In the next three weeks leading up to season tipoff, the Pac-12 microsite will be evaluating each of the league’s 12 teams. Today, we head to Eugene.

Oregon Ducks

Eleven wins in Oregon’s final 13 conference games earned the Ducks a second-place conference finish, a Coach of the Year award, and a Player of the Year award (the latter two of which sent a certain southwestern state into an apoplectic fit) last season. Well, that Player of the Year – one Joseph Young – is gone, but all told, five of the Ducks’ eight players who averaged more than 10 minutes per game last season return. And, per usual, head coach Dana Altman has a couple impact transfers on the way to pair with a trio of talented freshmen. In short, expectations in Eugene remain high.

Minus Joseph Young, Dana Altman Still Has A Talented Roster (Michael Arellano/Emerald)

Strengths. There are a lot of them, but we’ll opt for two for the sake of succinctness: depth and versatility. First, there are those five returning players – Elgin Cook, Dillon Brooks, Jordan Bell, Dwayne Benjamin and Casey Benson – each of whom played at least 47.9 percent of the Ducks’ possible minutes last season. To that mix add a touch of senior point guard in Villanova transfer Dylan Ennis. Throw in a little reigning National Junior College Player of the Year Chris Boucher. And then toss in a jumble of three different four-star recruits for good measure. If Altman chooses, his team can go 10 deep and can play in a variety of different ways. Benson’s a true point type of guy, but he’ll compete for playing time at the one with Ennis and freshman Tyler Dorsey, both of whom can also play off the ball. Cook and Bell up front may well be the bouncy combination Altman likes at the four and the five spots, but he could go big with the 6’10” Boucher or 6’9” freshman Trevor Manuel and slide either incumbent over a spot. And then on the wing? There are two big walking mismatches in guys like Brooks and Benjamin. Altman’s certainly got a lot of fun mix-and-match toys to play with this season. Read the rest of this entry »

Dana Altman’s Ability To Get The Most Out of New Faces Is Nearly Unparalleled. (Alex Brandon/AP)

If we’re to do so in a word, the most appropriate one would be: YOUNG. You guys, it’s a pun. Because this team runs four young freshmen as supplemental parts to the Joseph Young scoring machine. Double meaning. Let’s begin our conversation focusing on the former. Dillon Brooks, Jordan Bell, Casey Benson and Ahmaad Rorie have been more than a pleasant surprise for Altman. But the interesting case is that – after four years of consistent turnover and seemingly brand new rosters – is this really a surprise? This was the 22nd-best class in America, according to Scout.com, and the fourth-best in the Pac-12. Impressive but not overwhelming. Florida had the 11th-best class and the Gators stink. So too does USC (12th-best class) and Michigan (16th), and Missouri (19th). Now look at how this group stacks up against qualifying freshmen in the Pac-12 with regards to Offensive Rating:

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Each week the Pac-12 microsite will run down our weekly superlatives, which typically will include a Team, Player and Newcomer of the Week, along with our weekly Power Rankings.

Team of the Week: Oregon

A Big Conference Win on Senior Day Had the Knight Arena Crowd Rushing the Court (Andy Nelson, AP Photo)

Road wins are great. In conference play, you go out on the road and you beat anybody in conference, even if it’s the worst team, that qualifies as an accomplishment. Home wins tend to get swept under the rug from time to time. But, if, like the Ducks, you make a habit of taking care of most of your business at home AND sneak in a home win over a national top 10 team, you are very much in the mix for an NCAA Tournament bid. Oregon checked both of those boxes this week, turning in a workmanlike win over Colorado on Wednesday night and then backing that up with a prime-time performance on Sunday in taking care of Utah at Matthew Knight Arena. Dana Altman got good back-to-back performances this week from all eight guys in his normal rotation, and with a home sweep, the Ducks are in good position to earn an NCAA Tournament bid – provided, that is, that they can got out on the road over the final two weeks of the year and at least dig out a win.

(Also receiving votes: Arizona)

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More than a month into the season, we’ve had a chance to see each of the Pac-12 teams multiple times, with every school getting a crack or two (or more) at good competition. As for the returnees, we’ve already got a good idea of what to think of their games; but it’s been the newcomers who have made their impressions on us through five weeks. In the spirit of getting to know them, we’re going to put together a team – an honest-to-goodness team with a point guard and bigs and defenders and shooters – made from among our favorite newcomers in the league. Easy enough, you might say. Start with Arizona’s Stanley Johnson, Utah’s Jakob Poeltl and UCLA’s Kevon Looney and go from there, right? Nah, child’s play. Future NBA lottery picks are ineligible for this team. We’re going to dig a little deeper.

Arizona State Freshman Kodi Justice Running The Point: Bold Choice

• PG: Kodi Justice, Arizona State – He’s not your typical point guard. He’s not the small, quick athlete; he’s more of a long, lanky glider. But he’s got savvy and awareness; he’s capable of dropping a dime on his teammates’ hands given only the slimmest of openings. Back off of him and he’ll drill a three in your face. Get up on him and, even though he doesn’t exactly have the quickest first step, he’s got a good enough handle to slide by you and open things up on the move. This Arizona State team will have to make up for Justice’s average athleticism and defensive shortcomings for his position, but we’ll make up for it with great athletes everywhere else in this lineup.

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Each week the Pac-12 microsite will run down our weekly superlatives, which typically will include a Team, Player and Newcomer of the Week, along with our weekly Power Rankings.

Team of the Week: Utah

There were quite a few deserving teams this week. Arizona whooped the god-knows-what out of a reeling Michigan team. Oregon went on the “road” and beat a good Illinois team in a hardly neutral United Center. But you know what’s even better than a good “road” win? A real road win against a quality intrastate rival, followed up by a trip to the middle of the country to face a blue-blood program in their own backyard on national television and showing for all the college basketball world that you are a legitimate top-20 team. Now, that’s not to say this week wasn’t without some warts for the Utes. Their win at BYU, while a quality road win in a tough environment, was more annoying than anything else. And their battle with Kansas in Kansas City, while eventually a good showing against a quality opponent, was also frustrating in part due to a lackluster showing late in the first half and missed opportunities late in the game. Any doubts as to Utah’s standing on a national stage should be completely gone by now.

(Also receiving votes: Arizona, Oregon)

The RTC Pac-12 Team of the Week Is Certainly Something Worth Celebrating (AP)

Player of the Week: Delon Wright, Utah

Well, there was this. And then, there was this. And then just the opening of the Kansas game, where he threw in an amazing running bank before stealing the inbounds pass and drilling a 15-footer. The wows don’t stop with the Utah star. For the week, we’re talking 20.5 points, 8.0 boards, 3.5 assists, 3 steals, 1.5 blocks per game and a 65.2% eFG. Those numbers don’t even do him justice.

(Also receiving votes: Tyrone Wallace, Cal)

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It’s very much still football season for Oregon fans, but the basketball team offered Ducks’ faithful a reason Saturday night to also pay attention to them. While Marcus Mariota was busy accepting college football’s highest individual honor at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City, Dana Altman’s band of Ducks was carving out their best win of the season against a solid Illinois team playing in its home state. The end result in Chicago – a 77-70 Oregon victory – had to generate minimal buzz back in Eugene (the school’s first Heisman winner casts a substantial shadow), but it represented an important first step for a young team. Nobody should expect the Ducks to become any more predictable than they have been over the course of an up-and-down first month of the season, but consider Oregon’s upside flashed. The good news is that in this year’s wide-open Pac 12 – a league with no proven teams outside of Arizona and Utah — a little potential might go a long way.

Joseph Young Is Known As A Scorer, But His 2014 Assist Rate Of 26.2% Also Reveals An Able And Willing Passer

It’s always been about offense in Eugene. Whether discussing the gridiron or the hardwood, Oregon’s success has classically been predicated on dynamic offenses. The recipe should remain the same for the Ducks this season. They haven’t been terrible on the offensive end (51st nationally in offensive efficiency), but both Dana Altman and John Groce agreed that Saturday featured their crispest execution to date. Altman said that decisions to pass up good shots for great ones on three early second-half possessions set the tone for a selflessly efficient half of basketball. Joseph Young (who didn’t start due to a violation of team rules) garnered praise from Groce for his passing, while Dillon Brooks scored an effortless 24 points to lead the Ducks. The freshman will be a key player moving forward. Young is willing and able to shoulder the bulk of the offensive load, but finding a capable second option is imperative. Brooks has yet to display the consistency needed to fill that full-time role, but the stocky forward’s inside (10.1% offensive rebound percentage)-outside (45% three-point) game could make him a nice complement to a gunner like Young.

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The Pac-12 microsite will preview each of its league teams over the next few weeks, continuing today with Oregon.

Oregon Ducks

Strengths: The given is fifth-year guard Joseph Young, the dynamic leading scorer and rare returner (or so it seems these days in Eugene) for head coach Dana Altman. Young will be the do-everything playmaker tasked with keeping the Ducks’ heads above water. A distant second is a pair of freshmen, Jordan Bell and Casey Benson, who will have plenty of opportunity on a roster that tacked on five extras after October to make it appear like Oregon had a full team.

Joseph Young Will Have To Be Mr. Everything for Oregon in 2014-15. (Ryan Kang, Daily Emerald)

Weaknesses: Judging by the exodus in the offseason, self-discipline is high on the list. On the court, there will not be much size. Junior center Michael Chandler, a JuCo transfer from Northwest Florida State and the projected starter, is the tallest player at 6’10” but has yet to practice because of a lingering knee injury that doesn’t have a timetable for recovery. Chandler did not play in the Ducks’ exhibition opener last Tuesday. Playing the role of Captain Obvious, chemistry also will be an issue on a roster that lost 10 letterwinners.

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