Dana Altman called Oregon’s next three games the toughest stretch he’s had to face at Oregon.
The Ducks face Toledo at Matthew Knight Arena on Friday before heading to Brooklyn to face No. 24 Michigan, then No. 12 Villanova or No. 15 VCU to finish up the Progressive Legends Classic.
Each team will present a unique set of challenges for the young Duck basketball team (2-0) that will likely get a heavy dose of reality against Toledo (1-1).
“I’m not sure we’re ready for this,” Altman said. “We’re going to have to play very, very well to put ourselves in position to stay with these guys.”
Toledo’s size and physicality will be Oregon’s first real test of the Legends Classic. The Rockets returned seven players from their 27-7 team a year ago and have four upperclassmen playing over 29 minutes per game.
Junior center Nathan Boothe leads the team in scoring with 18.5 points per game, while forward J.D. Weatherspoon leads the team in rebounds at 8.0 per game. Toledo’s backcourt is rounded out by seniors Julius Brown (13.5 ppg, 4.0 apg) and Justin Drummond (12.0 ppg).
The Rockets hung tough with VCU’s chaotic full-court press on Tuesday before a handful of turnovers doomed Toledo to a 87-78 loss.
For the Ducks to have a chance at stealing a win, they’ll need a much better shooting night from Young, who’ll have to forget about a seven for 23 night from the field against Detroit on Monday.
“It’s over with,” Young said. “It’s not about just shots, I wasn’t knocking down shots, but I did other things. I got my team amped up, I played better defense than I’ve ever played. The shots are going to fall, I’m very confident in my shot play and coach is too.”
Tipoff for the Oregon-Toledo game is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday and can be viewed on the Pac-12 Network.
Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter