When Dana Altman was hired last spring to coach the Oregon men’s basketball team, just one thought crossed my mind.
“Who in the name of god is Dana Altman?”
I then proceeded to Google his name, and promptly clicked on his Wikipedia page. Altman, apparently, had been the head coach at Creighton University for the past 16 years.
Really? After bragging about the big name it was planning on hiring, the athletic department had turned to the head coach of Creighton? This is what they fired Ernie Kent for?
It sounds snarky, but that’s just how I was thinking at the time. Almost six months later, a week removed from the first media day of the season, I’m ready to declare one thing.
I was wrong.
It was arrogant and presumptuous of me to think that just because Altman didn’t carry the name recognition of a Tom Izzo, he couldn’t coach. It was a knee-jerk reaction of course, the type of ill-informed opinion that I normally despise.
In retrospect, I suppose the long and painful process of finding a new coach left me jaded. After Oregon had been turned down by Tom Izzo, Brad Stevens, Mark Few and countless others, it was pretty much set in stone that I would be critical of whomever the school did finally hire.
That ended up being Altman, who has now had an entire summer to stake his claim on the team. Those no longer committed to the program have moved on, and it is clear that Altman’s remaining players have his back.
In fact, during a media day shrouded in uncertainty (Can the Ducks win even one Pacific-10 Conference game this year?), one thing that seemed abundantly clear was the players’ belief in Altman as a coach.
The Ducks seemed refreshed by his energetic approach, and gave him credit for staying positive even as half the team transferred to different schools. They also described him as “funny”, and his dry wit was on full display during his press conference.
Put simply, I came away impressed. This might be a tough year for Oregon basketball — even Altman will admit that much.
And yet, the coach seems to have used the team’s grim outlook as a motivational tool. To a man, the players expressed their indignation at being ranked last in a conference of 10. A little chip on the shoulder can go a long way, and Altman seems to recognize this.
This upcoming season aside, the future is looking increasingly brighter for Oregon basketball. Quietly, Altman has landed the 16th ranked 2011 recruiting class according to ESPN.com. That, by the way, is ahead of schools such as Florida, Xavier, Washington and Illinois.
At the forefront of that recruiting class is shooting guard Jabari Brown. You might have missed it, but the Rivals.com five-star recruit signed with the Ducks last week. Among the schools Altman beat out for Brown’s commitment? Arizona State, California, Connecticut and Kansas. Not too shabby, if you ask me.
So maybe this year will be difficult. If we’re being real, it might be even worse than last year or 2008. But it is apparent that Altman has a plan for this program, and may just be the perfect man to bring Oregon basketball out of the abyss.
If I sound drunk on optimism, well, sue me. A cloud of negativity has hung over this team for some time now, perpetuated by people like me in the media. Of course my reaction to the Altman hiring was filled with skepticism back in April; after two dreadful years, I had come to expect disappointment.
The time has come to turn a new leaf on this program. Last week marked the dawning of a new era, and maybe, just maybe, Altman is the perfect coach to rebuild this team.
At the very least, I sure as hell know who Dana Altman is now.
[email protected]