Tyler Dorsey thought his season was over. The five-star recruit, potential one-and-done Oregon freshman awkwardly came down on his left knee after a rebound at the MGM Grand while playing UNLV last Friday.
Anyone who saw the replay – Dana Altman and Dorsey both said one time was more than enough – expected the worst.
“I never want to watch that video again,” Dorsey said. “On the court, I thought it would be worse. I just thank God it’s a mild injury.”
Lying on the floor, Dorsey said he had trouble coming up with words as Altman and trainers immediately rushed to the floor to check on him.
“You know how your stomach turns a bit?” Altman asked. “I did. It was one of those things that looked really bad, looked a lot worse than it ended up being. I watched it (replay) one time and that was enough.”
Dorsey, an early season offensive rock who is averaging 14.4 points and shooting 42 percent from three, ended up returning to the floor despite having a noticeable limp. A lot of it had to with Dorsey talking his way back onto the court and his momentarily heightened adrenaline. However, he sat out the Ducks’ next contest versus Navy.
“I really talked my way (back) because I really wanted to win that game and I thought we were coming back,” Dorsey said. “It felt good, my adrenaline was still going, but after the game, it kind of tightened up.”
Oregon still ended up dropping its first game of the season in an 80-69 finish.
In their first road test of the season, Altman and his banged up roster went 1-1. After dropping to UNLV, Oregon responded with a 67-47 blowout win over Navy on Pearl Harbor Day.
The takeaway?
This team has heart and plays hard, but still has a long ways to go on both ends of the floor. Unforced turnovers need to be cleaned up (31 combined in last two games), ball movement needs to get more consistent, and above all, this team needs to get healthy.
“I feel like we’re just trying to force the issue and make plays for our teammates – those are the good turnovers,” Brooks said. “They’re not selfish turnovers.”
Optimism is very much alive in this locker room though.
Jordan Bell could return for Saturday’s Boise State game and Dorsey, who was seen shooting around with a brace at Wednesday’s practice, confirmed that his left knee injury was minor.
With five non-conference games to go before Pac-12 play, the main storyline has shifted towards the excitement for what this team could do when it gets fully healthy.
While Villanova graduate transfer Dylan Ennis (foot) is still targeting a return for early January, the team has been itching to feature a frontcourt of Bell and Chris Boucher. The two will undoubtedly form a shot blocking force in the paint.
What’s most impressive about Oregon’s performance so far is that they’ve looked good with a nine-man roster that has been without two starters. When Oregon opens its conference season against Oregon State on January 3^rd, this team may look drastically different.
“I’ve been dreaming about it just playing with everybody,” Dillon Brooks said. “We’re going to be a really good team. We’re holding off without Jordan, Dylan and Tyler.”
Sure, Altman is constantly preaching a form of the “Win the Day” mantra to his team, hoping that they will take it one day at a time. Sure, the players and coaches on this team fully acknowledge the large room for growth.
But when looking for silver linings, take this into consideration: this team has a 7-1 record heading into a favorable five-game stretch to close out the non-conference schedule and has devoted much of its attention to limiting personal mistakes.
Next up is a 6-4 Boise State team that has already faced No. 11 ranked Arizona twice and No. 1 Michigan State. And while they didn’t come away with wins, this experienced Broncos rotation has proven it isn’t a pushover by any means.
“They’re a good basketball team,” Altman said. “Really experienced, got a 1500-point scorer which you don’t do by accident. We will have our hands full.”
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim