Tag: Oregon Men’s Basketball

Report: Jermaine Couisnard to return to Oregon for final season

The Ducks not only advanced past WSU in the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday, they learned guard Jermaine Couisnard is coming back for 2023-24.

After defeating the Washington State Cougars in the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday afternoon, Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks got another gift: redshirt senior Jermaine Couisnard let it be known that he will use his final year of eligibility to return to Eugene for another season in 2023-24.

Couisnard is Oregon’s second leading scorer at 13 points per game, along with 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He’s only appeared in 17 games due to injury, however, an issue that has plagued him throughout his career, which began at South Carolina back in 2018.

Couisnard and fellow transfer Keeshawn Barthelemy were expected to anchor Oregon’s backcourt this year alongside returners Will Richardson and Rivaldo Soares, but injuries limited both for huge chunks of the year.

“I’ve just been thinking. I haven’t played enough games for myself to leave college like that,” Couisnard told Matt Prehm, of 247Sports. “I feel like I need to start the season, have a healthy summer, change my body and how I eat, and then work on a few different things.”

Couisnard’s return next season helps ease the sting of losing Richardson, who recently set the record for games played in an Oregon uniform.

Oregon will take on number one seed UCLA on Friday at 6:00 PM, where a win could put them back inside the NCAA Tournament field and a loss will have everyone sweating on Selection Sunday.

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5-star center Kel’el Ware not selected for Pac-12 All-Freshman Team

Despite having very high expectations coming into the year, Oregon Ducks center Kel’el Ware was absent from the Pac-12 All Freshman team.

It would have been nearly inconceivable to predict that Oregon Ducks center Kel’el Ware wouldn’t make the Pac-12 All-Freshman team at the beginning of the season.

Ware was a 5-star prospect and one of the highest rated recruits in Oregon history, a testament to the strength of Dana Altman’s recruiting to pull this young man from Arkansas and bring him all the way to Eugene.

Mock drafts often had Ware as a lottery pick – and while he’s still featured in a handful of places the majority believe he is a strong candidate to return to college after a disappointing freshman season that saw him only make four starts and average just 16 minutes per game.

Ware still has at least one game left to play in the Pac-12 Tournament, but his regular season averages of 6.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks weren’t enough for him to make the five man All Pac-12 Freshman team.

In fact, two other players – Kylan Boswell at Arizona and Grant Newell at Cal – were listed as honorable mentions, meaning Ware didn’t even receive three votes for consideration.

Here is a look at the five freshmen who were named to the Pac-12 Freshman team over Ware, including an in-state competitor and a pair of Bruins from UCLA:

Pac-12 MBB Power Rankings: Teams making moves with time running out

Arizona State’s upset win over Arizona was the biggest game in the Pac-12 last week, as teams start to settle in ahead of the tournament.

March is nearly upon us, and the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament is going to be a doozy with multiple teams squarely on the bubble of making the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona State took a huge leap forward with their epic, buzzer beating victory over rival Arizona on the road Saturday, and they now have a chance to go even further with games against USC and UCLA to close out the regular season.

USC has made up some ground as well, having won eight of their last 10 games, but losses at Oregon and at Oregon State hurt their resume and have them in a precarious position before their final games against Arizona and Arizona State.

Everyone else is hoping for a miracle run in the conference tournament to potentially earn themselves an auto-bid or a surprise at-large consideration, with the Pac-12 only guaranteed two teams in the big dance – far less than every other Power-5 conference at this point in the regular season.

Without further ado, here is a look at the Pac-12 power rankings heading into the final week of the regular season:

Pac-12 Power Rankings: Conference cannibalism is already starting

Arizona and UCLA remain the teams to beat as the Pac-12 gets into the meat of conference play ahead of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

The calendar has flipped to 2023 and for college basketball that signals the official end of the nonconference season and the start of conference play.

For the Pac-12, it represents an opportunity for teams that underperformed outside the conference to right the ship and earn their way into the at-large conversation for the NCAA Tournament or do enough to win the Pac-12 Tournament and earn an automatic bid.

The Pac-12 is extremely top heavy this year. Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona Wildcats and Mick Cronin’s UCLA Bruins are two of the 10 best teams in college hoops.

Meanwhile, no one else in the league is even guaranteed a spot in the big dance. Arizona State, Utah, Oregon and USC are hanging on to aspirations of making a run and earning their way into the madness that is March.

Without further ado, here is a look at the updated Pac-12 power rankings here in the first week of 2023:

Former Oregon guard Tyler Dorsey waived by Dallas Mavericks

Tyler Dorsey appeared in three games for Dallas this season, his first NBA action since 2018-19.

Former Oregon Ducks guard Tyler Dorsey was waived by the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, making room for new two-way signee AJ Lawson out of NBA G League College Park – according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Dorsey’s three NBA appearances this year were his first since he was with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018-19.

He spent each of the previous three years overseas, first in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv in 19-20 and 20-21 and then with Olympiacos in Greece for 21-22.

Dorsey had nine points on 4-4 shooting in his first game of the season back on October 22, but he didn’t get back into a game until December 14, going 0-1 in two and a half minutes. He saw the court for another 90 seconds on Christmas, failing to score before ultimately getting cut the next day.

Dorsey shouldn’t have any issue finding a job in Europe with a prominent club, should he choose, but he could also try to work his way back into the NBA via the G-League – assuming he passes through waivers and is free to sign with a new team.

Dorsey played two years at Oregon in 2015 and 2016, averaging 14.1 points in 75 games while shooting a blistering 41.6% from beyond the arc.

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Oregon MBB recap: Ducks pick up narrow win over UC-Riverside

Brennan Rigsby drops 19 points and leads the Oregon Ducks to victory over UC-Riverside on Wednesday evening.

16 turnovers and a tough shooting night from beyond the arc nearly sunk the Oregon Ducks on Wednesday evening, but they were able to hold on and secure a victory over UC-Riverside at Matthew Knight Arena.

A 17-point lead dwindled to three as the Highlanders caught fire late in the second half, but a 19-point effort from guard Brennan Rigsby helped lead the Ducks to a win.

Dana Altman’s squad moves to 6-5 on the year with the victory. They have won four of their last five, a nice response after a rough three-game losing streak in the Phil Knight Invitational.

Rigsby’s performance helped mask a rough night from Oregon’s other starting guards – Rivaldo Soares and Will Richardson – who shot a combined 1-7 from beyond the arc. N’Faly Dante stuffed the stat sheet as well, posting 14 points with five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks.

Oregon gets the Portland Pilots next, as they continue to gel together and get healthier heading into the meat of Pac-12 conference play.

Oregon Ducks in the NBA: Bol Bol is becoming a star before our eyes

Bol Bol has developed into a star for the Orlando Magic, representing the eight Oregon Ducks in the NBA quite well so far this year.

The Oregon Ducks have consistently churned out NBA talent during the Dana Altman era, and so far this season eight alumni have suited up at the game’s highest level.

The biggest storyline among Oregon alumni has been the emergence of center Bol Bol. After getting traded twice last season (and having one trade voided) Bol has found a home in Orlando.

Playing alongside superstar rookie Paolo Banchero, Bol has begun to show the tantalizing promise that made him such an intriguing prospect. He’s blocking shots, shooting threes, taking guys off the dribble, and making a strong impact on both ends of the floor so far this year.

Dillon Brooks, Chris Boucher, Chris Duarte, and Payton Pritchard are all settling into key roles similar to previous seasons – although an injury to Duarte has slowed his progress in year two.

Here is a look at how every Oregon alumni is performing through the first six weeks of NBA action:

Pac-12 Power Rankings: Arizona team to beat as conference play begins

The Arizona Wildcats are the team to beat in the Pac-12 as conference play gets set to begin, although the UCLA Bruins are on their heels.

It’s been a roller coaster of a non-conference slate for the Pac-12 men’s basketball programs – and one doesn’t need to look any further than the wins and losses for the Colorado Buffaloes to see what we mean.

Colorado has defeated two top 25 teams, pretty handily, while suffering tough losses to Grambling and UMass.

They aren’t alone in having some questionable performances. Arizona State blew the doors off a very good Michigan team, but also suffered a loss to Texas Southern.

A new era of transfers has created situations where many teams are behind in terms of learning the playbook and familiarizing themselves with new teammates, which can create a chaotic environment during the first month of the season.

Now that the dust has mostly settled, and conference play is set to get started on November 30, it is time to take a look at the Pac-12 men’s basketball power rankings. These rankings will be updated weekly as we inch closer and closer to March and the inevitable madness that ensues.

A Pac-12 men’s basketball preview with TrojansWire’s Matt Zemek

We talked to @TrojansWire’s own Matt Zemek about the upcoming men’s basketball season where USC was picked to finish 4th.

With football winding down, but still many meaningful games still on the docket in the Pac-12, we decided to take a little time out to talk basketball with TrojansWire’s editor Matt Zemek.

We went through a number of matters concerning the 2022-23 men’s basketball season where the Ducks were selected to finish third and USC fourth. Oregon is looking for a rebound season and USC wants to continue its success on the hardwood.

This was a “lightning round” Q and A where Matt provides one to two-word responses and we have our thoughts each answer.

Note: This was conducted before the Trojans fell 74-61 to Florida Gulf Coast and Oregon’s 80-45 win over Florida A&M on Opening Night of the season.

Pac-12 Preseason MBB Power Rankings: Dana Altman’s Ducks on the rise

UCLA and Arizona remain the top teams in the Pac-12 Conference, but the Oregon Ducks are right on their tail as the 2022-23 season begins.

The 2022-23 college basketball season is officially here, and the Pac-12 conference will once again have multiple contenders for deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.

Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks had a disappointing 2021-22 campaign, but they return senior guard Will Richardson and add key contributors around him, including freshman center Kel’el Ware and transfer guards Keeshawn Barthelemy and Jermaine Couisnard.

Meanwhile, both Arizona and UCLA lost significant contributors from last year’s squad, but both are still going to be dangerous after making key additions in the offseason.

Outside of the top three the Pac-12 is a bit of a crapshoot. Perhaps Stanford will step up under sophomore Harrison Ingram and push for a tournament berth? Or maybe Mike Hopkins finally put together the winning formula in Seattle for the Huskies? Heck, Arizona State might be a surprise contender after adding multiple big-time contributors via the transfer portal.

Here is a first look at the Pac-12 men’s basketball power rankings before the first official games of the 2022-23 season: