There wasn’t too much to like or take away from Oregon’s (3-0) routine 77-59 win over visiting Savannah State (3-1). To put it bluntly, the second half just wasn’t pretty.
The Ducks couldn’t make free throws (45.8 percent) and continued to struggle from the outside (23.5 percent) against an expected zone, and failed to consistently get good looks on the offensive end.
“We had so much energy for Baylor and we just tried to withstand and hold that energy and get it over to Savannah State, but it’s very challenging,” Dillon Brooks said.
Similar to last week’s marquee matchup against Baylor, Oregon’s real successes lied on the defensive end, holding Savannah State to under 60 points, under 45 percent from the field and under 30 percent from deep.
“We play well defensively in spurts, but I think we can get a lot better,” Elgin Cook said.
On paper, the Ducks shot a respectable 31-for-60 from the field and had 19 assists. But from the eye test, they just weren’t operating at the level Dana Altman hoped they’d play at. Some of that credits Savannah State’s athleticism on defense, forcing an array of tough looks, but the rest of the struggles were mainly on Oregon’s own personal doing.
“Just weren’t really focused in the second half,” Altman said. “It’s obvious from that performance that if we don’t play really hard and really focus, our talent level is not good enough to carry us very far.”
This early in the season, this is to be expected. Without presumed starters Dylan Ennis (foot) and Jordan Bell (foot), Altman has had to rely on his relatively inexperienced nine-man rotation. More specifically, he’s had to play underclassmen like Kendall Small, Trevor Manuel and Roman Sorkin – albeit a talented trio – a little more than he anticipated heading into the season.
The three got an opportunity to show what they could tonight.
“It wasn’t a very strong game,” Brooks said. “We had a very strong first half, but our second half, we had some let downs. Overall, we got some guys in Roman, Trevor – they got to show what they could do. Kendall had a very good game, too.”
In light of this situation, freshmen like Small and Manuel have provided glimpses of why they were recruited by Altman and his coaching staff – Small for his on ball defense, court vision, Manuel for his length and athleticism, Sorkin for his ability to stretch the floor.
As expected, Brooks (11 points), Cook (12 points) and Chris Boucher (17 points) carried most of the load offensively.
Pleasantly surprising for Altman though, role players like Small have begun to step up in a bigger role while the team patiently waits to have a fully healthy roster.
“Kendall gave us a big burst there early, thought his energy was pretty good,” Altman said. “I thought their energy level could have been higher, but I got those three guys on the floor, got them some minutes and that’s good.”
Small finished with nine points, four assists and three rebounds in 23 minutes.
Sorkin had eight points and five boards in 16 minutes, while Manuel added a modest three points and two assists in his 15 minutes.
For the time being, Oregon is going to continually need these three to contribute and develop in the process.
Next up for the Ducks is a 5-0 Valparaíso team that won 28 games last season and was barely edged by Maryland 65-62 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Already being called the “giant killers” for having the personnel to beat major teams on any given night, they’ll surely be looking to continue their early season success on the road.
“We’ll have to play awfully well to get that game,” Altman said. “They’re a good basketball team, maybe a better basketball team right now than we are because they play so well, don’t waste any possessions offensively or defensively. This team is as good as Baylor.”
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim
Oregon’s routine 77-59 win over Savannah State highlighted by bench
Hayden Kim
November 19, 2015
Adam Eberhardt
**Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Emerald’s Duck Season magazine, a preview of the Oregon men’s basketball team’s season. It is available for free at all Duck Store locations in Eugene. Coming off their third straight NCAA Tournament bid last year, the Ducks welcome a solid group of newcomers to fill the …
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