While his teammates competed in the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada in early March, Will Richardson remained in Eugene. The Oregon Ducks basketball team sat at 18-13, needing to run the table in Vegas to earn a bid for the March Madness tournament.
Not an easy task.
The absence of its senior point guard, who had led the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game during the regular season, didn’t help the cause. It seemed like a peculiar decision, and it wasn’t the first time Richardson’s leadership had been questioned. Eight hundred and sixty miles separated him from his team during the Pac-12 tournament. That space, however, it was there all throughout the 2021-22 season, one in which a talent-laden Ducks roster never fully meshed.
“We didn’t play hard enough,” he said, at Oregon basketball’s first open practice, in October. “We weren’t together.”
At the time, it seemed Richardson had played his final game for the program. The sputtering close that marked the end to his collegiate career was far from its peak — when he was an integral part of a Sweet-16 run in 2021. A fast descent from the summit.
Following the Ducks’ season-ending 75-60 loss to Texas A&M in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament, head coach Dana Altman announced that Richardson was dealing with mononucleosis. While it cleared up the confusion that surrounded his hiatus, there would be no storybook ending for a player who had found success in his previous three seasons at Oregon.
Surely enough, Richardson tested the NBA waters. However, they weren’t as calm as he had expected — a theme he’s starting to accept as his basketball career matures from being a role player. So, he decided to return to Oregon for a fifth season.
His decision was a contagious one, as center N’Faly Dante and forwards Rivaldo Soares and Quincy Guerrier followed suit. While guards De’Vion Harmon and Jacob Young transferred away from the program, the majority of the Ducks’ core had decided to stick together and run it back.
In the spring, when they discussed the future, they knew that adjustments were necessary to find enjoyment in returning. Then, when they finalized that decision, it went back to what Richardson harped on at practice. To find success, the cohesiveness would have to change, and it started at the top, with that four-some of seniors, taking the onus of leading the other 11 guys.
Finding a way to mold the culture of the entire program will ultimately define the potential of this iteration of Oregon basketball. For those seniors, there’s no alternative, no third chance.
They know that, and it’s shown early on as they’ve accepted the roles as the captains of the ship, while dealing with an injury bug that has put the early-season availability of a few key players, including Soares, in question. Fortunately, they had the help of a five-game trip to Canada in August and a summer of continuity to get a head start on building that foundation.
“Our team is really gelling together,” Soares said. “We had a whole summer together. The Canada trip was fantastic for us. It was a little preview of the season.”
As any basketball team knows, the outcome falls heavily on the production of the primary scorer, the most experienced player. Just ask anyone on last year’s team; Richardson’s absence made it tough to prolong the postseason. Therefore, the accountability falls on his shoulders before anyone else’s.
After four years of staying true to being a quiet kid, struggling to emerge from his shell, in his last dance as a Duck, he’s stepping out of his comfort zone, he said, learning how to embrace his voice, and understanding his influence on the team’s success.
“The most important part about being a leader is doing it every day,” Richardson said. “Whether my life is going good, or not, just making sure I’m coming here to do what I gotta do and lead the team.”
Any good leader needs his sidekicks. That’s where Soares, Guerrier and Dante have stepped up. Similarly to Richardson, none of the three had much experience in leadership roles — a responsibility they’ve begun to accept.
Much of the team perceives Dante as the class clown, which was apparent at the open practice to fans on Tuesday when he was in good spirits cracking jokes about his teammates. In his senior season as a Duck, Dante’s taken the only freshman on the roster under his wing.
Kel’el Ware was Oregon’s highest recruit since Bol Bol in 2018, and he’s drawn comparisons to the former center as a raw prospect who sports a slim build. Ware has showcased a high basketball IQ in practices, whipping passes to open shooters in the corner and rolling to the hoop to present as a lob threat.
Ware clearly has the skillset to succeed at the collegiate level, and possibly the next one, too. Dante’s there to humble him and hone those abilities, a trait he once had to learn.
“[Dante] gets on Kel’el, but that’s what he needs,” Soares said. “He might not play another big better than Dante. So that’s just going to get him going, get him better every day. Playing against Dante every day, that’s a battle.”
Like Dante, Soares has helped a number of Oregon’s newcomers adapt to their new environment. Last year, the senior forward transferred to Oregon from South Plains junior college in Texas and had to accept his role as a scrappy defender and a hustle player, who came off the bench. Now, he’s helping transfers Tyrone Williams, Jermaine Couisnard, Brennan Rigsby and Keeshawn Barthelemy feel comfortable in their new threads.
Soares has found himself bonding with Williams, especially.
“Coming from a JUCO, it’s easy to relate,” Soares said. “[Williams] can look right at me, and relate with me. I’m trying to educate him every day.”
The junior guard, who transferred from Grayson County Community College — where he led the nation with 27.7 points per game — has been running with the second unit in practice, a role he certainly never experienced at his previous school. Barthelemy has been right alongside him. Despite starting all but five games in his sophomore year at Colorado, if practice is any projection of the game, he’ll provide a spark off the bench.
Couisnard, on the other hand, was set to begin the season as a starter on the wing, but he suffered a knee injury and the South Carolina transfer will be out “a while,” Altman said. His absence may lead to a starting role for Williams or Barthelemy.
Like any team that’s adding new faces to the mix and still figuring out each player’s fit, the Oregon Ducks will surely experience its fair share of shortcomings early on — the injury bug doesn’t help with that. However, the No. 21 Ducks will benefit from playing their first five games at Matthew Knight Arena, with the home opener on Monday, Nov. 7 against Florida A&M.
Playing at home while figuring out roles and fits can be a blessing and a curse. For the 2022-23 Oregon Ducks, only time will tell, but that burden will fall heavy on the four seniors who have taken charge in their final season at the collegiate level.
