Oregon Ducks
Overall Rank: #1
Conference Rank: #1 Pac-12
Oregon has reached at least the Elite Eight for three straight years and after a Final Four trip a year ago, the Ducks are eyeing a national championship in 2020. The Ducks return their top four scorers, all who averaged at least a dozen points per game. That is an immense amount of talent for Coach Kelly Graves to work with heading into the 2019-2020 campaign. And with Player of the Year Sabrina Ionescu returning for her senior season, Oregon is the most talented team in the country.
2018-19 Record: 33-5, 16-2
2018-19 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Kelly Graves
Coach Record: 126-51 at Oregon, 508-213 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Maite Cazoria, Guard, 9.7 ppg
Oti Gildon, Forward, 4.6 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Sabrina Ionescu, Senior, Guard, 19.9 ppg
Satou Sabally, Junior, Forward, 16.6 ppg
Ruthy Hebard, Senior, Forward, 16.1 ppg
Erin Boley, Junior, Forward, 12.4 ppg
Taylor Chavez, Sophomore, Guard, 4.5 ppg
Lydia Giomi. Junior, Forward, 1.8 ppg
Morgan Yaeger, Junior, Guard, 1.6 ppg
Key New Players
Lucy Cochrane, Freshman, Forward
Minyon Moore, Senior, Guard, Grad Transfer from USC
Nyara Sabally, RS Freshman, Forward
Jaz Shelley, Freshman, Guard
Holly Winterburn, Freshman, Guard
Sedona Prince, RS Freshman, Transfer from Texas, not eligible
Projection:
Ionescu won Player of the Year behind 19.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. She knocked down an impressive 42.9 percent from beyond the arc and she returned to Eugene in order to lead the Ducks to a national title. The frontcourt has plenty of talent too. Satou Sabally ranked second on the team with 16.6 points per game. The 6-4 junior is an efficient three-point shooter who can stretch the defense. So can fellow returning starter Erin Boley. Ruthy Hebard is the more traditional post player. She tallied 16.1 points and 9.1 rebounds as a junior and is a dominating force in the paint on both ends of the floor. Minyon Moore comes to Oregon from USC where she averaged 14.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists last season. She should step into the starting lineup beside Ionescu right away. The Ducks were not a particularly deep team last year and they will need to find some depth this year too. Taylor Chavez provided much of the backcourt depth last season, averaging 18.4 minutes off the bench. She is a capable outside shooter and can at least provide a nice offensive spark again during her sophomore season. Nyara Sabally could provide some quality frontcourt depth if she’s healthy. The sister of Satou, Nyara has struggled with a knee injury, but could finally suit up for the Ducks in 2019-2020. If Coach Graves can find depth without much of a drop in production, Oregon will be in for a historic season.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 84.9 (3rd in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 63.0 (135, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 50.1 (4, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 39.9 (174, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.8 (7, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 41.5 (1, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 76.6 (20, 2)
Rebound Margin: 7.1 (23, 2)
Assists Per Game: 18.9 (7, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.0 (1, 1)
Madness 2020 WNBA Draft Rankings:
#1 Sabrina Ionescu
#4 Satou Sabally
#7 Ruth Hebard
