Endyia Rogers Gives Oregon a New Gear
Oregon landed a key piece to its prolific 2019-20 season in USC graduate transfer Minyon Moore, who helped the Ducks earn Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles after three years in Los Angeles. Kelly Graves paired her in the starting lineup with Sabrina Ionescu, and the two were an exceptional duo in the backcourt.
Now, the Ducks have taken a talented guard from USC once again, getting a commitment from Endyia Rogers Sunday after two years with the Trojans. Graves will likely pair her in the starting lineup with Te-Hina Paopao to form a dynamic backcourt.
If it feels like déjà vu, that's because it is. The Ducks, who were already in prime position to make an even deeper run in the NCAA Tournament next season, just made their biggest acquisition of the offseason to put them in the upper echelon of college basketball in 2021-22.
Rogers, who chose Oregon over Arizona, is a 5-foot-7 guard that has an elite package of skills and talents. She can put up points in a hurry but is also a selfless player on offense and a dynamic passer.
She's quick and crafty with her ball-handling and is aggressive when attacking the basket. She had a solid freshman season and followed it up with a breakout sophomore campaign that earned her an All-Pac-12 nod.
She should be eligible to play immediately next season, and her impact will be just as immediate as well. Let's break down her fit with the young Ducks squad.
The Ducks currently have a guard unit consisting of Paopao, Maddie Scherr, Sydney Parrish, freshman Taylor Bigby, JUCO transfer Chanaya Pinto, and New Mexico transfer Ahlise Hurst. Paopao will start for the Ducks, but the second guard spot will be tougher to fill, especially if Scherr and Parrish develop this offseason as expected.
It would be tough for Graves to start Rogers over Scherr or Parrish, as the two 5-stars have already spent a year playing under Graves. However, Rogers started all 54 games she played for the Trojans in two years and averaged 13.8 points, 4.3 boards and 3.5 assists per game over her career.
She has proven that she can compete in the Pac-12 and should be a phenomenal complement to Paopao in the starting backcourt. Rogers spoke to Ducks Digest about potentially playing alongside the Ducks star point guard shortly after her visit to Eugene.
"I feel like I can contribute right away and help Paopao run the show up there,” she said of potentially playing in Oregon's system. “They like to get up and down, they make great reads off screens, and they aren’t afraid to shoot.”
Read more: Endyia Rogers Discusses Oregon Visit
Rogers mentioned that after Paopao suffered a season-ending foot injury, the Ducks often struggled to find a primary ball-handler, especially in the Sweet 16 loss to Louisville, and she said "I feel like that’s something I can help with.”
Rogers and Paopao will also help set up the offense for the Ducks' bigs — Nyara Sabally and Sedona Prince. Kelly Graves said in his season wrap-up presser that he wanted to play more "power basketball" in the future, and with the addition of Rogers, the Ducks will have another facilitator that can get the bigs good looks with her passing and by being aggressive offensively and drawing more eyes from defenders.
There may not be a better pure scorer on the Ducks roster than Rogers. She scored more than 20 points on four occasions last season and six times in her freshman season.
She scored 30 points against Arizona State in her freshman season and dropped another 30-piece on the Sun Devils in her sophomore season. She also recorded her first career double-double against ASU in the 2021 Pac-12 Tournament with 15 points and 11 assists.
Rogers is a capable shooter from the outside, knocking down 44 threes in her freshman year, good for the third-most by a USC freshman in history since 1988. She made 35 triples last year but shot at a higher clip (32.1%).
The Ducks clearly are going all in next season, as Graves and his new coaching staff have now brought in five transfers this offseason after losing a number of players to the transfer portal and graduation, including Taylor Mikesell, Erin Boley, Taylor Chavez, and Jaz Shelley.
Rogers is all in on a shot at a national title as well, telling Ducks Digest after her visit “I’m looking to win. I want to go where I’m going to be put in the best position to brand myself and get to the WNBA.”
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