As forward Jeremy Jacob spoke to reporters during media day at Matthew Knight Arena on Wednesday, Oregon head coach Dana Altman could be seen standing at midcourt, his feet placed just below the “O” and above the “MATT” logo’s “A.”
Assistant coach Tony Stubblefield stood to his left, and the two watched as a revamped Oregon basketball team warmed up in front of them. A Gatorade cup clutched in his right hand, Altman was dressed in his usual practice garb: black athletic t-shirt, unusually long green basketball shorts and pristine white running shoes. The look was familiar and so was the court.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204964850@@
No longer trapped under the label of “first-year head coach,” Altman was finally at home.
Picked to finish at the bottom of the Pac-10 this time last year, Oregon has come a long way under Altman’s direction. The Ducks begin practice this year as the reigning champions of the College Basketball Invitational tournament and have even been tabbed as a potential sleeper to make the NCAA Tournament next spring. With a team that is chock-full of talent both young and old, it’s not a stretch to imagine Oregon taking dramatic strides in the 2011-2012 season.
“I think we’ve got a much deeper team than we had a year ago,” Altman said. “We are more athletic, but I’m concerned about our skill level and when you’re trying to blend eight new scholarship players in, we’re going to go through some growing pains.”
Indeed, Altman may be more comfortable this year within the confines of Matthew Knight Arena, but that doesn’t mean he has taken his foot off the gas pedal. That much was clear as he sprinted down the sideline for his scheduled session with the media, barking orders to the players out of the corner of his mouth.
“We’re going to go through a process here,” Altman said. “They’re going to have to get used to our coaching staff, and we’re going to have to get used to them, and we’re going to have to blend together, and it’s going to take some time.”
A trip to Italy over the summer provided a head start in doing just that, as the players were given a chance to mesh both on and off the court.
“I thought it helped us a lot,” junior forward E.J. Singler said. “We have that leg up on other teams. We’ve played together as a team against someone else, so I think that’s really helped. It’s going to help our freshman get a hold of our offense and how we want to run our offense, how we want to play our defense.”
That defense in particular will be a point of emphasis as practices begin on Friday. While compiling a 2-3 record on the Italy trip, the Ducks came to realize their defense would have to shore up quickly.@@http://www.registerguard.com/web/sports/26837213-41/altman-lot-oregon-games-ducks.html.csp@@
“I think we learned we gotta pick it up defensively,” senior guard Garrett Sim said. “That’s something that we didn’t necessarily focus on in those practices … we’ll start defensive-minded from day one starting Friday.”
The offense, in stark contrast to past years, has the chance to be dynamic.
“Scoring is not as big a concern as it was a year ago,” Altman said. “I think we’ve got more guys who can score, more guys who have had experience playing.”
Singler (11.7 points per game in 2010-11) and Sim (8.2), are joined by a now fully healthy Jeremy Jacob and transfer Olu Ashaolu (14.2 points per game last year with Louisiana Tech).@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205031056@@@@http://www.maxpreps.com/athletes/q85I51ABJU-Q4Vuco-1xyQ/basketball-winter-10-11/profile-jabari-brown.htm@@@@http://www.fantasycollegehoopshq.com/2011/10/11/oregon-ducks/@@
“Guys are going to have to compete for playing time,” Altman said. “Which is a great situation for a coach.”
In short, Oregon can no longer float under the radar as the team no one believes in. Expectations are higher this season, and even the players themselves are unsure how they will react.
“Now that we have that kind of pressure on this year,” Singler said, “people expect us to do better this year, so I think we have the talent to do really good things.
“It’s whether or not we can put it together, and I think that’s the biggest thing.”