Oregon Basketball: 2019-20 takeaways from loss to Utah Utes

Oregon Basketball: 2019-20 takeaways from road win over Utah Utes

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Head coach Dana Altman of the Oregon Ducks reacts against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – DECEMBER 14: Anthony Mathis #32 of the Oregon Ducks (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

2. Dante is not there yet

6’11 230-pound freshman N’Faly Dante made a big splash in his debut at home against Montana on Dec. 18. However, since then Dante is showing that more work needs to be done for the potential NBA lottery pick.

Against Montana, the Mali native scored 11 points and showed some nifty passing in 14 minutes of play. Dante had been ruled ineligible for the first nine games of the season for the Ducks due to issues regarding the processing of his NCAA eligibility that allowed him to re-enroll at the University of Oregon on Dec. 14.

Since then, Dante has shown that he is not in basketball shape as of yet. In his five games as a Duck, Dante has only been averaging 15.2 minutes per game. He has been a bit slow on his feet defensively, leading to him committing four fouls in each of his last three games even with the limited playing time.

Dante is averaging 7.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, and 1.8 steals. His presence is needed with 6’8 freshman C.J. Walker’s continued back issues. Walker, a starter throughout the month of December for the Ducks, only averaged 11 minutes in the past two games and sat out completely in the game at Utah.

In addition, 6’7 senior starter Shakur Juiston just returned for his second game back after missing five games due to a lower leg injury.

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