In Tuesday afternoon’s practice at Matthew Knight Arena, Dana Altman reminded his players basketball is a simple game, in which playing hard is a must and playing smart is a necessity.
At times, the Oregon men’s basketball team has shown flashes of both this season, but hasn’t been able to sustain the consistency Altman and his staff demand. He reiterates two key points over the course of practice: make simple plays and match your opponent’s intensity.
“We just talk about getting better,” Altman said. “Our team needs to just focus on making improvements, and if we improve, then hopefully the wins will take care of themselves.”
The Ducks have won three of their last five games, but face two of the top teams in the conference as Washington State and No. 20 Washington visit Eugene this weekend. Oregon (10-11, 3-6 Pacific-10 Conference) will host the Cougars Thursday night and the Huskies Saturday afternoon, hoping to improve on a pair of double-digit losses in early January.
Altman knows Oregon has made improvements since they last saw Washington State, and will have a few more able bodies this time around. When the Ducks traveled to Pullman, Wash., Malcolm Armstead was sidelined with a knee injury, while Jeremy Jacob (knee) and Joevan Catron (calf) both saw limited minutes. Sophomore E.J. Singler got into foul trouble as well, seeing only 19 minutes of total action.
In facing that same Cougars team with another month of experience under its belt and crucial win over in-state rival Washington last weekend, Altman expects one of the toughest challenges Oregon has seen this season.
“A lot of those guys (have) been together now a couple years,” he said. “I think they’re playing pretty good. The win over Washington gave them a big boost of confidence.”
Washington State (15-6, 5-4 Pac-10) lost at home to Arizona, then eight days later defeated the Huskies, 87-80, behind a 25-point output by junior guard Klay Thompson.
For the season, Thompson leads the Pac-10 with 22.3 points per game and three-point makes per game with 3.10. He also ranks third in free throws attempted (114) and steals (42).
The Cougars’ size — four players 6-foot-10 or taller — will give Oregon problems in the half court setting.
“The challenges are going to be there ’cause every team is solid in this league,” said junior Tyrone Nared, Oregon’s tallest starter at 6-foot-8, “so we’ve got to come out and give it every night.”
And after turning the ball over 44 times in the last three games, Altman heavily emphasized ball security this week.
“Any time you turn the ball over you limit yourself (in) chances to have an opportunity to score,” Armstead said. “Whenever you can cut down your turnovers and limit those, then you have more chances to put the ball in the hole, and the object of the game is to outscore the other team.”
Armstead and Catron are both approaching full health, while point guard Johnathan Loyd’s ankle injury appears to have subsided. Jacob still hasn’t returned to practice and the timetable for his come back is uncertain.
Despite seeing double-teams from most league opponents, Catron has continued to impress offensively. In the Bay Area last weekend, Catron tallied 15 points and six rebounds in the win over Stanford, and 22 points and eight rebounds in the loss to Cal.
Altman said he hopes Catron doesn’t get overlooked for the credit he deserves this season.
“He’s had a heck of a year on a team that depends so much on him,” Altman said. “That sometimes I think it’s a great weight to bear. I think he’s done a great job, I just love the way he competes — he brings it to every practice.”
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Thursday night, with the Washington game following at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
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