Oregon men’s basketball practice has a much different feel to it this season.
A new coaching staff and slew of new players has revamped the Oregon program and moved it in a new direction. At Wednesday afternoon’s practice held at McArthur Court, Oregon’s starting five — Joevan Catron, E.J. Singler, Malcolm Armstead, Teondre Williams and Garrett Sim — worked on half-court trapping and transition scoring.
Against a second group headlined by junior college transfer Tyrone Nared, the Ducks allowed only one basket defensively via a two-handed dunk from center Martin Seiferth. Aside from the one miscue, Oregon appeared to be meshing remarkably well for the end of a three-hour practice session.
Over the weekend, the Ducks swept the season-opening BTI Invitational for the second year in a row with a perfect 3-0 record. In a year that every win will be precious, first-year head coach Dana Altman said he was pleased with Oregon’s effort overall.
“I was glad that we found a way to win,” Altman said. “I think a lot of the credit goes to Joevan. I thought he was really good this weekend. And going back and looking at the films, he was the difference.”
Catron, a fifth-year senior from Phoenix, Ill., paced the Duck scoring attack in all three games, including a career-high 27-point effort against North Dakota State.
On the year, Catron leads Oregon with 20.7 points and six rebounds per game, while shooting better than 61 percent from the field.
The senior forward was sidelined with back problems for nearly the entire 2009-10 season, and has come back with high expectations for himself this year as a leader. Catron admitted he does not want to jinx himself by talking about his back and other injuries, hoping to stay healthy for the next few months.
“Working on my game in the summer time while I was off — it’s paying off right now,” Catron said.
Altman said he was most pleased by Catron’s equal work ethic in games and practices.
“He competes on every possession,” Altman said. “And really tries to help his teammates out. There’s a lot to like about Joevan and the way he plays, and I just hope he stays healthy.”
Oregon’s health and depth will undoubtedly be discussed at length this winter, especially with four of five starters averaging more than 27 minutes per game. Those numbers will likely make a noticeable jump once conference play rolls around.
This weekend, Oregon will face the Spartans of San Jose State (1-0), who will present a tough challenge defensively with senior guard Adrian Oliver. Formerly with the Washington Huskies, Oliver led the Spartans with 34 points on 12 of 23 shooting from the field in their season opening win over Eastern Washington. In his 38 minutes of action, Oliver also grabbed five rebounds and committed only one turnover.
“Our guys are going to have to be much more aware of where he is in transition,” Altman said of Oliver. “When they do have him on the offensive end, we’ve got to do a better job of stopping him.”
Singler has continued to be a defensive presence for an undersized Oregon squad and will likely draw some time on Oliver during Saturday’s matchup.
The sophomore from Medford, Ore., is second on the team in scoring with more than 12 points per game, while leading the Ducks in minutes (33.7) and rebounds (6.3) per contest.
Following a shaky offseason that saw several key departures, a young Singler was prepared to step into a bigger role on the court.
“I just have more confidence knowing that I have to do more this year,” Singler said.
The improvements are far from where they need to be, but for now, the new direction Oregon is headed looks right.
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