Dana Altman had enough with the bad starts.
Even with a 7-3 record heading into their matchup with visiting Delaware State, Altman said he was planning to switch things up.
Today, he started Casey Benson, Jordan Bell and Jalil Abdul-Bassit, all newcomers to the starting five. These five ended up giving the Ducks (8-3) the start they’ve been looking for all season, eventually giving them an 83-70 win over the Hornets.
Said Ahmaad Rorie: “The starting lineup, they came out with a lot of energy and we’ve been lacking that all the other games.”
Having said that, Altman says he’s still experimenting with different lineups, while he tries to nail down a concrete rotation.
“We don’t have anything etched in stone,” Altman said. “We don’t have anyone who’s separated themselves in practice, we don’t have anyone who’s separated themselves in ball games, so we may change it every game.”
The Ducks had control for most of the game. Jumping out to an early 16-3 lead, Altman’s revised look appeared to be working. And despite some sloppy play down the stretch, the Ducks, for the most part, accomplished what they wanted.
Benson’s career-high seven assists highlighted what was a team-oriented effort, while Bell, who is among the nation’s leader in blocks with 36, added four more to the record books.
Despite the win, Altman was still far from satisfied. While he’s seen progress throughout his entire team, their rebounding and defense still aren’t near where he wants it to be.
Giving up 70 points to a now 5-7 Delaware State team shows the Ducks still have a long way to go.
“We’ve got a tremendous amount of work to do,” Altman said. “It’s a very important for us, we’ve got to get better.”
With two games standing between the Ducks and Pac-12 play, there are still a few questions that remain: can the Ducks hold their own against bigger opponents and can they consistently play their game for 40 minutes?
Those questions will need to be answered soon whether they like it or not.
“We’re pretty confident, but we’ve got to keep getting better,” Rorie said. “We’ve got to keep playing together, keep fighting for the whole game, whole 40 minutes. We get real comfortable when we get a lead or if we’re shooting well.”
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim