Dana Altman Continues to Strengthen his Hall of Fame Resume
When the 2020 season ended with an 82-68 loss to USC, Oregon basketball didn't know what the future held. The team was almost guaranteed to lose some of its best players, and a wave of attrition would bring a cloud of uncertainty over Eugene in Western Oregon.
Now, as we head into June, Dana Altman and the Ducks are absolutely soaring after landing Rutgers transfer Jacob Young. He's the third player to transfer to Oregon this offseason, joining De'Vion Harmon (Oklahoma) and Quincy Guerrier (Syracuse).
But just over two months ago, it was an entirely different story.
After dismantling Iowa in a bit of a shocker to advance in the NCAA Tournament, Altman saw a significant chunk of his roster wiped away following the final buzzer in Indianapolis.
All-Pac-12 selections Chris Duarte and Eugene Omoruyi declared for the 2021 NBA Draft, along with Eric Williams Jr. and reserve veteran guard Amauari Hardy. LJ Figueroa opted for a professional career overseas in the Dominican Republic rather than returning to Eugene to run it back with the Ducks.
It's worth noting that Williams is still eligible for the 2021 college season since he didn't hire an agent.
Read more: Eric Williams Jr. testing NBA Draft waters
Even so, the attrition didn't stop there.
Chandler Lawson (Memphis), Jalen Terry (DePaul), and Aaron Estrada (Hofstra) all transferred. During that time, Lawson's younger brother Jonathan, a 2021 Oregon signee, was granted a release from his national letter of intent prior to reuniting with his brother to play for their hometown Tigers.
The writing was on the wall for Lawson. His minutes were in jeopardy with the anticipated arrival of two high-profile bigs this summer in Nathan Bittle and Isaac Johnson. Add to that the return of a healthy N'Faly Dante, a former 5-star, and the emergence of Franck Kepnang, and his position quickly became overcrowded.
Estrada didn't play much last season aside from filling in for an injured Will Richardson, but Jalen Terry was in prime position to earn more minutes and flashed the potential that had him ranked as a top-100 recruit.
If that wasn't enough, Altman also lost his righthand man in Tony Stubblefield, an ace recruiter that was instrumental in the program's Canada pipeline, after he took his first head coaching job at DePaul.
And Altman wasn't fazed for a second.
In the course of two months, he moved swiftly to address his team's needs. He made a solid assistant hire in Chris Crutchfield from Oklahoma, and filled out the holes in his roster created by transfers and NBA departures.
Shortly after Crutchfield traded in the crimson and cream for the green and yellow, De'Vion Harmon became the first new name to join the Ducks via the transfer portal.
Read more: Dana Altman hires Chris Crutchfield
Altman puts out competitive teams year after year, regardless of the challenges he faces. 2020 proved to be no different. In the face of unforeseen circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oregon program was put on pause multiple times throughout the season.
The Ducks lost starting center N'Faly Dante just six games in with a torn ACL and starting point guard Will Richardson would require thumb surgery on his shooting hand, sidelining him for the first 12 games of the year.
Oregon struggled to find its identity at times, such as when Duarte and Figueroa were in COVID-19 protocols. In that stretch the Ducks didn't put up much of a fight in a loss to rival Oregon State (75-64) at home, and dropped a close game to Washington State (74-71), piling up 16 turnovers. Sure some stars were missing, but that's just sloppy basketball.
After that loss to the Cougars, Altman flipped a switch and had his team firing on all cylinders by the time March rolled around.
Just like he does every year.
The Ducks won 10 of their last 11 games, with convincing wins over conference powers Arizona and UCLA, an eventual Final Four team, en route to repeating as Pac-12 champions. The Ducks made it to the semifinals in the Pac-12 Tournament, and would eventually fall to USC in the round of 32.
Although the season didn't have an ideal ending, it was still an incredible run when considering all the ups and downs, and the Ducks have their man that can lead them back to the days of Final Four basketball in the 2016-2017 season.
Altman is one of just five active coaches in college basketball to put together 24 consecutive winning seasons, often times building out his roster in the summer months leading up to the season.
This time around however, it looks like he's ahead of the curve for 2021. And he's not showing any signs of slowing down.
Granted, we've yet to see the 2021-2022 squad play together on the court, but if history tells us anything, Altman will develop another deadly team. This next version of Oregon basketball will one composed of all his trademarks: versatility on defense, speed, athleticism, and a whole lot of scoring.
The Ducks should be among the frontrunners, if not the favorites to win the conference next year, now possessing significant depth following offseason additions.
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