After Tuesday’s men’s basketball practice, Dana Altman expressed some concern over Oregon’s lack of focus just three days after a win over Washington.
It’s a long season, I understand, and the Ducks have been working out since mid-October, so a few letdowns should be expected along the way. The game is physically demanding, and it takes a toll on a team so short in numbers.
But when I heard Altman say those words, I was worried. Oregon recovered from a putrid December with a great January, and after last weekend, it looked as though the team could make an inspired run over these final weeks.
Make no mistake, the Ducks have no room for complacency as they take on UCLA and USC in Los Angeles this weekend.
Altman made an appearance on Oregonian columnist John Canzano’s radio show “The Bald Faced Truth” Tuesday afternoon, in which he reiterated those concerns.
“We feel pretty good about ourselves right now, and that’s dangerous when you’re going on the road to UCLA and USC,” Altman said. “You’ve got to make sure that you’re playing with a great deal of confidence, but at the same time, you know you’re getting ready and you have that edge that you need to go on the road and win.”
Canzano is generally a good listen, and he raised several good points about Oregon’s success over the last month. Rebounding was a keystone of conversation, as it always is with a team so undersized, and Altman admitted when the Ducks haven’t been willing to crash the boards, losses have followed more often than not.
“Our guys really have to be physical on the boards and at times we haven’t been,” Altman said. “It’s one thing to go after a basketball. It’s another thing to hit somebody first and then go after it.”
Joevan Catron will alleviate some of that tension in the paint against UCLA, which brought on questions of Catron’s future after basketball. Canzano and Altman agreed that he’ll have a long playing career ahead of him — just not in this country.
At 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, Catron is Oregon’s most physically imposing body — but not imposing at all in the world of Division-I basketball. In fact, most guards in the NBA fit that build these days. And when Canzano asked Altman what he’s looking for as he rebuilds this Oregon program, the answer was obvious.
“We’ve got to get bigger,” he said. “We’ve got to get a little more athletic.”
Didn’t we go through this around Jan. 11 when everyone realized, once again, that the Oregon football team needed to get physically much bigger? Well, the same holds true this winter. The Ducks need to get bigger, more athletic, and physically stronger in every aspect.
Not to take anything away from what the team has done recently. Frankly, it’s remarkable how well they’ve bought into Altman’s system, and I’m glad to see the players getting a taste of success. They’ve earned it beating Pac-10 teams with more size and talent, the same intangibles I just finished saying Oregon desperately needs.
Yet when the Altman and Canzano parted ways after their 10-minute segment on “BFT,” Canzano raised another great point. Knowing this group of Oregon players has been willing to commit themselves to Altman’s system, how would the next few recruiting classes respond to his style of play?
“It’ll be interesting to see as he gets better players, if they will continue to buy what he’s selling,” Canzano said.
More talented players may have overlooked Altman’s blue-collar system, but this current group had nowhere else to turn. That’s for the best if you ask me — see all of the last two seasons if you have any doubts.
Oregon still has some of those old tendencies. Passing the ball around the perimeter without dribble penetration is still a mainstay, because quite honestly, only a few players can physically get around their defenders off the dribble.
But for the most part, the Ducks have gotten what they can out of their talents these past few weeks, and this trip to Los Angeles will demonstrate Oregon’s character in a big way. They’ve shown they can compete with the conference’s elite, and I hope this week’s poor practice was a mere blip on the radar moving forward.
We’ll find out Thursday night.
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Clark: Ducks doing what they can with size, athleticism limitations
Daily Emerald
February 9, 2011
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