Right after the first local media scrum of the year came to a close, I took a court side seat at Matthew Knight Arena to see what the post-Joseph Young era had to offer.
It took me all of five minutes to see the high-level talent and potential Oregon coach Dana Altman will have at his disposal this season – a balanced group that will look to combat losing a veteran leader by evenly distributing the wealth.
“We got a great recruiting class and transfers that will pick up the slack,” Elgin Cook said.
Since arriving to Oregon in 2010, Altman has scrapped together five straight 20-plus win seasons, a school best three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and one Pac-12 title.
Altman, who has a track record of maximizing his talent these past five years, hasn’t had the depth, athleticism and size that this year’s team will pose.
When I asked Villanova transfer and current graduate student Dylan Ennis about the excitement level heading into the new year, he smiled and said: “People should be excited about Oregon basketball this season.”
This isn’t all talk.
On top of returning key players like Cook, Dillon Brooks and Dwayne Benjamin, the Ducks will also welcome a trio of highly touted freshman, a luxury this program hasn’t recently had.
Leading the underclassmen will be the California Gatorade State Player of the Year and former No. 7 overall rated high school player Tyler Dorsey.
As I watched Dorsey go through a shooting drill, I saw an athletic 6-foot-4 point guard whose stroke already looked primed for the next level. I saw the four-star prospect that Ennis called “one of the best scorers” he’d seen in college basketball.
Dorsey, who will join Trevor Manuel and Kendall Small in the 2015 class, averaged 34.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals as a senior. He’ll have a shot to play right away.
Anchoring the paint will be reigning Spalding NJCAA Division I Player of the Year Chris Boucher, a 6-foot-10 blocking machine that boasted a 22.5, 11.8 stat line last season.
This is the type of talent that Oregon will be looking to unleash in the 2015-2016 season. For the first time in five years, Altman has depth at every position.
“We’re really excited about this group,” Altman said. “I like our senior group. It’s their team.”
After experiencing a drastic drop in student attendance last season, Oregon will have a unique opportunity to not only regain much needed attention, but also make another run at the NCAA Tournament. Dropped ticket prices for the upcoming season should also help their cause at home.
Picked to finish fourth by the media with one place vote – highest since 2013 – Oregon will begin the season with a lot of upside.
If there was a season under Altman to be excited for, this is it. Young brought excitement last season by winning Pac-12 Player of the Year as a senior. But this year, Oregon has the tools at every position to compete against the best in the country.
“We’ve been overshadowed (by the football program),” Altman said. “Our basketball program will grow. We’ve got to raise the expectations.”
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim