Yesterday, Dana Altman retired as head coach of the Oregon Ducks men's basketball program. Although the transition into the NIL era and Oregon's entry into a new conference haven't been the smoothest, Altman was a very successful head coach both for the Ducks and at his three other coaching stops (1 season at Marshall, 4 at Kansas State, 16 at Creighton, 1 day at Arkansas). He finishes his career with the following stats:
792 Division I wins (.651 winning %, 16th most D1 wins all-time)
18-17 NCAA Tournament record
1 NCAA Final Four (2017)
5 Sweet 16s
26 straight winning seasons (streak broke last season)
7 conference regular season titles (4 Pac 12 at Oregon, 3 MVC at Creighton)
10 conference tournament titles (4 Pac 12 at Oregon, 6 MVC at Creighton)
7 time conference coach of the year (SoCon, Big Eight, 2x MVC, 3x Pac 12)
382 wins at Oregon (winningest coach in Oregon history)
327 wins at Creighton (2nd most in school history)
Beyond just the stats though, Altman carried himself with a dignity and calm on the sidelines and in press conferences. Unlike some coaches (I don't need to name them), Altman was well liked and respected by the media and his peers in the profession. While many Big Ten basketball fans may not fully recognize his accomplishments, his Oregon teams in 2016 and 2017 were capable of winning it all but came up short.
On a personal note, I (BoilerUp89) will always remember Dana Altman's 2003 Creighton team featuring Kyle Korver. On New Years Eve 2002, Altman and Creighton came into Cincinnati to face Xavier and despite a 32 point performance from Korver (and it was a performance!) fell to the Musketeers 75-73. Altman always got the most out of his rosters.
Before we get to the rest of the staff's comments, a few more notes on the timing of Altman's retirement and what's next for the Ducks.
Altman retired at Big Ten media days as the season is about to start. There will be some who question the timing of that decision and I get why. From an outside perspective, it's easy to view this as Altman bailing on an imperfect roster not suited to compete this season and doing so at a moment when it is too late for the roster to enter the transfer portal and find new homes before the season starts. Those are true statements.
However, Altman has been coaching in Division I since 1989 and is in his late 60s. While I'm not going to judge anyone who looks askew at the timing of this announcement, I'm personally inclined to give Altman the benefit of the doubt because of his personal reputation. To me, he earns that benefit for us to at least hear his reasoning on why he has chosen now to retire.
Per his outgoing press conference Altman stated that his health is a factor but he's not dealing with anything serious health-related. Rather he can't physically be all-in like he used to and doesn't want to give it a go at less than 100%. Altman attempted to delegate more this fall practice season but after a couple of weeks doing so found that simply wasn't going to work out.
In Altman's place, his assistant Tony Stubblefield (former DePaul head coach) has been named the interim head coach. Based on Stubblefield's record at DePaul, Oregon will almost certainly be on the market for a new head coach come March. Honestly, I think MNW sums up my feelings on Stubblefield pretty well below.
Writer Reactions
WSR: Seems like a great fit for Tom Crean.
misdreavus79: I think Mike Rhoades would do well in Oregon
MaximumSam: Altman took a close look at his roster this year and was like what the hell am I doing this for?
Kind of...:
1. Very good coach. Got to a Final Four. Won almost 800 games. Nice career Dana!
2. Wonder what would've happened if he had still been at Creighton when they joined the Big East. Probably worked out better for almost everybody the way it actually played out.
3. Wisconsin played Oregon 3 times in the NCAA tournament when Altman was at the helm. Went 2-1, but both wins were battles. Enjoy retirement
BoilerUp89: Not sure it would have worked better for Oregon. The late 2010s Oregon teams were really good.
Kind of...: That's fair. Ernie Kent made two Elite Eights, but the shine had kind of come off.
Transient Buckeye: I know that Altman has had an outstanding career. And he'll be rightly celebrated for that. But I don't like it when coaches decide to hang it up right on the eve of a season starting. There's almost no way to do it that won't throw your team into turmoil at the worst possible time. If there are extenuating circumstances (health issues, etc.), then it's completely understandable. If not, then IMHO the decision should've been made at the end of last season, or he should've stuck it out through this one.
HoustonBoiler: Very good coach but definitely up there in years. Crap timing for the players who may have wanted to depart had Dana not been coaching or the school which would want to conduct a more thorough search for a new head coach. That said, it's great timing for his assistants, one of which will get the head coaching job, at least on an interim basis.
glassjawed: The Alt Man probably should have called it a career after 2025. Hopefully this isnt something health related
MNW: If it's not health related, we're going to get a healthy dose of (1) well-compensated coaches complaining about how this is The Decline of Amateurism and (2) a hand-picked successor who gets to skirt the hiring process for probably-ungood and/or nepotistic reasons.
Anyway. Good coach. Happy trails.
BoilerUp89: The interim is former DePaul failed hc
MNW: be more specific, we talking a real trainwreck like Leitao or Stubblefield
OH MY GOD IT'S STUBBLEFIELD LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL HAVE FUN QUACK
RockyMtnBlue: Wait. Who's Dana Altman?
