#37 Oregon Men's Basketball 2017-2018 Preview

Jacob Young
Wed, 10/04/2017
 
Oregon Ducks
 
2017-2018 Overall Rank: #37
Conference Rank: #4 Pac-12
 Oregon Logo
 
Oregon finally made their first Final Four appearance since 1939 last season after coming up short in the Elite Eight two years ago. Getting back will be quite a challenge though, as the Ducks lost each of their top five scorers from last year. Head coach Dana Altman will have his hands full attempting to get a team full of transfers and freshmen on the right page. Altman has taken the Ducks to the NCAA Tournament each of the last five seasons, so there’s good reason to expect Oregon to punch their ticket again this year.
 
2016-17 Record: 33-6, 16-2
2016-17 Postseason: NCAA Tournament
Coach: Dana Altman
Coach Record: 187-70 at Oregon, 597-313 overall
 
Who’s Out:
The Ducks will be almost completely rebuilding as they loss seven players who saw action in at least 30 games a year ago. Pac-12 Player of the Year Dillon Brooks headlines the losses for the Ducks. Brooks was a second team All-American and Oregon’s leading scorer with 16.1 points per game. Tyler Dorsey and Jordan Bell are also major departures as they also both left early to enter the NBA Draft. Dorsey was known as “Mr. March” as he finished the season with eight straight 20-point performances. Dorsey averaged 14.6 points and shot 42.3% from three as a sophomore. Bell also thrived in March as he was named the Midwest Regional Most Outstanding Player. Bell also earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 10.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals as a junior. Chris Boucher and Dylan Ennis round out the top scorers that have exited. Boucher suffered an ACL injury in the Pac-12 Tournament that ended his Oregon career. Boucher averaged 11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks during his senior season. Ennis played as a sixth-year senior, averaging 10.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Casey Benson transferred after his junior year when he lost his starting job and played just 20.9 minutes per game off the bench. Kavell Bigby-Williams also transferred after one season at Oregon where he averaged 3.0 points in 9.8 minutes per game.
 
Who’s In:
Oregon has reloaded the roster after all the departures with three transfers and five freshmen. Elijah Brown is a two-time all-Mountain West player who led New Mexico in scoring his last two seasons there. Brown averaged 18.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists last year. MiKyle McIntosh was second team all-Missouri Valley last season at Illinois State. McIntosh averaged 12.5 points and 5.6 rebounds last year. Paul White was at Oregon last season, but redshirted as a transfer from Georgetown. White averaged 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds as a freshman, but missed all but seven games due to injury as a sophomore. Troy Brown is the highlight of the freshman class as a five-star, potential NBA Draft lottery pick. Brown is a 6-7 forward who was ranked as a top-15 player in the nation. Victor Bailey is a four-star, top-100 prospect that adds instant talent at guard. Kenny Wooten, a 6-8 forward, is also a four-star recruit. Brown, Bailey and Wooten will all see major roles right away as freshmen. Abu Kigab also adds to the roster’s depth as a three-star, 6-7 forward. Lastly, Oregon will have M.J. Cage this year after he redshirted last season. Cage is a 6-10 forward who was a three-star recruit.
 
Who to Watch:
Payton Pritchard is the only returning player that averaged double-digit minutes last year. Pritchard became the starting point guard early in the season as a freshman and went on to average 7.4 points, 3.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals. Pritchard was typically the fifth scoring option on the floor, but he hit big shots at times and showed he belonged. Pritchard will see a much-expanded role as a sophomore. Keith Smith and Roman Sorkin are also back after seeing limited roles last season. Smith played in 28 games and scored 1.9 points per game. Sorkin played in 23 contests and averaged 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds. Smith and Sorkin may not see much more playing time than they saw last year, but should still add depth to the roster.
 
Final Projection:
Oregon will have a whole new look this season with each of their top five scorers leaving in the offseason. The leading returning scorer is Payton Pritchard, who had just 7.3 points per game a year ago. The Ducks will add all-conference transfers Elijah Brown and MiKyle McIntosh along with five-star recruit Troy Brown to replace the lost production. Head coach Dana Altman has a bunch of moving pieces on his team, and his ability to get them to mesh together will determine how successful the Ducks are this season. The talent is there to get back to the NCAA Tournament, but making another deep run in March won’t be quite as attainable.
 
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA Tournament
 
Projected Starting Five:
Payton Pritchard, Sophomore, Guard, 7.4 points per game
Elijah Brown, Senior, Guard, 18.9 points per game
Troy Brown, Freshman, Forward, DNP last season
MiKyle McIntosh, Senior, Forward, 12.5 points per game
Kenny Wooten, Freshman, Forward, DNP last season
 
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 78.9 (49th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.8 (38, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 48.1 (23, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.3 (22, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.6 (76, 3)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.0 (51, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.2 (136, 6)
Rebound Margin: 4.2 (52, 4)
Assists Per Game: 15.7 (41, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.6 (54, 5)
 
Madness 2018 NBA Draft Rankings:
#22 Troy Brown

Madness 2017 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#10 Troy Brown
#84 Victor Bailey
#136 Abu Kigab
#137 Kenny Wooten