Oregon Basketball: Lok Wur pickup a risk/reward situation for Ducks

Oregon Basketball was able to land a frontcourt piece for the 2019-20 season in Lok Wur. But was it the right decision for him to join the Ducks?

After a turbulent offseason in the frontcourt, Oregon Basketball was able to land a talented forward for next season in Lok Wur. The 6’9 forward from Papillion, Nebraska became one of the most sought-after players this month after being declared academically eligible by the NCAA.

Wur was slated to attend a Junior College for 2019-20 but after the surprise ruling, the former All-State athlete received dozens of scholarship offers from D-1 schools still looking to add frontcourt depth. He’s an interesting prospect for sure, coming off a senior year of high school campaign of 20 ppg, 10 rpg and 2.5 blocks a game.

Wur is a great athlete with a good amount of potential as a three-star prospect. After being cleared and receiving offers, he limited his list to a final five a week ago, including Hawaii, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, Creighton and Oregon. All of them had definite needs in the frontcourt, with a pair of teams having completely retooled rosters.

But the 2019 forward choose Dana Altman and Oregon Basketball, who will have a completely different frontcourt after losing Bol Bol, Louis King and Kenny Wooten to the NBA Draft after their freshmen years. Paul White graduated, while both Abu Kigab and Miles Norris transferred as well. The Ducks do have a strong group of newcomers to the roster, including five-star power forward CJ Walker along with top-100 big man Chandler Lawson. Grad transfer guard/wing Eric Williams from Duquesne can play the undersized forward although how that’ll work in the Pac-12 remains to be seen.

The Ducks have struggled overall to land quality frontcourt options this offseason, particularly those with experience. They missed out on several grad transfers, although did get guard Anthony Mathis from New Mexico. Shakur Jusiton from UNLV is available, with Seton Hall and Grand Canyon also in the running.

But assuming Oregon can’t land anyone else with immediate eligibility, they’ll be running with Walker, Chandler, rising center Francis Okoro and Wur in the frontcourt. For the newest addition, he joins a fairly unproven cast of bigs and will have an opportunity to get some real minutes. If successfully able to carve out a role, the freshman will have an impact for the top-25 program for years to come.

But while unproven, there are still risks involved in choosing a top-tier program out in the west. Coach Altman is one of the best recruiters in the country on either coast and is already after a bevy of top-50 overall frontcourt players in the 2020 class. Odds are very good that he’ll sign at least 1-2, especially in the Spring if those on the roster don’t pan out.

In some ways, Wur could have just one season to prove himself with the Ducks, or risk being buried on the depth chart and eventually having to transfer. Oregon has been ravaged by the transfer portal in recent years and could possibly lose Wur if things don’t work out. He very well could’ve picked a team out of his personal league and might not be able to carve out a role while with the program.

But the focus should be on next year, with Oregon needing Wur for depth purposes. It’s a great opportunity for a player who was supposed to be a JUCO and watch on next season. Now he’s on one of the best teams in the Pac-12 and someone to watch when on the court. It’s a much bigger risk to choose the Ducks over the other four contenders but the potential reward may be too good to pass up.