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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