Oregon men’s basketball’s exhausting season came to a close late Saturday morning. 

Coach Dana Altman’s erratic squad was undone 75-60 in the NIT’s second round by the top-seeded Texas A&M Aggies. Meanwhile, their West Coast counterparts, UCLA and Gonzaga, will battle for supremacy in the Moda Center later this evening. 

The Ducks’ grip on the Pac-12 is loosening. Tomorrow, a critical offseason begins for Dana Altman’s team.

Said Altman after the loss: “We felt like we should have had a better team.”

Good teams have an identity. This team never did. Not once did the Ducks have something to hang their hat on. 

Gonzaga soared its way to a 1-seed with a blistering offense, one which was prolifically efficient. 

UCLA has re-ascended to basketball notoriety by way of a veteran-laden group that defends better than any Bruins team of the last decade. 
At Arizona, coach Tommy Lloyd flipped the Wildcats’ program around expeditiously by installing an unselfish brand of basketball. The Wildcats lead the nation in assists per game. 
Oregon? Three savvy scoring guards and one sluggish offense. It was uninspired and one dimensional. Rarely did it reach the potent levels this team’s talent would suggest possible. 

“I didn’t chase anybody out of the gym this year,” Altman said. 
He chased Payton Pritchard out a fair few times. Dillon Brooks? No doubt. Chris Duarte and Eugene Omoruyi, too. 

If the talent was there, it was never unlocked; never sharpened after countless hours in the gym the way it could have been. 
The Ducks won 20 games this season. That this offseason feels more like a rebuild than a reload speaks to the unwavering success Altman has cultivated in Eugene. But reality is setting in. The LA schools have been the cream of the crop, and Lloyd is building a monster in Tucson. How will Altman and the Ducks respond?

“We’re going to evaluate everything, make a lot of changes,” Altman said. 

Most teams adopt the identity of their best player. First and foremost, the Ducks need to find their alpha. 

Pritchard had that title for some years. Last season, Duarte slid into the interim role. 

Point guard Will Richardson — who missed the last five games with a case of mononucleosis — never quite grabbed the mantle in their wake. 

He’s quiet. That’s not to say he isn’t a leader, but his role as a potential program figurehead was key entering this season and although he had his moments, his up and down play made him at times unreliable. 

His status for next season remains a question mark. As is forward Eric Williams Jr.’s. One or two others will likely depart, that’s the nature of the sport now. 

Former Syracuse transfer Quincy Guerrier will be an interesting case study. 

Guerrier, a rising senior, played primarily on the interior for the Orange. His struggles to move to the perimeter at Oregon were notable early this season. Yet as Altman detailed this team’s shortcomings — a byproduct of a faulty work ethic and absence of commitment — he waxed lyrical about Guerrier’s dedication during the season’s final month. 

The job could be his for the taking. At the very least he’s begun to subscribe to the commitment Altman demands from his players. 

If one thing’s clear, it’s that this year’s team wasn’t your normal Altman team. Altman teams win on defense. This team was never connected on that end. Altman teams find success in the margins and through the intangibles. Listen to Altman talk all year and you’ll realize the buy-in was never there for more than a week at a time. 

“Hard work doesn’t guarantee success, but the lack of hard work definitely guarantees you’re gonna end up on the other end of it,” Altman said.

There’s still pieces here. 

De’Vion Harmon could become the go-to guard next year. 

N’Faly Dante and Franck Kepnang were quite the one-two punch at times this season. 
If you watch enough of him, you could convince yourself former JUCO transfer Rivaldo Soares has the offensive polish to become a volume scorer down the road. 

The incoming recruiting class should be exciting, too. The nation’s No. 10 recruit, center Kel’el Ware and No. 23, guard Dior Johnson. Two more JUCO products in Tyrone Williams and Brennan Rigsby, as well. It’s a class that has the chance to make a real difference, and early. 

But more important than the talent, is the buy-in. Next year’s team needs to recapture the brand of basketball that led the Ducks to four Pac-12 titles in six years. 

Oregon is losing its grip on the Pac-12 Conference. Maybe it already has. Next year’s team will need to claw back.  

“We’re gonna have to get back to what helped us be successful,” Altman said.

It’s not normal for Altman teams to watch from the couch as others carry the conference’s torch in March.