There won’t be film or scouting reports for any of the five teams Oregon women’s basketball will play during  its upcoming 12-day trip to Europe. The games, against relatively unknown opponents, won’t be live streamed and the stats won’t count officially.
But that doesn’t matter to guard Megan Trinder. The games will be another significant milestone in her road to recovery after she tore her ACL in her left knee almost exactly one year ago. She’ll be playing in her first organized games since March 2015. It’ll also be her first time in an Oregon uniform.
“It’s been such a long time, so I’m super excited to finally be playing against someone else,” Trinder said before Friday’s practice. “Once you play against the team over and over, you kind of know what each other does. I’m excited to see where I’m at. And where our team is at as well.”
Trinder said she’s not putting too much pressure on herself during the trip. She’s not quite 100 percent yet, but said she will be completely ready by Oregon’s first nonconference game.
“She’s been anxious to get back on the court ever since she got hurt,” Lexi Bando said. “I think you’re going to see big things from her.”
Trinder was home visiting her family in Australia when she realized her first Division I season would have to wait another year. She was understandably devastated, but quickly found a silver lining. She studied the game’s pace, collected a close list of “do’s and don’ts” and familiarized herself with the routine of Pac-12 basketball.
“Obviously sitting out was no fun at all, but it made me learn more about the game than if I was playing like normal,” Trinder said.
Oregon head coach Kelly Graves praised her help in-game.
“I thought she coached some of our players as they would come off (the court),” Graves said. “She had good things to say. She’s the ultimate competitor.”
Trinder also quickly realized that her injury would allow her two full years playing alongside Oregon’s 2016 recruiting class, which was ranked No. 3 nationally by espnW. On this year’s young team, Trinder will be called upon for leadership, though she hasn’t yet played a game at the Div. I level.
“It’s been great to have her,” Graves said. “Now we have two point guards running each squad in practice. That’s super valuable. She’s a great role model for the younger kids on the roster.”
Trinder and the Ducks will play five games against teams in Madrid, Barcelona and Amsterdam. The Ducks say the trip couldn’t come at a better time with a roster filled with new faces. Graves and his coaching staff hope to get the growing pains out of the way now, rather than during the season.
More than anything, Trinder said, the trip to Europe sets up the chance for the Ducks to take a step forward, both on and off the court.
“There’s a lot of young people, but everyone works really hard so I think if we have the effort, it’ll be only positive things,” Trinder said. “We have such depth each spot, so we’ll be fresh for the whole game.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne