Tag: oregon ducks basketball

For The Win 2022 NBA mock draft has Will Richardson at No. 48 overall

Oregon Ducks guard Will Richardson is mocked to the Atlanta Hawks at No. 48 overall in the latest For The Win 2022 NBA mock draft.

The 2021 NBA draft came and went, with former Oregon star Chris Duarte getting selected 13th overall by the Indiana Pacers.

Duarte’s extremely strong senior season catapulted him up draft boards, resulting in a spot in the lottery despite being the oldest player in the draft class.

Will Richardson will hope to follow a similar path in the 2022 NBA draft after deciding not to leave the Oregon Ducks early and instead returning for a final go-round in 2021-2022.

The latest mock draft from Bryan Kalbrosky at USA TODAY’s For The Win does have Richardson getting selected, although not until the middle of the second round at No. 48 overall to the Atlanta Hawks.

Richardson averaged 11.3 points and 3.9 assists last year, both improvements from his sophomore campaign, but he also saw his field goal percentage drop from 47.9% to 44.3% while his three-point shooting went from an outstanding 46.9% to a still good 40.3%.

He also only appeared in 16 games thanks to a thumb injury, which sucked the air out of what was expected to be an extremely stellar season taking over point guard duties from Payton Pritchard.

Richardson has a chance to wow scouts and front office personnel once again in 2021-2022 and is widely expected to be selected in the draft.

Could he take a leap, as Duarte did, and end up in the first round? Time will tell, but the story of Oregon’s season next year will no doubt hinge on how Richardson handles the point guard duties over a full season.

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These 16 teams are tentatively set to play in Phil Knight’s PK85 Tournament in 2022

Some of the best basketball schools in the country will flock to Portland for the PK85 in 2022. Here are the 16 teams invited.

One of the most pristine events in college basketball over the last few years was the PK80 basketball tournament back in 2017 to celebrate Phil Knight’s 80th birthday.

Fast forward five years and we’re all set to do it again. Uncle Phil will turn 85 in 2022 and to celebrate the occasion, 16 Nike schools will once again meet up in Portland for the PK85.

While the field isn’t set in stone, it will tentatively consist of teams from nearly every major basketball conference in the country.

For the PK85, there will be seven teams that competed five years ago and nine newcomers. The tournament was separated by two different brackets of eight teams with Michigan State winning the Victory Bracket and Duke coming out on top of the Motion Bracket.

Here’s the list of the 16 Nike schools who will play in the PK85.

Emoni Bates cuts his list to four, Oregon remains an option

Star prospect Emoni Bates reclassified to 2021 and narrowed his list of options to four – and the Oregon Ducks made the list.

In late July Emoni Bates, the top prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, included the Oregon Ducks on his non-traditional top-8 post high school list. The list included four other schools and three professional options – the G-League, the Overtime Elite League, and the National Basketball League.

Now, barely two weeks later, Bates has cut his list in half. Only the G-League remains among non-college options, while Oregon is one of three schools remaining alongside Memphis and Michigan State, where he initially committed over a year ago.

Bates also made the decision to reclassify and join the class of 2021, meaning he will be eligible to suit up at his next stop as soon as next year.

While it is extremely exciting to think about adding Bates, who has drawn comparisons to Paul George, on Oregon’s roster in the fall, it seems very likely he will take his talents to the G-League rather than going the college route.

Still, being among the top three schools on Bates’ list is a testament to how strong of a recruiter Dana Altman has become, and it is a great sign for future recruiting efforts in Eugene.

Plus, there’s always a chance Bates makes the move out to Oregon – which would instantly elevate the Ducks into the national conversation heading into the 2021-2022 season.

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Analysis: How Eugene Omoruyi could crack the Mavericks’ roster

A look at how former Ducks wing Eugene Omoruyi could crack the rotation for the Dallas Mavericks next year.

While Chris Duarte was the only Oregon Ducks player selected in the 2021 NBA draft, he was not the only one to get a step closer to realizing his professional dream.

Eugene Omoruyi, a Rutgers transfer who starred for the Ducks in his lone season with the team in 2020-2021, signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks shortly after the draft concluded on Thursday evening.

A two-way contract indicates Omoruyi will split his time next season between Dallas and the team’s G-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, based in nearby Frisco.

Omoruyi was one of a handful of undrafted free agents signed by Dallas, who did not have any picks in the draft. Omoruyi joins Feron Hunt from SMU, EJ Onu from NAIA school Shawnee State, and Carlik Jones from Louisville.

For Omoruyi, trying to crack Dallas’ rotation this season will be an uphill battle, thanks to the presence of multiple young wings already on the roster including former Pac-12 foes Tyler Bey and Tyrell Terry.

However, Bey and fellow shooting guard Nate Hinton are restricted free agents, while starters Josh Richardson and Dorian Finney-Smith are set to hit free agency after the upcoming season.

Expecting Omoruyi to work his way into a starting role after one year on a two-way contract is obviously bold, but it would not be surprising to see him stick around this year and eventually play his way into a real role with this team, which could be enhanced next year if some of their wing depth departs in the offseason.

Perhaps the biggest area Omoruyi can make himself valuable is as an outside shooter. He was an abysmal 23% three point shooter in three years at Rutgers, attempting less than one per game, before blossoming into a 37.6% shooter on 3.9 attempts per game with the Ducks.

If his outside shooting continues to improve, and the rest of his well-balanced game plays up at the next level, he could easily become a solid role player for a very good Mavericks squad before the year is up.

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Analysis: How Chris Duarte fits on the Indiana Pacers

A look at former Oregon Ducks star guard Chris Duarte and his fit on his new NBA team, the Indiana Pacers, who selected him 13th overall.

As the oldest player in the 2021 NBA draft, former Oregon Ducks guard Chris Duarte was generally expected to be selected by a team on the verge of an NBA championship, where he could contribute right away as a bench option.

Instead, he was gobbled up by the Indiana Pacers with the 13th overall pick, just sneaking into the back end of the lottery while joining a team that missed the playoffs in the Eastern Conference last year, and looks more like a team entering a rebuild than one trying to win a trophy.

Still, looking at Indiana’s second unit, particularly defensively, makes it pretty easy to see how Duarte could be a good fit.

The Pacers dealt Aaron Holiday to the Wizards on draft day and seem poised to let Doug McDermott walk in free agency, giving them limited scoring options on the second unit.

Duarte can fill the role as a three point specialist coming off the bench, something Indiana is lacking on their current roster, while also providing a much, much needed defensive presence.

Duarte can slide in alongside Justin Holiday and/or Oshae Brissett on Indiana’s second unit, which should create a much more stout defensive group especially if paired with Goga Bitadze and Edmond Sumner.

The 24-year-old rookie from Oregon should carve out a decent role in his rookie year, launching a few three pointers per game which will open up the floor for Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis to flourish in the two-man game – and his defense will be much needed for a team that struggled on that side of the floor last year.

It may not be the bright shiny lights of Los Angeles or New York, but Duarte looks like a key piece for a Pacers team that might be looking to make a push sooner than expected.

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Oregon makes the top eight for uber prospect Emoni Bates

The Oregon Ducks are in the top-8 finalists for 2022 five-star Emoni Bates, widely considered one of the best basketball prospects in ages.

Emoni Bates, the top prospect in the 2022 recruiting class and high school phenom, announced his top-8 post high school destinations on Friday evening and the Oregon Ducks cracked the list.

The Ducks were one of five schools Bates named, along with Memphis, Baylor, Miami and Michigan State – where he originally committed in a rather shocking move in the summer of 2020, before decommitting earlier this year.

Bates hasn’t ruled out a return to the Spartans or other colleges, including Oregon, but most believe his next step will be a one-year stop at a professional level, with the G-League, the newly formed Overtime Elite League, and the National Basketball League all in his top-8.

The NBL in Australia and New Zealand previously hosted top hoops prospects LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton, while Overtime Elite would love to add Bates to help get their league off the ground.

The six-foot-nine Bates is already among the most talked about NBA prospects in a long time, and where he ends up next season will be a huge talking point and a tremendous boost for that program for many years to come.

While I wouldn’t hold my breath as an Oregon fan, the fact that Dana Altman and company are among his top five college options is a great sign for future recruiting in Eugene.

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Blazers hire former Oregon star Edniesha Curry as new assistant coach

The Blazers hired former Ducks basketball star Edniesha Curry as their first female assistant coach in franchise history.

The Portland Trail Blazers continue to fill out the coaching staff behind controversial new head coach hire Chauncey Billups, and the latest addition has some ties to the team’s home state.

Edniesha Curry will become the first female assistant coach in Blazers history, about 20 years after she spent her final collegiate season with the Oregon Ducks.

Curry made a strong impression in her lone year in Eugene, earning all-conference honorable mention honors and helping to lead Oregon to an NIT title during the 2001-02 season.

Curry went on to play professionally in the WNBA and overseas for about a decade.

Since then, Curry has served as an assistant coach at the University of Maine, first with the women’s program from 2015-2017 and starting with the men’s team in 2018 – after working with the NBA Assistant Coaches’ Program and coaching in Vietnam, China, Israel, and Palestine.

“She is extremely talented at developing players, especially within the context of defensive and offensive systems,” said Maine head coach Richard Barron, who also praised her scouting and video ability.

Curry joins Billups’ staff after the team opted to hire the longtime NBA point guard over other, more experienced candidates – notably San Antonio assistant coach Becky Hammon, who is vying to be the first female head coach in league history.

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Oregon transfer guard De’Vion Harmon withdraws from NBA draft

The #Ducks got some good news from Oklahoma transfer De’Vion Harmon, who withdrew his name from the 2021 NBA draft.

Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball program got good news as the calendar turned to July, with Oklahoma transfer guard De’Vion Harmon withdrawing his name from the 2021 NBA draft process – making it official that he will play at Oregon during the 2021-2022 season.

Harmon initially entered his name into the draft pool on March 26, about a month before he transferred from Oklahoma to Oregon. Now, he’s made it clear he plans to play for coach Altman, and even plans to be in Eugene this weekend:

Harmon averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and two assists per game for the Sooners as a sophomore last season, good for second on the team in scoring. He’ll give this Oregon squad some much needed experience and scoring in the backcourt.

Harmon is part of a very promising group of transfers joining the Ducks next season, including Jacob Young from Rutgers and Quincy Guerrier from Syracuse, which should keep this team atop the standings in the Pac-12 even after the loss of Chris Duarte.

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Oregon transfer guard De’Vion Harmon withdraws from NBA draft

The #Ducks got some good news from Oklahoma transfer De’Vion Harmon, who withdrew his name from the 2021 NBA draft.

Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball program got good news as the calendar turned to July, with Oklahoma transfer guard De’Vion Harmon withdrawing his name from the 2021 NBA draft process – making it official that he will play at Oregon during the 2021-2022 season.

Harmon initially entered his name into the draft pool on March 26, about a month before he transferred from Oklahoma to Oregon. Now, he’s made it clear he plans to play for coach Altman, and even plans to be in Eugene this weekend:

Harmon averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and two assists per game for the Sooners as a sophomore last season, good for second on the team in scoring. He’ll give this Oregon squad some much needed experience and scoring in the backcourt.

Harmon is part of a very promising group of transfers joining the Ducks next season, including Jacob Young from Rutgers and Quincy Guerrier from Syracuse, which should keep this team atop the standings in the Pac-12 even after the loss of Chris Duarte.

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After signing with agent, Chris Duarte’s career in Oregon is effectively over

The AP Pac-12 Player of the Year, Chris Duarte, has signed with an agent, cementing the end of his career with the Oregon Ducks.

It was a result of the end of the season that we knew was coming, but when Oregon Ducks senior Chris Duarte signed with an agent earlier this week and virtually finalized his transition to the NBA by starting the draft process, it ended his time in Eugene.

By signing with an agent, no player is allowed to return to college.

According to Yahoo! Sports writer Chris Haynes, Duarte signed with agent Charles Briscoe, who also represents players like Dwight Howard, Avery Bradley, and Michael Beasley. Briscoe can now add Duarte to the list, giving him a young and talented player who has seen his draft stock rise significantly over the past couple of months after he led the Ducks to a strong finish in 2021, capped off by an upset over the No. 2 seeded Iowa Hawkeyes and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Pac-12 Player of the Year will now set his sights on the NBA Draft, where he will look to crack the top-15 and become a lottery pick on June 22.

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