Oregon Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2021-22 season

Guards

Senior Will Richardson is set to maintain the lead guard position going into the season, but don’t be shocked if Altman uses a platoon style. A major reason for this is the shooting of Richardson, who is a 44% shooter from behind the arc the last two seasons. Richardson earned Preason All-Pac-12 honors and is going to tussle with Juzang for the conference Player of the Year award. He improved his ball-handling mightily after Chris Duarte’s departure the offseason before last but is perhaps too dynamic off of screens and in spot-up shooting packages to play on-the-ball often.

Luckily, Oregon added plenty of weapons to pair with Richardson to get him those looks. Transfer junior De’Vion Harmon is coming off a solid season with Oklahoma that was upended by a positive COVID tet headed into the bubble for the tournament. Harmon isn’t a natural point guard either but is capable enough to help handle initiating the offense. He’s a solid scorer, averaging 12 points per game as the off-guard for the Sooners. He’s a plus defender that will help Oregon cause havoc on the perimeter.

Another exciting addition is senor transfer Jacob Young who is speedster and improved shooter that also maintains a plethora of perimeter threats. Young played at Rutgers last season and shot 36.9% last season and averaged 14.1 points and 3.4 assists per game. His speed is no joke, as he was a force in the fastbreak, benefited by his 1.7 steals per game. Because of Altman’s penchant for interchangeable pieces, expect the three to play together quite a bit.

And to round out the well-balanced backcourt is Junior College transfer Rivaldo Soares. Soares was a JuCo All-American that averaged 15.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard adds further 3-point shooting with plus range and could follow the model of fellow JuCo star Duarte. The stable of guard talent will help lead the Ducks in scoring and frustrate many opposing offenses.