Last Season
Things went bad. The thought was with Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad, they could plug in some other guys and field another competitive team. Instead, Shelstad missed most of the season, Bittle's hair couldn't fill the gap, and the plug in guys were all pretty terrible. That resulted in a ten game losing streak and a 12-20 finish. Then they lost Shelstad and Bittle, and Dana Altman decided morning checkers at McDonalds would be more fun than coaching this team.
Happy Trails
- Nate Bittle and his Glorious Coif ran all out of eligibility, for whatever that means
- Jackson Shelstad took his talents to Louisville
- Takai Simpkins, Oleksandr Kobzystyi, and Drew Carter also ran out of eligibility, to the extent federal courts say such a thing exists
- The portal claimed most everyone else: Kwame Evans (Villanova), Dezdrick Lindsay (Kansas State), Devon Pryor (Texas Rio Grande Valley), Jamari Phillips (Washington State), and Ege Demir (Duquesne)
Starters
- PG Fred Payne, 6'1'' Junior: The Wheel of Portal spends round and round for a Shelstad replacement, and out comes Fred Payne. He led Boston College in points last season, but wasn't a great shooter or passer, so we'll see how he adjusts to the B1G. Get ready to learn elbow.
- SG Tyrone Riley, 6'6'' Junior: Riley journeys north from San Francisco, where he was a pretty efficient shooter and not much else. But hey, making baskets is worth something.
- SF Andrew Meadow, 6'7'' Senior: Meadow arrives after three seasons at Boise State, and he like Riley showed some ability to make shots but otherwise was just a guy. Fairly decent basketball player is a theme for Oregon this season.
- PF Sean Stewart, 6'9'' Senior: Stewart is the former five star recruit who was nondescript for a season at Duke, then nondescript for a season at Ohio State, then nondescript for a season at Oregon. He returns for what will probably be another nondescript season.
- C Taylor Bol Bowen, 6'10'' Senior: Bol Bowen comes over from Alabama and was previously at Florida State. He is tall and athletic and still grappling with "untapped potential" as a senior. Ideally he is a rangy center who can make shots, and un-ideally he is a rangy center who can't make plays around the basket.
Bench
- F/C Pharoah Compton, 6'8'' Senior: Compton is certainly an option to start. He comes over from San Diego State, where he was a menace around the basket. Hard to say if he can continue that in the B1G.
- G Jasper Johnson, 6'4'' Sophomore: Here's an interesting one. Johnson is a former top recruit from Kentucky who played for Kentucky. He didn't play that well, but instead of sticking around the Mark Pope Express he transferred to Oregon. He might have some real chops as a player, even if he didn't show much in his season at UK.
- C Malique Ewin, 6'10'' Senior: The Quarter special, as Ewin joins his fourth team in four seasons. Last year he played for Arkansas after seasons at Ole Miss and Florida State, and was generally a plus player around the basket. He could be in line to start - honestly I'm just guessing on some of these.
- G Jerry Easter, 6'4'' Sophomore: Some B1G crime brings in Easter from USC. Though honestly he didn't do much last year so USC might be happy someone stole him off their porch.
- F Dwayne Aristode, 6'8'' Sophomore: Aristode is a former Big Time Recruit for Arizona, and while he didn't play a ton last season, he did show some real chops from three.
- Three freshmen, all forwards, in four star Tajh Ariza (son of Trevor) and Kendre Harrison, as well as three star David Fincher fan Seven Spurlock
Outlook
MaximumSam: Well things were bad last season, then everyone left except Sean Stewart, who was barely present anyway. Then Dana Altman looked at his new team and decided he'd rather pick up hobby telescopes as a way to pass the time. So who knows? They have a couple former recruits who might Do Something, but looking up and down the roster makes it tough to be real confident about some success in Eugene this year.
glass: After interim coach Tony Stubblefield flames out spectacularly this season (again), the Ducks are coming for Josh Schertz. I realize I am going to sound naive here, but that would not only be bad for everyone else in the Big 10, but also for college basketball in general. The sport is better when guys like John Cheney, Phil Martelli, Bob McKillop, Chris Mooney, etc stick around at smaller schools instead of bolting for paydays in power leagues. ANYHOW, Torvik says 18-12 (10-10) without the two extra Players Era games. But a completely turned over roster and a last minute interim HC with a 30-66 record all time means Oregon won't get anywhere close to 20 wins. I am guessing 14-18.
BoilerUp89: Last year you could have convinced me that Altman would have made things work with Shelstad and Bittle. Things didn't work out (partially due to injuries). Running it back with a less talented roster had me concerned for the Ducks coming into the season. Then you replace Dana Altman with Tony Stubblefield. Things could get very ugly in Oregon this season.
