Pac-12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season

6. Oregon Ducks

Oregon is looking to bounce back into the top of the conference conversation after two disappointing seasons. It’s the first time in Dana Altman’s tenure at Oregon that he’s missed the tournament in back to back seasons.

It’s frankly unconscionable that Altman has had the results he has the last two seasons because of the level of recruiting Oregon has and NIL capabilities to bring in big names from the portal. Altman is again bringing in three top 30 recruits in Kwame Evans, Jackson Shelstad and Mookie Cook, and he has continuity with the return of his backcourt pairing of Keeshawn Barthelemy and Jermaine Couisnard and center N’Faly Dante.

Dante had a terrific senior campaign, earning First Team All-Pac-12 honors and playing in 31 games for the second straight season after being hindered by injuries his freshman and sophomore years. He averaged 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest. He’ll be paired in the frontcourt by fellow former five-star big Nate Bittle, who has yet to truly put it together in college.

The hope is that Altman is able to get help from Evans or Cook from the forward positions. Evans is incredibly raw and will be limited on offense should Altman continue to play with a slower tempo. It will be hard for him to operate in the half court, especially if one of the two bigs are in the game with him (Bittle was seen as a stretch big coming into college but has yet to really showcase a consistent perimeter shot in his two seasons).

Cook, similarly, is a player whose best offense is in transition, something that may not work with a plotting Dante or Bittle who has dealt with foot injuries in the past. Cook has been an interesting recruitment to follow as he flirted with de-committing and ultimately decided to stand pat with the Ducks. Neither he or Evans are true perimeter threats, something noticeably lacking with this team.

Altman also brought in transfers who were important pieces at their previous stops. Kario Oquendo and Jesse Zarzuela averaged 12.7 and 16.3 points at their previous schools. While this adds depth behind Couisnard and Barthelemy in the backcourt, adding Shelstad to the mix makes this roster feel crowded more than anything. Who is going to end up losing on minutes and how will that affect their chemistry?

Barthelemy slides into Will Richardson’s point guard role but will he be able to steer the ship and facilitate for others? These questions and the banking on frontcourt health make it difficult to completely buy that Altman and company have gotten back to their winning ways. Roster composition looks again to be too invested in positional skillsets that don’t create a fully versatile team.