The good news for the Oregon basketball program is that after the Ducks’ two previous trips to the NIT under Dana Altman, they bounced back the following season the reach the Sweet 16. The bad news for the Ducks is that the 2021-22 basketball season was full of disappointment.
As mentioned in yesterday’s FishDuck posting, Altman was frustrated that he did not have any gym rats or workaholics on the team. It was very clear that this team lacked a go-to alpha dog (who are almost always of the gym rat variety). But, given Altman’s history of success, it is most likely that the Ducks will find an alpha in the offseason.
The Ducks will add five-star recruits Kel’el Ware and Dior Johnson, and junior college transfers Tyrone Williams and Brennan Rigsby. If no alphas emerge from this group, then in 2023 the Ducks welcome Jackson Shelstad from Payton Pritchard’s alma mater, West Linn.
But, I’m confident that the Ducks will find at least one next season. The top candidate is probably Johnson, as some pundits have him tabbed as a one-and-done player in the vein of Jalen Suggs out of Gonzaga last year. And then there is Williams, a top-scoring junior college transfer who has averaged 27 points per game the past two seasons.
Of course, Altman has been a magician of the transfer portal, so who knows what gem(s) he might bring in in the months to come.
What are your thoughts about the Ducks heading into next season?
Darren Perkins
Spokane, WA
Top photo credit: Twitter
Darren Perkins is a sales professional and 1997 Oregon graduate. After finishing school, he escaped the rain and moved to sunny Southern California where he studied screenwriting for two years at UCLA. Darren grew up in Eugene and in 1980, at the tender age of five, he attended his first Oregon football game. His lasting memory from that experience was an enthusiastic Don Essig announcing to the crowd: “Reggie Ogburn, completes a pass to… Reggie Ogburn.” Captivated by such a thrilling play, Darren’s been hooked on Oregon football ever since. Currently living in Spokane, Darren enjoys flaunting his yellow and green superiority complex over friends and family in Cougar country.
