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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1. If you ever wondered what it would look like if a team played with hockey shifts, John Calipari may have your answer when he discussed the possibility that Kentucky might be deep enough to support two starting lineups. While this is something that people have speculated about for years with various teams this is the first time we have seen a coach come out and say that he would try to do it. According to Calipari this year’s Kentucky team has the depth at various positions to support using two five-man units. Whether this actually turns into the Wildcats substituting their entire team en masse is unclear, but it will be interesting to watch.
2. Speaking of watching Kentucky, they will have their October 10th NBA combine broadcast on ESPNU, which will also serve as a nationally televised recruiting pitch for the school. According to Calipari all 30 teams will have scouts there and with 10 potential draft picks on Kentucky’s roster we can certainly understand why they would want to be there. We aren’t sure how riveting the telecast will be since it will involve individual and team drills, including a 3-on-3 and a 5-on-5 scrimmage, which might not be that interesting for the general public, but then again, this isn’t for the general public–if it was it would be on ESPN or ESPN2–it’s for the recruits who are looking at Kentucky.
3. We aren’t sure why the mainstream media is not making a bigger deal of all the issues with Oregon basketball. Maybe it is because they are in the Northwest far away from the East Coast media microscope or maybe it is because it is Oregon basketball, but it certainly seems like Dana Altman  has lost control of his program. Normally, we would be willing to overlook the latest black mark–two players getting arrested for shoplifting–but in light of Oregon’s more recent and serious problems–three players getting kicked out for rape charges that were subsequently dropped, but with questions around how the school handled the timing of its punishment–we have to wonder who if anybody is in control in Eugene. According to the school, the two players–Elgin Cook and Jalil Abdul-Bassit–are being “disciplined internally”. We have no idea what that really means but we hope Altman gets control of his program soon.
4. On Friday, UCLA announced that it had signed Steve Alford to a contract extension that will run through 2021. We would consider this a bigger deal except it was just a one-year extension of his previous contract that had six more years remaining. We aren’t sports agents or university administrators, but we fail to see the reason why the school would feel the need to offer an extension to someone who went 28-9 in his first season at one of the most storied programs in the sport. In the same way, we aren’t sure what extra security Alford gets out of this new deal.
5. ESPN gets a lot of criticism for many things that they do, but the one thing of theirs that we have never seen criticized is their acclaimed 30 for 30 series. With that in mind we are looking forward to their latest installment–Playing for the Mob”–which is set to air tomorrow night at 9. The film will look at the Boston College point-shaving scandal that took place during the 1978-79 season. There have been a handful of other point-shaving scandals in the sport since then, but none of this magnitude both in terms of number of games or caliber of the program. Outside of the CCNY point-shaving scandal of 1950–51 we can’t think of anything else that comes close in the sport.

We continue unveiling our team-by-team breakdowns, in roughly the reverse order of where we expect these teams to finish in the conference standings.

Oregon Ducks

Strengths. The talent that Dana Altman has assembled in the post can compete with anyone in the Pac-12. Headlining that frontcourt is UNLV transfer Mike Moser, who just might be the biggest one-year pickup in the country this season. Moser is the fifth senior to transfer into Altman’s program in the past three years, and he brings star power, quickness and explosiveness as a face-up four along with him. Starting at small forward will be Northwest Florida State transfer Elgin Cook. Cook is replacing the do-everything E.J. Singler, and he provides a varied skill set that gives point guard Dominic Artis a lot of options. Finally, there’s forward/center Ben Carter. Carter may be the least talented of the trio at the start of the year, but he is highly-valued in Eugene as the designated “hustle player,” much like Arsalan Kazemi last season.

Moser Will Get A Chance To Fly Above California As A Member Of The Ducks In 2012-13 (credit: Stephen Lam)

Weaknesses. As good as those above three will be in the post, the depth behind them is incredibly thin. With a solid one-two punch at the one and two and talent at small and power forward, the backups in the frontcourt could be the thing that drops this team from a top two Pac-12 finish to in the top four. Senior Richard Armadi has the body of a center but will have to play at the four, and sometimes even the three, because of the lack of depth. Armadi has some raw talent but it may be tough to display in a new role. And that’s the highlight of the second-string forwards and centers. Junior Jalil Abdul-Bassit and redshirt freshman Arik Armstead will also see time in the post, but only when needed.

Non-Conference Tests. All of Oregon’s acquired talent will be on full display on opening night in a made-for-ESPN tilt with Georgetown from Camp Humphreys, South Korea. Things ease up a bit after that, but a four-game stretch in mid-December may be one of the toughest in the Pac. Oregon goes to Mississippi, then meets Illinois in Portland before finishing the stretch by hosting a pair of likely NCAA Tournament teams, UC Irvine and BYU.

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Now that we are officially in the offseason, it’s time to take a look back and evaluate each team’s 2012-13 performance. Next on our list: Oregon.

What Went Right

Considering most Oregon fans hadn’t even heard of former Rice standout Arsalan Kazemi until less than a month before Midnight Madness, the last-minute addition of the Iranian Sensation did wonders for the Ducks’ play in 2012-13. The team clicked well with Kazemi on board as he added the final piece to an almost-complete puzzle. His hustle and ability to grab seemingly every loose ball on the court made him a quick fan favorite.

The Addition Of Arsalan Kazemi Was The Final Piece To Dana Altman’s Puzzle In 2012-13 (credit: US Presswire)

What Went Wrong

Unspecified left foot injuries. Star point guard Dominic Artis went down with one before Oregon’s January 26 game against Washington, transforming thet Ducks from a 17-2 team to one struggling to find an identity upon his return on the final day of February. When all was said and done, however, Oregon ended up advancing to the Sweet Sixteen regardless of its lower seed, a product of the development of the team during his injury. Still, it would have been interesting to see how the Ducks performed in the dance if Artis had played all year long and Oregon was given a higher seed.

MVP

For what Kazemi lacked in clutch scoring, senior forward E.J. Singler made up for it. He was pivotal down the stretch in overtime at Washington State, leading the Ducks with 25 points, and his 14-point performance to hand Arizona its first loss of the season was gritty and much-needed.

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