GeotechDuck

Serious question. Who was the last Oregon shooting guard to start most of the season, play 25+ minutes per game, and shoot less than 37% from the floor on the year? We might be looking at a historically bad run for an Oregon SG. I went back a little bit and only saw one person in the Altman era that was worse, that was Tajuan Porter at 36.4%. Bamba has a good chance to beat that.

Oregon has led for 1:20 combined in the last three games and have just essentially been blown off the floor. I think the most frustrating thing, is that it just seems like a lack of effort. Giving up almost 80% shooting inside the arc with 19 layups and dunks on your home floor is ridiculous. At least have a little pride and foul someone. Tracey jogging back after mishandling a ball near half court just about sums it up. Even the announcers in the B!G after show came out and said it looked like Bittle just quit out there. Something is going on with this team. It’s not just that they are losing. They are going through the motions. Defense is bad. They are getting beat on the boards. They are giving up layups and dunks. They are not getting 50/50 balls. Body language and effort is terrible. As a coach, you have to do something to try and light a fire under them. Bench them all and play the walkons if you have to, even if it costs you another game.

Is this the worst defensive team in the Altman era? A bad Nebraska team just shot 22-28 from inside the arc on our home floor, with 19 layups/dunks.

1-3 in Q2 now? Yikes.

I literally can’t watch anymore. This team is a shell of itself. Where is rock bottom?

Another fantastic start. Missed layups and giving up open looks

I probably shouldn’t watch this game, but I can’t help myself. Moss and M. Cook are out.

Droughns is too low. Dude was an animal.

This says everything from an article on Oregonlive. Translation: our guys are soft. When asked if there is a toughness issue for some players, Altman said he didn’t “want to go there.”

I think Tracey and Moss are at least a threat to actually hit a jumper or a 3. That would at least keep the defense honest maybe?? But you are exactly right. Just sag and double. No need to pick up Bamba until he gets in the paint.

When is Altman going to do something about the perimeter defense, offense and the lineup? Bamba is a decent defender and he is strong, but other teams are doubling the post every time on the entry pass and leaving Bamba wide open. You can’t play 4 on 5 all night on offense against a good defensive team or you are going to lose by 26. Plus, now Bittle is having a much more difficult time scoring in the post. Teams have figured out that you can just leave him ever since the Purdue game. He is unguarded on the perimeter and can’t make shots. Teams don’t have to switch on the perimeter anymore on screens and both defenders can just run after Shelstad. It’s not just that he can’t shoot, it is impacting everyone else on the floor when they get doubled all night. 4-11 (36%) and 0-4 from three is not going to cut it from your starting shooting guard. The worst part of this was that this one of his better games in the past two months. He HAS to start making some shots or you need to make a change. It doesn’t even matter who you put there, as long as they are at least a threat to score the ball from the perimeter.

This team is in shambles right now. They went from looking like they could make a Final Four run in December to looking like a bad version of the 1992 team in January.

Horrible loss. That will cost them a few seed spots.

I would trade Bamba for Soares right now. Soares wasn’t the best guard Oregon has had, but he also didn’t hurt you by shooting 25% while jacking up 8-15 shots a game. Soares’s last year at Oregon, he shot 10%+ better from the floor and 10%+ better from the line, averaged less turnovers, and had more assists per game than Bamba.

Agree. I would start Shel, Key, Tracey, Evans, and Bittle. I would have S. Cook fist off the bench in the post and start giving some more minutes to Phillips to see if he has some upside.

Serious question. At what point do you just sit Bamba down? He’s not doing anything well right now. Can’t score, turning it over, not boxing out, etc. Did anyone else notice that Purdue just left him in the second half and was dropping an extra player into the paint? He has wide open several times, and Purdue didn’t even attempt to close out on him because he is not a threat to score. Essentially, Oregon was playing 4 on 5 in the second half on the offensive side when he was in the game. 2-8. One was a dunk, so essentially 1-7 shooting, 4 turns, and gave up some offensive put backs.

I always like these. Who’s on your team for $10? I’ve got Shelstad, Couisnard, Brooks, Bell and Boucher. Scorers at 4 positions, plus an elite rim protector.

Losing Bittle, Angel, and S. Cook, so it looks like there is plenty of early playing time next season as of right now. Would be a massive get.

Dan did fantastic in the portal this year, but IMO this is the best player of the group. Pregnon has not allowed a sack since 2023. In his last 1,066 pass blocking snaps, zero sacks. massive get.

As several people pointed out above, the guard play of this team is currently below the level of the 2017 team with Dorsey, Pritchard, Ennis, and Benson. Shelstad is on fire right now and Key is playing very well. Both are defending a little better too right now, which is helping. Tracy is playing well too and is the guy that holds it together. That being said, Bamba and Moss need to turn the corner soon if we have any chance of making that run. Having your starting SG shoot 30% in games, while putting up 8-12 shots is not going to work come March, IMO.

I thought I would feel better if osu2 won. I don’t.

When I was a student at Oregon, I took my girlfriend to a game against UCLA. It was the game against Tyus Edney where we pulled it out and won at the very end. That game was absolutely INSANE. I think it was 1994 maybe? My girlfriend grew up in Tucson and was a life long UA fan. Her parents were season ticket holders and she went to all the games growing up. At the time, she was at another school. She was visiting me and I was able to get her a student ID and student ticket for the game from a friend. That girlfriend is now my wife and she STILL talks about that game all the time and says it was the craziest sporting event she has ever been to in her life. I don’t live close anymore, but I have been to a few games at the new arena and it actually made me a little bit sad. The current students just have no idea what it was like in there. The new arena has a casual, NBA feel to it. And it is not just the arena that is the issue. It all feels so scripted (student chants / that DJ dude, etc) it almost feels forced. Glad I was a student before it changed. Those were good times!!!

Good article. This is a very good basketball team. However, I think the biggest challenge right now is at the wing position. Bamba is a good defender and is physical. But he is shooting 34% from the floor on the year and less than 30% over the past month. The bigger issue with that, is that he is taking 8-15 shots a game. As a result, he is a massive liability on offense right now. I hope he comes out of it, but this is getting to be more than just a shooting slump. Key has really improved and has upped his game on offense, but we have the opposite issue, as he is giving up size on defense. When Key and Shelstad are in the floor together, the scoring picks up, but they give up some defense. I am very impressed with Tracey. He plays well at both ends. Most games he takes good shots and defends well. Personally, I like the line up of Shelstad, Key, Tracey, Evans, and Bittle. We give up a little on defense on the perimeter, but all 5 players can hurt you on offense. If Bamba figures out how to take and make good shots, look out. This team could go very far.

This guy was second team B1G and arguably USC’s best OL. I agree that USC has not done a great job developing guys in the trenches. If you are going to take an OL from USC, I think this is the guy you want.

This would be a massive get. Hope we pull through on this one.