The Oregon Ducks do not have a proud tradition of producing NBA talent. They have only added four players to the league who have scored in double digits over the course of multi-year careers ever, and they have never had a 20 point-per-game (PPG) scorer at the NBA level. Payton Pritchard, in one season as a backup point guard is …
Recently I was chewing the fat with a friend of mine up here in Spokane. He was rambling on and on about how this was the year that the Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team was going to win it all; all the pieces were in place, this was it! As an Oregon fan, I found it hard to conjure up …
Last offseason, Payton Pritchard postponed his NBA career to come back and play one more season for the Ducks. Four-year seniors are hard to come by nowadays in college basketball, especially ones that start all four years at one school. It is safe to say that Pritchard has earned himself the honor of being an all time Duck, for any sport. …
Following the Ducks’ 80-67 victory over Stanford on Saturday night at Matthew Knight Arena, the Oregon men’s basketball team has lived up to preseason hype once again. For the third time in five years, Oregon head coach Dana Altman has cobbled together a winning squad to claim the outright Pac-12 regular-season title. But it didn’t come easy. At times throughout …
With 21 wins, the Oregon Men’s Basketball team has essentially punched its ticket in to the NCAA tournament, and the Ducks might even have the best player in the country in Payton Pritchard. Despite these positives, the Ducks have a massive problem: they cannot put teams away. The Ducks have consistently played to the level of their opponents this season, …
Despite a college career marked by ups and downs, guard Payton Pritchard has cemented himself as not only an extremely effective skill player on offense, but also as a great team leader for the Ducks. Pritchard, currently a junior with the Ducks, is the perfect example of a player who has the ability to lead by example. Throughout his career, …
The Oregon Ducks’ season is over, and there are a lot of reasons they didn’t win. Some bad shot selection, poor blocking out on the defensive glass, and a lack of strong screens to open up shooters. Before I get into that, I want to thank this team for giving us this ride. Nobody questions the heart of any of …
“Offense is more fun, but defense gets the job done” would be a fitting new motto for the Oregon Ducks basketball team. This was a battle of two teams who play stingy defense. If you’re a fan of fast-paced, high-scoring basketball then hopefully you looked away from your television screen during the first half on Friday afternoon. But in the …
Oregon will play Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Let’s get this out of the way. Wisconsin is formidable, but they are beatable if Oregon does a few things right. The NCAA Selection Committee did Oregon a favor on Sunday, scheduling the game in San Jose, barely a half travel day away. So on game day, the …
Both Oregon men’s basketball teams played this weekend. On Thursday against Arizona, you saw the one with heart that ran down every missed shot and made the extra passes to create easy shots. That team won. On Saturday, the team full of “athletes” couldn’t shoot the ball into a swimming pool. Horrific shooting — again — 26% in the second …
Oregon’s offense never felt more vulnerable than the moment we learned Bol Bol hurt his foot against San Diego. And it never looked more vulnerable than in the first half against Boise State. Bol’s foot is in a walking boot and will be evaluated later this week. Say a prayer. Cross your fingers. Burn some incense. Do whatever you need …
Louis King’s game is unique. His physical presence changes the opponent’s offense, and his ability to score in multiple ways creates big match-up problems for coaches. The more you watch him play, the more you see his game has an abstract feeling to it. It’s more Jackson Pollack than Renoir, more Mondrian than Georgia O’Keeffe. That’s the best way I …