In the minutes immediately following Oregon’s Sweet 16 loss to USC on Sunday, Ducks head coach Dana Altman admitted he’d made a mistake. 

“I’ve got to know my personnel,” he said. “Franck [Kepnang] did a heck of a job there late. I didn’t use him the first half because offensively we were having trouble getting going. He hasn’t worked much against the zone. He gave us a big lift that second half and he did a great job.”

After playing just over a minute in the first half of Sunday’s game, Kepnang ignited a late 11-0 run that brought the Ducks within striking distance. In a span of eight minutes, the freshman center added eight points and a rebound, bringing the requisite size to match up with USC’s frontline. 

“He got a couple of rebounds, he kept the ball alive a couple times and he just was a presence in there and his energy defensively gave us a big lift,” Altman said. “Again, I’ve got to take my share of their responsibility. It’s March, hell, I should know my personnel.” 

Altman’s postgame comments were a brutally honest peek behind the curtains; a vulnerable moment for a coach who’s made a name for himself by knowing his personnel and adapting to a revolving door of roster changes. And while Oregon suffered a 14-point loss to an in-conference foe and renewed rival, the game’s closing minutes may have given a glimpse into the future of the program. 

Sophomore center N’Faly Dante, the Ducks’ lone true rim protector, collapsed on the floor with a torn ACL just six games into the 2020 season. A few games later, Altman made a decisive move. Recognizing the strength of the Ducks’ roster lay in their quartet of two-way wings — Chris Duarte, Eugene Omoruyi, LJ Figuroa and Eric Williams Jr. — Altman rolled out a small-ball lineup featuring Will Richardson at point guard. No player under 6-foot-5. No player over 6-foot-6.

The new lineup played to its strengths, winning 13 of the season’s final 16 games while leading the conference in made threes and steals per game. But no matter how hard they fought, the Ducks were always smaller, and upsizing came at the expense of perimeter shooting. 

Against Iowa in the round of 32, the Ducks surrendered 36 points to the 7-foot Luka Garza but controlled the outside where they exploited a weak Hawkeyes defense. Against USC, they held the Mobley brothers in check but paid dearly for it as the Trojans lit them up from range.

Altman went with his gut and stuck to his five. And so marked the end of another iteration of the late-year surges Oregon’s become known for since Altman took over. 

Next year, the Ducks seem poised for a rebranding. As Duarte and Omoruyi transition to the NBA and fellow senior LJ Figueroa mulls his decision, the Ducks’ front court screams promise. 

Barring an unforeseen decision, Dante, who some projected as an NBA first-rounder when he arrived at Oregon, is set to return. Chandler Lawson, whose four-star brother Jonathan will join the Ducks next fall, is no doubt rearing to re-enter the starting lineup. There’s a newcomer too, the five-star, 7-foot stretch big from Napa, California, Nathan Bittle. 

Then there’s Kepnang, a hulking 6-foot-10 power athlete whose leadership skills have past and present coaches raving. If the fearlessness displayed Sunday is any indication, he’s poised for a meteoric rise in his sophomore campaign. 

All of a sudden, Oregon has an embarrassment of riches to toy with on the front line. It remains to be seen who Altman adds to fill out his roster — undoubtedly utilizing the transfer portal to his advantage — but Sunday’s game could be remembered for more than the end of another Tournament run for the Ducks. 

It could be the last time Oregon gets bullied up front for quite some time.