Oregon Ducks
Overall Rank: #28
Conference Rank: #4 Pac-12
A new era begins this season for the Oregon women’s basketball team as Kelly Graves returns to the state of Oregon to take over the Ducks. Graves built Gonzaga into an emerging West Coast powerhouse as he made several deep runs into the NCAA Tournament. With the investment that has been made into the basketball facilities, the bar has been raised and Graves will be expected to come in and produce quickly in year one.
2013-14 Record: 16-16, 6-12
2013-14 Postseason: WNIT
Coach: Kelly Graves
Coach Record: 0-0 at Oregon, 382-162 overall
Strengths:
The Ducks last season were electric offensively as Paul Westhead’s run and gun system allowed Oregon to score 93.2 points per game. Junior forward Jillian Alleyne is the best all-around returning player. She scored over 21 points per game and collected nearly 16 rebounds per game last season. The offensive numbers should still be fine for Alleyne this season, but the rebounds may drop slightly as the Ducks will probably slow it down a little under coach Graves. Sophomore guard Chrishae Rowe gives coach Graves a great anchor in the backcourt as Rowe also averaged over 21 points per game last season. Senior Katelyn Loper returns as well. She scored nearly 14 points per game last season. The ability to shoot the three-point shot for the Ducks will help Coach Graves hit the ground running offensively as Oregon made over nine three point shots per game on average last season.
Weaknesses:
The defense by default will be better as the Ducks will not push the tempo as fast this season. Oregon allowed just under 90 points per game which ranked 343rd in the nation. Another element of the Ducks defense that needs to improve quickly is the field-goal percentage defense. Teams shot just under 45 percent against them. The other key thing that needs to be addressed is reducing the amount of turnovers and not giving away possessions as easily this season. With fewer possessions per game, it is going to be very important that the Ducks are very careful with the basketball. The turnover number needs to be dropped down closer to 12 to 13 per game for Oregon to be a 20-plus win team this season.
Final Projection:
The schedule is overall very favorable for the most part in the non-conference portion of the schedule for Oregon. The biggest test is on November 23rd at home in Eugene against North Carolina as the Tar Heels will bring a very deep talented squad to Matthew Knight Arena. The conference schedule will be very tough out of the gate with a road trip to USC and UCLA starting on January 3rd. The Civil War home and home with Oregon State follows the next week for the Ducks. If they can find a way to get to 2-2 after the first four games in conference play, then they will be in position to have a shot at a winning conference record. Transitions are never easy with a new coaching staff, but personnel wise there is enough in place for Oregon to be very competitive right off the bat in year one under Kelly Graves.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA Tournament
Projected Starting Five:
Lexi Bando, Freshman, Guard, DNP last season
Chrishae Rowe, Sophomore, Guard, 21.6 points per game
Katelyn Loper, Senior, Guard, 13.7 points per game
Jillian Alleyne, Junior, Forward, 21.4 points per game
Megan Carpenter, Senior, Center, 2.3 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 93.2 (1st in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 89.1 (343, 12)
Field-Goal Percentage: 39.7 (201, 8)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.5 (321, 12)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.4 (4, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 30.0 (210, 8)
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.5 (59, 1)
Rebound Margin: 6.7 (32, 3)
Assists Per Game: 15.1 (70, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 15.6 (151, 9)
Madness 2014 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#97 McKynzie Fort
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