GeotechDuck

If this is true, that would explain a lot. Article won’t link, but basically it says that Oregon has a $2M NIL budget for hoops and that the top teams in the BIG are operating with an $8M budget. Just a moment... WWW.SPORTSCASTING.COM

Noooooo!! IMO, this kid doesn’t deserve $100k, let alone $4M. If you take out the Vandy game, he only had 5 TDs total against the entire rest of his SEC schedule. I’m not worried. Lanning knows better! A live look at Tennessee when he asked for $4M:

Hmmmm. What is happening right now with recruiting and the portal? Are we just missing on every top recruit and every guy that has solid experience at the Power 5 level? I’m not trying to be negative, but on paper this offseason looks like a disaster so far. Hopefully this means Bittle is back for sure.

Yeah...not sure what is happening, but this doesn't seem like the solution to our issues. Altman keeps complaining about needing "shot makers" and not "shot takers", but the coaches keep taking low percentage shooters at the guard position. This guy has Tracey type stats, but against lower level competition and without the length and experience in the program. A little bit of a head scratcher, but hopefully he proves me wrong.

Lindsay looks the part for sure. A 6’6” wing that shoots 41% from three and over 50% from the floor. Also shoots 70%+ from the line. He looks like that slasher / playmaker we have been missing at the SF spot. Not sure about Kobzystyi. The two times he was on the court, he didn’t look ready yet. Hopefully that changes. Weird that we have had almost no portal action.

Not ideal. He was a good role player and knew the program. You need those kind of guys on your roster. Not sure what is happening, but this is getting scary. Shelstad hasn’t said anything other than he is registered for spring classes. There has been nothing from Evans. Bittle is maybe 50/50. Oregon has 1 HS commitment from Frakes and 1 portal commitment from Pryor. Pryor has upside, but it’s not like his stats jump off the screen. He averaged 3.2 points last year and shot 18% from three. Frakes looks like an athletic freak, but how well can he shoot the ball? Is he more like Rigsby and can shoot it or is he more like the freshman version of CJ Walker?

Given the choice, I would have stayed in college for my entire life. College was awesome.

This will be interesting to watch. Hoops hype did an aggregate ranking from all the mock drafts. For that, they ranked Bittle the 14th best center in the draft. His highest draft position was 53 and his lowest was not drafted. So it is very likely that he is late second round to undrafted territory. He might end up with an NIL deal that makes it worth it to come back.

Altman certainly has a type. He shot 19% from three last year. seriously though, looks like he is a good athlete that can rebound.

This is a little scary and is what happens when you don’t recruit HS players consistently. We better hope both Bittle and Shelstad come back or they are going to be looking for 5 new starters in the portal. Right now the roster is: 6-5 senior guard Jadrian Tracey 6-7 junior forward Oleksandr Kobzystyi 6-6 junior forward Dezdrick Lindsay 6-3 freshman guard Jamari Phillips 6-5 freshman guard JJ Frakes

AZ is better at every position on the floor right now, except maybe PG. Shelstad came to play. Too bad everyone else looks over matched.

Altman is the best head basketball coach in Oregon history and that is likely not to change for a very long time, no matter who follows him when he decides to step down. As Oregon fans, we got really lucky that Altman chose to come to Oregon. I agree and I hope he sticks around for a few more years.

Sometimes Love can go off the rails a little bit and will take some questionable shots. Let’s hope he has one of those games.

Just opened at Oregon +5.5, which seems about right. Will be interesting to see if and where it moves.

Yeah. We are going to need it.

My opinions: I think it is a very difficult draw for Oregon. They are going to need to play their best game of the year to win this game. Shelstad has struggled all year against taller, athletic PGs. That is exactly what AZ has in Love. Advantage AZ. Bradley plays a lot but doesn’t necessarily shoot it well from deep. He is a slasher that can finish around the rim. Key will have his work cut out for him on defense. Maybe slight advantage AZ. KJ Lewis is their Bamba. He is physical, but a much better shooter than Bamba and finishes through contact around the rim. Bamba is a better defender, so maybe a wash here? Awaka and Bryant can shoot it from anywhere, like Angel. But they are more athletic. KJ Evans is a better matchup, but when Angel is in the game, this looks like advantage AZ. With KJ in, it might be more even. Bittle is better on both ends than Vaaseer, but not by a ton. Advantage Oregon. They have very good bench strength like Oregon, with 9 players logging more than 15 minutes a game. Townsand is very good and Dell Orso shoots better than 40% from three. Probably even. Tommy Loyd is a great coach, but I think Altman is better. Slight advantage Oregon.

Almost every one, since my wife is a diehard Wildcat.

Defense has been outstanding. Nice job Ducks. They gave up a few back cuts, but you can live with that when you take away the three ball from a team like Liberty.

Great article and thanks for the insight. I am not in favor of this format. Conferences have up and down years, so you are guaranteeing 4 spots even in a down year. Then a single upset during championship week could completely eliminate some team’s entire body of work. Why do they continue to make this so complicated? Develop some KPIs, like basketball has with the NET, WAB, etc. and put the 14 or 16 best teams in the field.

Agree with this 100%. Altman has done an incredible job with this group, especially considering the limitations. I think this is his second best coaching year ever at Oregon, right behind winning 20 games his first year. Even with Dante, I think this team would still have a limited ceiling due to the challenges at the guard position. Shelstad has struggled all year when matched up against bigger, more athletic guards. Key is undersized. As a result, Oregon essentially has 2 starting guards that for the most part have a difficult time matching up on defense with the top backcourts in the conference. Then you have Bamba and Moss, who essentially have the opposite problem. They can defend, but don't shoot it well enough or often enough to make a major impact on that end of the floor. They all work incredibly hard, but they are just somewhat limited and you can see it on the floor against teams with good guard play. When guys like Fears, Richardson and Atkins can consistently break them down, then it forces the front line guys like Evans and Bittle to help. The end result is that they are out of position to rebound the ball. At one point the rebounding margin was 29-14. Yikes!! IMO, what this team really needs is a Dillon Brooks or Luke Jackson type player. A guy on the wing that is long and can create chaos on defense, yet score the ball from anywhere on the other end.

MSU is a really, really good team. Their guards are elite and put so much pressure on the defense. It is difficult to stay in front of them, resulting in help defense, which led to Oregon being out of position on shots and a ton of offensive rebounds. Their hustle is insane. It seems like they got every 50/50 ball. They have a legit shot at a Final 4.

Wheels are coming off. Just feels like the talent gap is too large. Hopefully they can make some shots and get this back to single digits.

Yeah...agree that this is Oregon's major issue. At the guard/wing position especially, you have a bunch of players that are good in 1 to 2 areas, but have some limitations. Bamba is an elite defender and rebounds well, but for most of the season has been a liability on offense, shooting around 35% from the floor. Key is a solid shooter and can fill it up, but his size is an issue on defense. Moss is a good defender, but a liability on offense. Tracey is an average D1 player on both ends. Shelstad is giving up size and can be inconsistent on offense When Oregon runs into a team like MSU that has really good guards that can play both ends of the floor, they are going to struggle.

Wow. MSU is elite. Surprised Oregon stayed in this one as long as they did. MSU is so active on defense, can score at any position on the floor, and gets every 50/50 ball. They crash the glass and make good plays. The gap, especially at the guard position, between these two teams is massive and very apparent.