Oregon Basketball's Past and Future Prospects Busy Competing in Summer

Wing TJ Bamba will get another shot at cracking an NBA training camp roster through two of the NBA Summer Leagues.

The Oregon Duck will be spending his month of July with the Denver Nuggets in the Salt Lake City Summer League in Utah from July 4-7, as well as the Las Vegas Summer League in Nevada from July 9-19.

Oregon guard TJ Bamba celebrates as the game winds down, as the Oregon Ducks host the Indiana Hoosiers Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

During his lone season in Eugene, Oregon, the 6-5 slasher averaged 10.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.6 assists per game for coach Dana Altman. He earned Big Ten Conference All-Defensive Team honors and was a finalist for the Lefty Driesell Award, given to the best defender in college basketball.

Bamba previously spent three seasons with the Washington State Cougars from 2020 to 2023 and the Villanova Wildcats during the 2024-25 season.

After his collegiate career ended with the Ducks in 2025, Bamba joined the Brooklyn Nets for the Las Vegas Summer League last July. He then spent his first professional season with Rasta Vechta in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga.

The two other reported Oregon alums participating in the Las Vegas Summer League are Toronto Raptors center Nate Bittle and forward Brandon Angel.

Oregon center Nate Bittle pushes toward the basket as the Oregon Ducks host the Stanford Cardinal Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Oregon's 2028 Recruiting Target From Canada

Even without assistant coach Mike Mennenga on the sidelines, who recently joined the Creighton Bluejays in the Big East Conference, Oregon is continuing to look for its next flock of recruits within the 2028 class up north.

Rivals currently ranks 6-6, 190-pound wing Isaiah Hamilton as the No. 7 overall player in the 2028 recruiting cycle. He will be transferring to powerhouse Montverde Academy in Florida for his junior season and is currently playing with the Canada Elite program on Under Armour’s U-16 Next Circuit this summer.

Hamilton just finished competing with the Canadian U-17 National Team in the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey. His home country lost to Australia in the quarterfinals, 100-86.

The four-star recruit averaged the second-highest scoring output on his team with 14.2 points per game on a shooting split of 35.8 percent from the field, 30.6 percent from deep, and 63.2 percent from the charity stripe. Hamilton also added 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals across a 3-2 record in Turkey.

Oregon coach Dana Altman questions a call during the game against Stanford. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

In a conversation with Rivals' Jaime Shaw at the NBPA Top 100 Camp earlier this summer, Hamilton gave his opinion on Altman's program. No visit to Oregon of any kind has been set up at this time.

“They are a great program. I talk a lot with the coaches; we always have a good conversation," Hamilton stated. "Obviously, they have great facilities and stuff. I haven’t been out there yet. I want to go, but they’ve shown me stuff, and I’ve seen pictures and researched them some. But yeah, they have great facilities out there.”

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Arizona State Sun Devils are also said to be heavily involved in his early recruitment process.

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