Oregon Basketball: Profile of five-star class of 2023 commit Mookie Cook
The state of Oregon is in desperate need of matters to work out in the basketball world. It does not help that the basketball pipeline in-state happens to be non-existent. Oregon has a hard time developing basketball players to be on that national stage putting on for the state.
Other states have this same issue but what makes Oregon so special is that one of the most recognizable companies was founded there.
Nike, Inc. was founded in 1964 in Eugene, Oregon. Founders of Nike, Bill Bowerman, and Phil Knight have helped produce and design a mainstay brand in popular and everyday culture. The latter founder was very instrumental in the University of Oregon [UO] functioning in some aspects, most notably the athletic department. Thanks to Knight’s gracious money to his alma mater there can be an incentivized attraction for athletes to stay and develop in-state.
Knight has contributed billions of dollars over his lifetime to the cause of furthering UO’s chances of being a lucrative option for athletes to play in the Pacific Northwest at his alma mater. Athletes can get a great feel based on the top-notch coaches, world-class facilities, and Nike itself gifting out exclusive gear and merchandise. Everything is put in place for UO to become the next big university/program to compete on the national scale annually.
Now the list of NBA players that are from Oregon contains quite-a-few household names among the common basketball fan; names include Cole Anthony, Domantas Sabonis, and Jerami Grant. By reading those names you can discern an identifiable theme— they all have fathers that played in the NBA. From there we can truly say there is no “star-level” homegrown Oregon basketball talent. Someone Oregon residents can claim as their own (ex. LeBron James to Cleveland, Ohio).
To further add-on to those issues there has still been little to no traction in terms of basketball players from the state of Oregon coming to UO. Outside of current Boston guard Payton Pritchard (2016-20), who got drafted in the 1st round of the 2020 NBA Draft, there has been no player from Oregon that stayed in-state to play at UO and gotten drafted. Let me also point out there has not been identifiably good talent to come from the state at the same time.
Nike’s funding has seemed to attract out-of-state players to come to Oregon. Head basketball coach at UO, Dana Altman, has done an impressive job recruiting with the financial backing of boosters and Nike. Yet, the desire for that highly coveted in-state player remains on Altman’s list of things to do.
Altman has an impressive resume of 4x regular-season Pac-12 titles, 3x Pac-12 tournament titles, 3x Pac-12 Coach of the Year, and 1x Final Four appearances. On the recruiting trail during his tenure, Altman has recruited 10 5-stars and numerous 4-star players.
Altman’s incoming 2022 recruiting class may be his best. Altman is bringing in highly publicized point-guard Dior Johnson, Kel’el Ware a center with legit NBA upside, and one of the top JUCO players Tyrone Williams.
This past season UO finished 20-15 (11-9 in conference play). That was good enough for an NIT second-round departure. First time missing the NCAA tournament since 2017-18 and the second-most losses in Altman’s tenure at UO, with the most coming in his debut season. Certainly, this is not the basketball program Altman has helped reach national glory with the backing of Nike funding. Expectations are transparent; compete for Pac-12 titles and get into the NCAA tournament.
Oregon Basketball fans will have to wait a while before the team is back playing again as it is now the offseason. Altman will be looking currently to boost his team’s personnel at all costs. Whether that’s with transfers that could mesh well with the incoming 2022 recruits or just simply bolstering the depth of the team, UO is on the hunt to compete again.
In a roster filled top to bottom with transfers last year, you could see the poor chemistry at times. There could even be a point of just an overall talent disparage compared to other top-tier basketball programs. With Pac-12 rivals, USC, UCLA, and Arizona [who is now back in the fold] all competing for the same recruits Altman has to prove Oregon is the destination for recruits.
Altman also has to make sure any in-state recruits don’t make their way out of state. It is incumbent for any highly coveted Oregon basketball player to embrace the task of playing for UO. If that talent were to make himself attainable for UO would Altman be able to make the call to secure the potential services?
The answer is yes. The long-awaited call has been answered by Marquis “Mookie” Cook.
(via Marquis Cook /Instagram)