McDuck No. 1 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Oregon center Franck Kepnang to enter transfer portal and leave Ducks DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM Ouch. Franck Kepnang has announced that he is going to enter the transfer portal. That’s a tough loss for the Ducks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven A Moderator No. 2 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Will miss his energy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanLduck No. 3 Share Posted April 5, 2022 I don't think this is a good sign. He was a valued part of this team...why transfer? The portal is not a good thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckdude No. 4 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Hate to see him go……. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graziani93 No. 5 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Thank you Franck for your passion and energy whilst a Duck! I always feared that you might hurt somebody (especially friendly fire) with your relentless attack, but it was fun. Good luck wherever you land, wish you nothing but the best. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 6 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Well, Nathan Bittle....are you ready? 2 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDuck No. 7 Share Posted April 5, 2022 5 Star Center inbound, hopefully he is a splash...Bittle was a 5 Star but couldn't get past Kepnang for minutes, hopefully he improves a lot this offseason. Hopefully Dante stays! The dunks will be missed, and his free throws and ball movement improved down the stretch, and not quite as many travelling calls...still looking to see how DA makes the bigs a bigger part Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 8 Share Posted April 5, 2022 On 4/5/2022 at 8:12 AM, JDuck said: 5 Star Center inbound, hopefully he is a splash...Bittle was a 5 Star but couldn't get past Kepnang for minutes, Yep, Kel' el Ware comes in with a lot of accolades as Oregon hopes yet again to find a BIG that really delivers. Bittle had moments during games that, but yes, wasn't consistent. Franck also had stretches, mainly fueled by his energy. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICamel No. 9 Share Posted April 5, 2022 I loved Big Franck's passion for the game, but let's face it, he was behind at least two other big centers for playing time in the future. Thank you Franck Kepnang for two years as a Duck. I sincerely wish you the best for your career, and hope you find a landing spot where your talents will be developed to their fullest. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUCKED No. 10 Share Posted April 5, 2022 On 4/5/2022 at 8:12 AM, JDuck said: 5 Star Center inbound, hopefully he is a splash...Bittle was a 5 Star but couldn't get past Kepnang for minutes, hopefully he improves a lot this offseason. Hopefully Dante stays! The dunks will be missed, and his free throws and ball movement improved down the stretch, and not quite as many travelling calls...still looking to see how DA makes the bigs a bigger part Loved Franck’s energy and enthusiasm and he kept that up even when he was on the bench. But his skill level was lacking. Virtually no offensive threat as most of his points came on put backs or dunks. He will be missed as an exceptional teammate more than anything else. Bittle came in highly touted but sat for most of the session. Showed brief glimpses of potential, and if he sticks around and develops he could eventually become a big who can stretch the floor, kind of like Holmgren. I’m not a huge Dante fan. Not much of a threat offensively and has a disturbing habit of losing the ball when he’s in a crowd. Good defender and rebounder but still not an overwhelming presence inside, like McCormack of Kansas who owns the paint. Looking forward to Ware. He could be a huge upgrade if he is as good as advertised. On 4/5/2022 at 8:12 AM, JDuck said: 5 Star Center inbound, hopefully he is a splash...Bittle was a 5 Star but couldn't get past Kepnang for minutes, hopefully he improves a lot this offseason. Hopefully Dante stays! The dunks will be missed, and his free throws and ball movement improved down the stretch, and not quite as many travelling calls...still looking to see how DA makes the bigs a bigger part 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiseKwacker No. 11 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Franck was, by all accounts, a good teammate. He brought lots of energy if not ball skills. As much as I cringed when the ball would go inside to Dante and Kepnang this year, I can see why they were playing ahead of Bittle. I think Dana wanted defense and rebounding from the center position, and those two guys offered more of that than skinny Nate did. Ultimately, I think many of us would like to see Bittle playing as a "4" ala Chet Holmgren, who played alongside Timme. I hope Bittle sticks and works out with that in mind for next season. Just watching him move around, you can see the natural coordination he possesses. Nice long arms, too. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 12 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Damn, and I guess I won't see him on the football field either! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EOFan No. 13 Share Posted April 6, 2022 Thanks Franck, happy trails to you big fella! Can't blame you for looking elsewhere as the team can't play 4 big guys and it looks like you would be #4. How does the old song go, don't worry, be happy! The Ducks will be fine, if not outstanding. Nate, N'Faly, and our new recruit Kel' el will be a handful for everyone! Nate is a smart young man and knows what he needs to do to be a big time player. N'Faly played much better late in the year when he got in better shape and felt comfortable with the knee. He knows he is in the best place he can be for his future. With all of the other very good new recruits coming in, best case Will decides to stay put! Ducks will be more than fine, don't forget we have one of the best Coaches and Coaching staffs in the Nation! Go Ducks!!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graziani93 No. 14 Share Posted April 6, 2022 On 4/5/2022 at 4:54 PM, WiseKwacker said: Franck was, by all accounts, a good teammate. He brought lots of energy if not ball skills. As much as I cringed when the ball would go inside to Dante and Kepnang this year, I can see why they were playing ahead of Bittle. I think Dana wanted defense and rebounding from the center position, and those two guys offered more of that than skinny Nate did. Ultimately, I think many of us would like to see Bittle playing as a "4" ala Chet Holmgren, who played alongside Timme. I hope Bittle sticks and works out with that in mind for next season. Just watching him move around, you can see the natural coordination he possesses. Nice long arms, too. Altman is great, but he was kind of off this season too. He did not do Bittle any favors when he would yank him back to the bench as soon as he made one mistake. Let the guy make some mistakes, in addition to his occasional shots, blocked shots, etc. Give him some confidence and some real minutes to display his offense (he has a good outside shot - I've seen the highlights). Some of Altman's plays at the end of several close games, with a chance to win, left a lot to be desired (dribble out the clock and have Will take a long 3 that's not even close). Thank God, his pointless weave was done away with towards the end of the season. Disappointing all around, hopefully better next season. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeotechDuck No. 15 Share Posted April 6, 2022 Bummer! This team will miss his energy level for sure. That being said, Bittle fits Altman's style of play much better than Kepnang if he can make a decent jump in the offseason. As the poster above noted, I wish Altman would have stuck with Bittle more and let him work through some things. But I know that it is a difficult coaching decision to let a player learn lessons on the floor when you are consistently in very close games and sitting on the bubble all year. Mistakes are amplified and one or two can cost you a shot at an NCAA tourney bid, which is exactly what happened in the early Stanford and ASU games. I think this is why he was riding the veterans a little more this season. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
