barthelemy, a transfer from Colorado and a native of Montreal, added 14 points. Quincy Guerrier, who is back for a fifth season, poured in 11 points and brought down nine rebounds. Gabe Reichle also managed to score in double figures with 10 points.

Everyone on the Oregon roster played except for N’Faly Dante.

Haris Elezovic led the way for McGill with 15 points.

This is a quick tour as the Ducks will play all five games in a week, which is probably why Will Richardson just played just a few minutes and Dante rested.

Tours such as these give the coaching staff an idea of what to expect out of the upcoming season, how much improvement certain individuals make, and which on-the-floor combinations work best.

Oregon will play next on Monday when they face the University of Ottawa.

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