The Emerald Media Group Presents
Preview | 2019
Oregon men’s and women’s basketball are favorites to win the Pac-12. One will rely on star players and depth, the other will rely on new talent.
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Contents
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New team, new depth
More than meets the eye
Men’s and Wo m e n ’ s Season Preview
Men’s and Wo m e n ’ s Opponent Preview
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2019 DuckSeason, the Emerald’s annual football
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Oregon Ducks guard Sabrina Ionescu looks to make a pass. (Devin Roux/Emerald)
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e Oregon Bench. (Devin Roux/Emerald)
WHY THE DUCKS’ BENCH
COULD BE THE KEY TO A DEEP RUN IN MARCH BY NOAH NOTEBOOM • TWITTER @noah_boom23 With 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Oregon’s fi rst Final Four appearance in program history, Baylor guard Chloe Jackson blew past Maite Cazorla and scored an uncontested layup. e Ducks failed to score on the next two possessions, and the Bears advanced to the National Championship game. With heavy breaths and hands on her hips, Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu slowly walked to the bench, accepting the fact that she was so close to accomplishing her goal of competing for a championship. Ionescu never came off the floor, while Cazorla played all but one minute as minutes off the bench were hard to fi nd. Bench depth was a problem for the Ducks last season. All of Oregon’s starters averaged over 28 minutes per game, and just four other players registered minutes for
the Ducks. is season, the Ducks will have 12 eligible players, compared with just nine last year. Head coach Kelly Graves added three true freshmen to his roster in the offseason. Australians Lucy Cochrane and Jaz Shelley join Holly Winterburn in the hope of cracking a rotation fi lled with experienced teammates. With new players coming into the Ducks’ system, experienced players will have their hands full trying to teach the younger players while also competing for their third straight Pac-12 Championship. “[Ionescu] is really going out of her way to help me,” Shelley said. But Shelley also has something that Ionescu doesn’t. She has played a year of professional basketball already.
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Shelley is one of the more valuable recruits for the Ducks, as she already has experience playing professional basketball overseas — and has also spent time with the Austrailian National Team. She played for the Melbourne Boomers in the Women’s National Basketball League and was named the 2019 Rookie of the Year in the WNBL. Ionescu is eager to see how Shelley can contribute to the title-hopeful Ducks, but also what impact the rest of the recruits will have. “It will give us a chance to rest some people that might be injured or need some rest,” Ionescu said. “It will also give the newcomers a chance to get their feet under them.” Injuries plagued the Ducks last season. During the Pac12 Tournament, Cazorla battled the flu while Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally dealt with knee and elbow injuries, respectively. Despite the injuries, the Ducks were still able to win their second consecutive Pac-12 title. As of now, a few Ducks are still recovering from injuries, but Graves is not worried as much as he was last year. “I can sleep a little better knowing that I don’t have to worry about who’s injured today,” Graves said.
Oregon Ducks guard Sabrina Ionescu is announced at the start of the game.(Devin Roux/Emerald)
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Increased competition for playing time is something he looks forward to as well. “It’s nice because we have competition at every spot. ey have to battle each and every day,” Graves said. He gave his team more time off this summer with players studying abroad, partaking in internships at Nike and playing for their respective national teams. As it is for every program across the country, Oregon must brush off the dust and get its continuity and chemistry back. Oregon’s starting lineup will be very similar to that of last season. e departure of Cazorla will most likely be fi lled by senior graduate transfer Minyon Moore. e offense will undoubtedly flow through Ionescu, Hebard and Sabally, with Erin Boley being a 3-point threat for the Ducks. Guards Morgan Yaeger and Shelley are two likely candidates to earn minutes off the bench. Oregon opens its season as the preseason No. 1 team. With high rankings come high expectations. is season, Oregon will have more players to rely on as the road to the Final Four starts at Matthew Knight Arena.
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FRANCIS OKORO’S
IMPACT STARTS WITH ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND EXECUTING THE ‘LITTLE THINGS’
BY SHANE HOFFMANN • TWITTER @SHANE_HOFFMANN
e Oregon Ducks celebrate the win. (Ben Green/Emerald)
Sophomore center Francis Okoro’s stats won’t blow you away. 3.1 points per game, 3.2 rebounds, more fouls per game than assists, steals and blocks put together; they’re certainly not eye-popping. To truly respect Okoro’s impact, you have to look past the stat sheet. It requires a much deeper dive to understand why Okoro was widely considered, by his coaches and teammates, one of the most important players on last year’s Sweet 16 team. For Okoro, it’s all about the little things: setting strong screens, boxing out well and making a timely defensive rotation to affect an opponent’s shot at the rim. As a freshman, hard work and a vocal presence helped him carve a role for himself. While playing time in the fi rst half of the season was few and far between — primarily due 8
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to his foul-prone play on the defensive end and his raw offensive skill set — by season’s end, Okoro was a critical piece of the Ducks’ most effective lineup. After a summer of intensive roster turnover, Okoro, along with teammates Payton Pritchard and Will Richardson, are the program’s only returnees and will be tasked with key roles on the 2019-20 team. When five-star center N’Faly Dante was ruled ineligible to play for the Ducks until December, Okoro’s role grew even larger. Given Dante’s pedigree and skill set, the two figured to be battling for the starting center spot. Now, without a doubt, that will belong to Okoro. “I think everything has slowed down for me [this year],” Okoro said. “Especially understanding my role and things I need to do to win games…Year two [my goal is] just to be
more vocal, talk in practice, try to push myself, push other players. Paying more attention to detail, understanding that every play matters, every game matters and at the end of the day all we need to do is win a championship.” Aside from leadership and rebounding, Okoro will be tasked with becoming the defensive anchor down low, something the Ducks are missing with the loss of Kenny Wooten’s prolific shot-blocking ability. “Guys have to fi nd their niche,” Pritchard said. “I think for Francis, obviously being a big-time rebounder, it’s going to get him a lot of playing time.” Okoro knows his role. He knows where he excels, and which areas need work. His ability to fit in will be crucial as head coach Dana Altman and the Ducks are forced to adapt to and fit in a collection of new players.
“Last year I didn’t really know what was going on,” Okoro said. “It was hard for me. is year we have a lot of people trying to help. I think we have a really good chance at having great chemistry this year.” Much of that lies on Okoro. While at least one, if not a few other, newcomers may settle into leadership roles, he and his returning teammates must set the culture and work ethic. For the 2019-20 Ducks — a group picked to win the Pac-12 for the second consecutive year — the culture and chemistry will need to be rock solid if they hope to reach similar heights to that of last year’s team. “I can see it in every player’s eyes,” Okoro said. “We know we should be [in the national championship].”
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OREGON WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:
SEASON PREVIEW
e Oregon Ducks celebrate a point. (Devin Roux/Emerald)
BY CARLY EBISUYA • TWITTER @CARLYEBISUYA
Last season, over 7,000 fans on average attended Oregon women’s basketball games at Matthew Knight Arena each night. is year, Oregon is bound to double that number. e fans are a testament to the team’s success over the past few years. With a full roster and pressure on its shoulders, Oregon is seeking to make another run at a championship after reaching its third consecutive Elite Eight and fi rst-ever Final Four appearance. ey fell to eventual national champion Baylor last year in Tampa, Florida, and they know the road will not be easy to reach that point again this year. “We know now that we belong there. We know now how amazing it is to play there, so I feel like it’s just motivating us to want to go there again,” junior Satou Sabally said. “In the end, we haven’t proven anything yet. I’m just trying to take it game by game, and we got to prove ourselves fi rst.” e team is seeking to top its best season in program history last year after reaching the Final Four. e Ducks will head into the season dubbed as No. 1 in espnW’s preseason Top 25 and No. 1 for the fi rst time in the AP poll rankings. Playing as the Pac-12 favorites, once again, with Final Four expectations and the goal of winning it all, the Ducks have a target on their backs. “I’ve told them to embrace those kind of expectations. Expect them, but at the same time, just ignore the noise,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “We’ve got to just grind it out each and every day. Keep our heads down, work hard each day. We know what we’re capable of doing.” e dominant veteran trio of NCAA triple-double leader Sabrina Ionescu, versatile forward Satou Sabally and 2018 Katrina McClain Power Forward Award winner Ruthy Hebard are bound to cause trouble for defenses. Sabally has the versatility of grabbing rebounds off the glass with her 6-foot-4 frame combined with her ability 10
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to shoot from the outside. Hebard, on the other hand, is a dominant presence in the post and shot a team high 67% from the field last season. With the experience those core players have, they are ready to tackle the various challenges of a potentially deep run into March. Oregon expanded its team in the offseason after having only nine active players on the roster last year. It added USC graduate transfer Minyon Moore, who will most likely replace graduated Maite Cazorla in the backcourt. Additionally, the Ducks added freshmen Jaz Shelley and Lucy Cochrane — both of whom are from Australia — and Holly Winterburn from Northampton, England, as well as redshirt freshman Sedona Prince. Prince is unable to play in the upcoming season due to NCAA transfer rules, but Oregon is exploring options to waive that ineligibility. “ ey’re really good, they play tough,” Sabally said. “Holly, Lucy and Jaz are doing a great job. Sedona’s getting back in and she’s looking really great, so they’re going to do a great job and help us out.” Redshirt freshman Nyara Sabally was expected to play her fi rst season for the Ducks, but will miss the entire season due to a torn right ACL. e Sabally sisters were on the verge of becoming a dominant duo down low in the post but will have to wait until the 2020-21 season. e Ducks now have all-around depth on the floor at every position, which creates even more issues for opponents. Defense has to decide who and what to guard in multiple positions: Sabally and Hebard in the post, shooting guard Erin Boley out on the perimeter or Ionescu, who is always a threat with or without the ball in her hands. “We got a long way to go,” Graves said. “We’re nowhere near any kind of a Final Four team now. Graves, Ionescu and the rest of the Oregon squad will have to prove this season why they’ve been tabbed as the best team in the nation.
Fresh off a scintillating fi nish to last season in which the Ducks captured a Pac-12 Tournament crown and Sweet 16 berth, this year’s squad is loaded with talent and experience. Oregon men’s basketball is once again facing massive roster turnover. Out go five of the team’s top-six scorers from a year ago, and in come a talented mix of transfers and high school recruits. Despite the influx of new faces, the roster has plenty of college basketball experience, and should be equipped to hit the ground running for its grueling November schedule. Senior point guard Payton Pritchard will be running the show as the go-to scoring option and lead facilitator. He has two deep NCAA Tournament runs — including a Final Four appearance in 2017 — on his resume, and is among the favorites for Pac-12 Player of the Year. Starting beside Pritchard will most likely be 6-foot4 wing and New Mexico transfer Anthony Mathis, who should step in right away and shoot it at a high clip — he shot 47% from three last season and 41% the year prior. Pritchard and Mathis were teammates and Oregon state champions together at West Linn High School. “His shot has always been dynamic,” Pritchard said of Mathis. “One of the best shooters I’ve ever been around.” Sophomore combo guard Will Richardson is back after a promising freshman season, and his scoring punch and playmaking should yield him plenty of minutes, whether it be off the bench or in a starting role. Beyond Richardson, some combination of junior college transfer Chris Duarte, four-star freshman Addison Patterson, UNLV transfer Shakur Juiston and freshman CJ Walker should comprise the majority of the rest of the minutes on the wing. Juiston, in particular, was one of the prized grad-transfers on the market in the offseason, and could become a e Orgegon Ducks celebrate a point. (Ben Green/Emerald)
do-it-all type of player in a similar mold to former Duck, Dillon Brooks. Walker could see minutes both on the wing and down low depending on lineups head coach Dana Altman uses, but his defensive versatility in both the pick-and-roll and in rim protection should allow him to play both spots. Offensively, he’s uber-athletic and likes to put the ball on the floor; he’s a good-but-not-great shooter right now, but has a smooth stroke and range that occasionally stretches to 3-point territory. Up front, five-star center N’Faly Dante was the headliner of yet another top-five recruiting class for Altman. However, he’ll be ineligible until Dec. 14 due to the NCAA missing his admissions clearance date to the University of Oregon. He won’t be able to practice with the team until then, but will be the team’s most dominating inside presence upon his return and could be a fi rst-round NBA Draft pick in June. In Dante’s absence, sophomore Francis Okoro returns after coming on strong at the end of last season. Kenny Wooten’s departure leaves a gaping rebounding and shotblocking hole in the middle, and Okoro hopes to step into that role in his second year. “Rebounding has got to be the number-one priority for me,” Okoro said. “I have to get more rebounds. I have to try to block shots.” With one of the best players in the conference in Pritchard and long, athletic defenders up and down the roster, the No. 15 Ducks have all the pieces to once again compete for a Pac-12 Championship and deep run in March. “I think we really got a good chance this year with the kind of guys we’ve got,” Okoro said. “Everybody’s trying to pick up from what we did last year.”
BY BRADY LIM • TWITTER @BRADYLIM619
OREGON MEN’S BASKETBALL:
SEASON PREVIEW
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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL OPPONENT PREVIEW BY CHARLES GEARING • TWITTER @GearingCharlie e 2018-19 season represented a period of historical achievement for Oregon women’s basketball. e Ducks logged a 33-5 overall record, going 16-2 in conference play. Pushed by the momentum of a successful regular season, the Ducks made a deep run in March, reaching the Final Four, where they were eventually defeated by No. 1 Baylor. For the second year in a row, the Ducks are projected to win the Pac-12. ey’re ranked No. 1 nationally and the program is receiving an unprecedented amount of attention. e Ducks will open up the regular season at home against the Northeastern Huskies. ey’ll go on to play two more home games against Utah State and Texas Southern before traveling to upstate New York to take on No. 21 Syracuse on Nov. 24. Up next, the Ducks will travel to the US Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, where they’ll take on Oklahoma State, UT Arlington and No. 7 Louisville — which reached the Sweet 16 last March. After returning home, the Ducks will face a solid South Dakota State team, who they defeated in the Sweet 16 of last year’s tournament. Oregon will close non-conference play with games against Long Beach State, UC Riverside and Kansas State. e Ducks face several strong opponents in the beginning of the season, which they hope will give them the upper hand in matchups with ranked conference opponents in No. 19 Arizona, No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 Oregon State and No. 12 UCLA. e Ducks will play their fi rst ranked opponent in the Pac-12 on Jan. 12, when they travel to Tucson to face off with Arizona. Soon thereafter, they’ll take on Stanford, which made it to the Elite Eight last season. In late January, the Ducks will play a home-and-home two-game series with Oregon State. e next key matchup for the Ducks will fall on Feb. 3, when the Ducks travel to the East Coast to visit one of the most storied programs in women’s college basketball — Connecticut. UConn has dominated throughout the last decade, and once again has found their way into the top five, sitting at No. 3 in espnW’s preseason Top 25. e Ducks will go on to face several more Pac-12 programs before fi nishing off the regular season with a home matchup against the Washington Huskies on March 1. e Ducks are the favorites to win it all in March, but in order to fi ll the shoes they’ve been given, they must last through a gauntlet of difficult opponents and show perseverance through a difficult schedule.
Oregon Ducks guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) moves past a defender. (Devin Roux/Emerald)
Oregon Ducks forward Ruthy Hebard (24) shoots the ball. (Devin Roux/Emerald)
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MEN’S BASKETBALL OPPONENT PREVIEW BY OSCAR DUYCK
Oregon guard Payton Pritchard looks to pass. (Devin Roux/Emerald)
e Oregon Ducks block a shot. (Ben Green/Emerald)
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After an appearance in the Sweet 16 last season, the Ducks open the new season ranked No. 15 in the country and will be a program under the microscope in 2019-20. Not only will the Ducks have to tangle with the usual Pac-12 foes, but they will face a number of tough non-conference opponents as well. Oregon’s fi rst big test will be against No. 14 Memphis at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon, on Nov. 12. Memphis received a lot of hype in 2018 after it hired former NBA star and Memphis alum Penny Hardaway as head coach. Hardaway landed the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class, headlined by No. 1 overall player James Wiseman and fellow five-star Precious Achiuwa. Defeating the Tigers would boost the Ducks’ early-season NCAA Tournament resumé. e Ducks will host Houston on Nov. 22 on the back end of their home-and-home; the Cougars beat Oregon handily in Houston last December. Like Oregon, Houston went to the Sweet 16 last season as a No. 3 seed before falling to perpetual juggernaut Kentucky 62-58. Oregon will also play in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas, where they will take on No. 12 Seton Hall. e Pirates were a No. 10 seed in last year’s tournament, exiting in the fi rst round against Wofford. is will be yet another excellent opportunity for the Ducks to play against NCAA Tournament-level opponents. Perhaps the highest-profi le game the Ducks will play this season will be against Michigan in Ann Arbor on Dec. 14. e Wolverines were a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament last year and, like the Ducks, advanced to the Sweet 16 before being upset by Texas Tech. Michigan is one of the elite programs in college basketball and if Oregon wants to be considered an elite team, this is a must-win. Oregon will then have to navigate a tricky conference schedule. e Pac-12 has had some down seasons recently, so taking care of business against conference foes will be crucial. e only other ranked team in the conference is No. 21 Arizona. ey will play each other twice, with the fi rst meeting coming in Eugene on Jan. 9 and the second on Feb. 22 in Tucson. Only three Pac-12 teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season: Oregon, Arizona State and Washington. Arizona State had to play its way into the tournament, beating St. John’s in the First Four before being blown out by Buffalo, 91-74, as a No. 11 seed. Oregon will play Arizona State on Jan. 11 in Eugene and Feb. 20 in Tempe. e Huskies were a No. 9 seed in last year’s tournament. In the opening round, they upset Utah State. In the round of 32, they were outclassed by No. 1 North Carolina, 81-59. Oregon will travel to Seattle to take on the Huskies on Jan. 18. e Ducks will continue their Civil War series with Oregon State on Feb. 8 in Corvallis and Feb. 27 in Eugene, with the Beavers coming off of a much-improved 18-13 season. If Oregon survives its tough non-conference schedule, a high seed in the NCAA Tournament, and deep tournament run, should be well within reach.
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