A week ago, the Oregon Ducks were picked 7th in our preseason Big Ten Basketball power rankings.
It’s based on the strength of the team, returning its two best players from last season in Nate Bittle (14.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and Jackson Shelstad (13.7 ppg and 2.7 apg). Both players were on the postseason All-Big Ten lists and form one of the best duos in the conference.
However, Oregon’s biggest preseason concern was its depth beyond that star duo — and now that will be tested immediately.
Oregon PG Jackson Shelstad is out 4-6 weeks pic.twitter.com/GSFmTFREwq
— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) October 3, 2025
A 4-6 timeline is challenging in that the 2025-26 season starts on November 3rd, which is around four weeks away. So if Shelstad ends up missing around six weeks, he’ll likely miss the first four games of the season, all home games against Hawaii (Nov 4th), Rice (Nov 7th), South Dakota State (Nov 12), and Oregon State (Nov 17).
In an ideal world, the Ducks would still remain favorites over all four of the teams. Where Oregon needs Shelstad back is the following week for the Players Era Tournament, where they take on three projected top-50 teams. They’ll need their star point guard back to have a chance to win those games during Feast Week.
That being said, Oregon’s depth at guard suddenly becomes a big issue, making even the first few games not a given. The only other ball-handlers on the roster include Jamari Phillips, a sophomore guard who played just 14 games last season, and Wei Lin, a recent pickup who averaged over 21 ppg at the Chinese Basketball Association. As of now, the Ducks only have four healthy guards on the roster overall, including four-star freshman JJ Frakes and TK Simpkins, who averaged over 16 ppg at Elon and will now be tasked with being the lead guard for the team while Shelstad is out.
The good news for Oregon is that, compared to other teams who received worse injury news, at least their key player won’t miss too much of the regular season. However, one concern with the Ducks entering the season was the depth outside their star duo.
Now, it looks as if we’re about to find out.