Last season was Dana Altman’s 15th year leading Oregon and it was his 15th consecutive season winning at least 20 games with these Ducks. What was different was the program’s first season in the Big Ten, though a solid opening salvo included another trip to the Big Dance after finishing 12-8 in league play. As is the case in today’s college basketball world, things will look just a bit different going forward as Oregon hopes to build on that result.
First up is the good news and that’s the return of the Ducks’ top two scorers, with Nathan Bittle and Jackson Shelstad both back after putting up more than 13 points a game last season. Former starters Brandon Angel, TJ Bamba, and Keeshawn Barthelemy are all gone and several other names left through the transfer portal, but Oregon have firm building blocks in their 7-foot center and rising junior guard.
Surrounding those buildings blocks are a few other returners, some notable freshmen, and three pieces incoming from the portal. Devon Pryor will hope to make an impact after underwhelming production as a reserve at Texas in recent years. Then there’s Sean Stewart, the former Top 15 recruit who underachieved in his first two seasons at Duke and Ohio State but is hoping to make an impact in the frontcourt beside Bittle and the other talent.
While Stewart could be considered the most anticipated, TK Simpkins will end up being the most important addition. He’s a 6-4 guard out of Brooklyn who began his career at Northwest Florida State before standing out at Elon these last two seasons. Simpkins is fresh off a junior season where he put up 16.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, knocking down 37% of his 3-pointers while earning Second Team All-CAA honors.
The numbers look good, albeit in a weaker mid-major conference, but the production is what Oregon certainly needs from Simpkins. The return of Shelstad brings an enormous boost to this backcourt, but the Ducks are basically starting over outside of that. You can almost pencil in Simpkins to a major starring role at the 2, especially if he can continue developing as a consistent scorer and shooter. There are plenty of new faces in this backcourt but Simpkins has the athleticism and experience to be that necessary missing piece.
A few moving pieces didn’t really change the expectation in Eugene for this season. Altman has another team that can win 20 games and be a factor in the Big Ten, though they aren’t going to do it without help from those new pieces. Great years should be ahead for Bittle and Shelstad, but another breakout campaign from Simpkins would go a long way to solidifying the Ducks in this conference race. Can Simpkins be a major playmaker in a power conference?