The Oregon men’s basketball team was projected by the media to finish fourth in the Pac-12 this season. Arizona was picked to finish first (18), while California (9) and Utah (7) were picked to rank second and third, respectively. Oregon received one first place vote.
Heading into the new year, Oregon head coach Dana Altman’s roster will look drastically different from a year ago. In addition to losing veteran leader and reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year Joseph Young to the NBA — he was selected 43rd overall by the Indiana Pacers — the Ducks will welcome seven new players.
“Joe had a great career for us these two years with us,” Altman said to reporters at Pac-12 media day in San Francisco. “Unbelievable scorer. Last year, he took on a leadership role, did a great job there. We’re going to miss him, no doubt about that.”
The most notable addition to the Ducks roster is Villanova transfer Dylan Ennis. Ennis, a redshirt senior who averaged 9.9 points last season, will join Casey Benson in the backcourt.
“Ennis, a young man we brought in from Villanova, is a fifth-year guy, is really trying to give us some of that leadership,” Altman said. “He’s really trying. He is a very hard worker in the weight room, he’s always getting extra shots up. That stuff just kind of breads itself.”
Coming off three straight NCAA tournament appearances and riding a streak of five straight seasons of 20-plus wins under Altman, expectations are high for the Ducks. The main challenge will be to integrate the fresh faces and overcome being undersized — something they dealt with all season last year. But, Altman returns six players and is excited about their potential.
“I really like our returners,” Altman said. “That gives us a good core group that all played significant roles last year. We’re pretty excited about that group.”
College men’s basketball will undergo some rule changes this season. The shot clock will be reduced to 30 seconds from the original 35 and there will be less timeouts. The hope is to speed up the game, avoid occasional double timeouts and increase scoring.
The goal for Altman and his team will be to continue their success from the past few years. With the football team having an off year so far, there is an opportunity for this team to gain more attraction in the winter and moving forward.
“We have to play an exciting brand of basketball,” Altman said. We have challenges in front of us, (but) we have the resources, the facilities.”
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim
Pac-12 Media Day: Oregon men’s basketball picked to finish fourth by media
Hayden Kim
October 14, 2015
West Linn, Ore. point guard Payton Pritchard has committed to play collegiately at the University of Oregon. Reggie Rankin of ESPN.com first reported the news on Friday via Twitter: “I wanted to stay in my state & play for my home state & my relationship with Coach Altman is Great” …
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