While head coach Dana Altman said the decision whether to get surgery or not still stands undecided, the sentiment stayed clear; Oregon men’s basketball (8-12, 1-8 Big Ten) would be without its primary ball handler for the remainder of the season with a hand injury. With the surgery, Shelstad’s recovery timeframe would go beyond the season and into the offseason. Without the surgery, the time he’d miss would end up amounting to the rest of the way.

“The time I was told was 6-8 weeks, so basically the season,” Altman said. “And obviously, if he has to have surgery, it’ll be the season. I’m sure we won’t have him for the rest of the year, so a decision will be made on surgery next week.”

Whatever the case, this team couldn’t afford another injury blow after its center and leading scorer, rebounder and rim protector Nate Bittle went down for “at least a month” after turning his ankle in the Ducks’ 90-55 thrashing at the hands of the No. 7 Nebraska Cornhuskers.

This also won’t be the first time Oregon dealt with Shelstad being absent. For preseason and the opening game, the Ducks faced a reality without their point guard, as he nursed a similar, albeit much less severe hand issue.

During those games, the Ducks’ offense struggled mightily against relatively weaker opponents. During Oregon’s nonconference schedule, Altman routinely bemoaned the lack of creativity on offense, even when Shelstad came back. The ball movement was stunted, the Ducks turned the ball over and it translated to fewer quality looks, especially as Oregon started going up against stronger opponents.

Shelstad didn’t reinjure his hand; he actually picked up new damage in the Ducks’ 80-57 victory over the University of Nebraska Omaha.

“This happened in the Omaha game, not connected to the previous injury,” Altman said. “It looks like there’s some tendon and ligament damage. I have not talked with the doctor, but he may need surgery and if not, he’s gonna need some time.”

Going forward, much of the ball-handling and playmaking onus falls on shoot-first guards Wei Lin and Takai Simpkins, who have each seen their own struggles running the offense.

Simpkins, much more of a shooting guard than anything, averages 12.6 points this season mostly coming off-ball. His favored play, a curl action from one of the corners to a quick elbow or straight-ahead three, easily defines his play style. He’s proven himself a willing, but not exceptionally effective passer, which won’t help the Ducks in their quest for more creation.

Lin, as Altman reiterated during the early portion of the season, struggled to get the ball moving, and often takes a contested shot when in trouble. He averages a subpar 6.7 points, but has improved since Shelstad went down, and it’s become clear he is slowly adjusting to the offense.

With more shots, hopefully Lin will get into rhythm and be able to run a cohesive offense. For now, much of the scoring onus falls on forwards Kwame Evans Jr. and Sean Stewart, who put up 18 and 22 points respectively in a narrow 81-71 loss against the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines, but each struggled along with the offense in a 68-52 crushing at the hands of No. 10 Michigan State.

With March Madness already seemingly out of the question, Shelstad out and Bittle being out for significant time as well spells doom for the back half of the Ducks’ season.