Oregon Basketball: N’Faly Dante pickup makes Ducks Pac-12 favorite
Oregon Basketball finally has their starting center for the 2019-20 season in N’Faly Dante. Should this make them the favorite to win the Pac-12 now?
We thought the analysis of the 2019 recruiting class was completely over but five-star big man N’Faly Dante had other plans. Long rumored to do so, the 6’11 center elected to reclassify and play this upcoming season. After essentially choosing between Kentucky and Oregon Basketball, it was the Ducks who landed the star incoming freshmen.
Before Dante picked Oregon, it was looking like sophomore Francis Okoro would get the starting nod again at the center position. He averaged just a few points and rebounds in 13 mpg and lacked the offense needed to give the team a boost. Team scoring overall should be fine with senior point guard Payton Pritchard still around but the goal is to avoid the lulls the Ducks went through midway last season. While not ready to be an offensive threat out the gate, Dante is a better rim protector and rebounder, who also can play the five-spot without issue.
The acquisition of Dante gives the team their No. 5 overall recruiting class, joining fellow five-star frontcourt recruit CJ Walker along with the top JUCO guard prospect Chris Duarte. Add that to eligible transfers Shakur Juiston and Anthony Mathis and you have a strong collective offseason for the Ducks. It started out with several key players departing the program after the season ended, giving the team little depth to work with, particularly in the frontcourt. But the pickup of Luk Wur along with the previously mentioned bigs now give Oregon the depth and talent needed to have another Sweet 16 caliber campaign.
With the roster set (for now), Oregon looks strong in both along the perimeter and in the frontcourt. They’re now a consensus preseason top-25 team and could easily spend some time in the top-10 during next season. The question now is whether they should be the favorite to win the Pac-12 or not.
On paper, the biggest competitors for the Ducks are Arizona, Washington, USC and UCLA. There are just so many questions regarding the Los Angeles schools that it’s hard to envision either of them being good enough to win the Pac-12. There aren’t questions about the frontcourt for the Huskies thanks to their five-star duo forwards Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels. However, their backcourt is filled with unknowns, including Kentucky transfer Quade Green who’ll be out until December.
That leaves Arizona, who not only has five-star incoming talent themselves in Josh Green and Nico Mannion but also has solid depth all around the roster. However, that depth took a hit with the loss of Brandon Williams due to a season-ending injury. He averaged double figures as a freshman and was set to get plenty of minutes this upcoming season. That set of news, along with the pickup of Dante has switched the teams in the Pac-12 hierarchy in favor of Oregon.
Next. All-decade team for each Pac-12 program. dark
There are still some things to work out with this newly constructed roster. But compared to how the Ducks looked after the NBA Draft decisions took place, fans can’t have many complaints about the job Dana Altman and the staff did this offseason. Landing a five-star in Dante mid-August is a pleasant surprise addition for Oregon, who looks to get back at the top of the Pac-12 with what is now a complete overall roster.