The Oregon men’s basketball team (12-3, 4-0 Pac-12) has jumped out to a hot start in their first four conference matchups, even without some of their key players.
N’Faly Dante remains sidelined after undergoing knee surgery and Nathan Bittle is out for the remainder of the season with a wrist injury. But despite all of that, the Ducks have won four close games behind prolific shooting and overall clutch play late in games.
The highlight of this early run has been the outstanding play of freshman point guard Jackson Shelstad. The West Linn native is averaging 14.8 points per game, shooting 43.5% from three and over 51% from the field altogether. Shelstad averaged 18 points in the first four conference games, which leads the team in that stretch.
His playmaking has also made an extremely positive difference for the Ducks, as Shelstad leads the team with 2.9 assists per game.
Shelstad missed the first four games of the season with a knee injury, so it took a small amount of adjustment to get him solidified in the rotation. As Oregon moved into its conference schedule, the freshman phenom proved to be head coach Dana Altman’s best option running the offense.
What has shined through primarily is Shelstad’s exceptional shooting ability and confidence to put up shots from absolutely anywhere. In an example of his remarkable confidence, and what could be considered the most exciting moment in the first half of Oregon’s season, Shelstad stepped up in overtime against Michigan, hitting a deep three-pointer to seal the game for the Ducks.
The freshman point guard is joined in the backcourt by experienced senior Jermaine Couisnard, who has played every game so far this season and is averaging 13.6 points per game.
The backcourt duo combined for 34 points in Oregon’s win against USC, 35 points in its win against UCLA, 33 points in its win against Washington and 30 against Washington State. Shelstad and Couisnard have sparked the Ducks to an efficient 47.3% from the field, as each of the two players handle the bulk of the playmaking duties.
Oregon has been very effective in its drive-and-kick offense mainly because of Couisnard’s ability to carve through the lane and find open shooters such as Brennan Rigsby, Kario Oquendo or Shelstad for threes.
Once Dante returns, the offense could become even more efficient due to his ability to suck in defenders on the low block and force double teams. Due to Oregon’s small-ball tendencies, opposing teams are able to commit more to defending the perimeter. However, with Dante’s size, teams are forced to pay attention and commit defenders to abating the threat he poses.
Injuries have also opened up opportunities for young big men, such as heavily-recruited freshman Kwame Evans Jr. The athletic forward has been able to anchor the Ducks’ defense, averaging 1.5 blocks and 1.9 steals per game.
Evans Jr. is the team leader in win shares with 1.9. In other words, the star freshman is estimated to contribute to the most wins out of any of Oregon’s players through both his offensive and defensive production. Team leader Couisnard is a close second, earning 1.8 win shares so far this season.
Evans Jr. scored a career high of 22 points in the Ducks’ Pac-12 opener and has been effective in Dante’s absence, stopping some of the conference’s best big men. Mixed with the experience of Dante, the Ducks are shaping up to have a prolific frontcourt pairing once their captain returns.
Oregon has resolved its early season woes from the free throw line, as the Ducks are shooting above 70% in every conference game so far. Ironing out key mistakes like these will be crucial to Oregon’s success as the last Pac-12 basketball season moves forward.
All of their first four Pac-12 wins were by single digits, so the Ducks will look to shore up their defense as the season moves forward. A tremendous boost should come from the ever-closer return of Dante, and should propel Oregon into consideration as one of the best teams in the conference.
Through their opening conference tests, the Ducks have shown the ability to hang with some of the Pac-12’s best and have given themselves a real shot at making a postseason run. If Oregon keeps up its hot shooting and continues to come through late in close games, then the sky’s the limit for the Ducks.
