Oregon emerged from its two exhibitions unscathed, but there are still plenty of questions surrounding the team that can only be answered by increased competition.
The Ducks beat Northwest Christian 101-69 to open the year, then beat Western Oregon 104-55 on Sunday night and were really never challenged in either of the match ups.
Oregon led NCU 32-6 at one point in the first game, but against Western Oregon – which was coming off an upset win over Oregon State – the Ducks trailed 18-7 before waking up to blow out the undermanned Wolves.
So what have we learned from the first two games?
Newcomers need to mesh quickly
JUCO transfer Dwayne Benjamin and freshman Ahmaad Rorie, Dillon Brooks and Jordan Bell are going to be thrust into the fire in the Pac-12. Brooks (16.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Bell (9.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg) are versatile forwards with loads of athleticism, but are vastly undersized compared to the high-end big men in the Pac-12.
Brooks is more polished offensively with a handful of moves to lean on with his back to the basket and serviceable jump shot. Bell is more of a shot blocker and scrappy rebounder. When the two are on the court together, they’re dangerous in transition and should pose mismatches for most centers and power-forwards.
Benjamin is Oregon’s best scorer outside of Joe Young. He’s averaged 15.5 points per game on a .778 shooting percentage from a stretch-forward position and is noticeably further along offensively than any of the freshmen. Benjamin can knock down open threes and is explosive enough off the dribble to make defenses at least key on him.
Rorie, on the other hand, hasn’t really shown much despite earning a spot in the starting lineup. He’s averaged just 6.5 points, two rebounds and three assists through the first two games in 23.5 minutes per game. As the No. 2 guard in the lineup, he’ll have to find his stride offensively to keep Oregon’s offense balanced.
Rebounds will tell the tale
With an undersized roster, transition offense will be key for Oregon this season, making team-rebounding even more important for a group that noticeably struggled in that category a year ago.
“We’re small, so we’ve just got to be scrappy,” junior Elgin Cook said. “Carve out some room and some space down low, box out and be first to the ball.”
Against WOU, Oregon had a narrow 17-16 rebound advantage at halftime, then out-rebounded the Wolves 30-8 in the second half, leading to 18 fast break points compared to just two in the first half.
With forwards like Benjamin, Bell, Brooks and Cook itching to run out in transition, Oregon has to crash the boards all throughout the game if they want to compete against the more talented teams on their schedule.
Young will need some help in the backcourt
After leading the team with 55 minutes in the first two games, it’s obvious to see that head coach Dana Altman will be leaning on Young to carry the offense in long stretches this season.
The senior guard averaged 27.5 points and five assists in the two exhibitions, proving that he hasn’t lost his scoring touch, but hasn’t looked completely comfortable as the primary ball-handler as he makes the transition from shooting guard to point guard.
Freshman Casey Benson has played meaningful minutes off the bench and looks more like a true point guard, but is limited offensively. Benson averaged seven points, 1.5 assists and 23.5 minutes. He and Rorie will need to step up to relieve some of the pressure off of Young.
“It’s obvious we’re going to have a work in progress for quite a while here,” Altman said. “I think we’re making some progress, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
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