Few people expected the Oregon men’s basketball team to be where they are now. That includes head coach Dana Altman.
“You don’t like to sell your team short,” Altman said after the Utah game. “You like to be optimistic. I’m a realist. I was really worried about our experience level. But really, really pleased with the way the guys stuck together and stuck with me. I knew it was in them.”
It also includes his players who only recently realized their true potential. Take Joseph Young’s recent guarantee of making the NCAA Tournament as a summarization of his teammates’ current level of confidence.
“We’re making the tournament,” Young said. “I just want to get that out right now.”
With 20 wins before March and a recent win over then No. 9 Utah, the Ducks are not only in prime position to burst out of their NCAA Tournament bubble and receive a bid, but they’re also one of the hottest teams in the Pac-12. Take a look at the current Pac-12 rankings, where the Ducks sit just behind No. 7 Arizona and No. 13 Utah. They’ve also moved up to No. 45 on the ESPN RPI rankings.
Altman has this brand new roster playing together following an alleged sexual assault case last spring that caused the dismissal of two promising contributors in Damyean Dotson and Dominic Artis. He now has a roster that is beginning to finally trust each other. He also has a roster that has potential. And just maybe, he has basis for future success, one that could be sustainable if current underclassmen like Dillon Brooks are retained.
The bottom line is that Altman has worked his rebuilding magic again and somehow, the Ducks are back to being in the realm of relevant. Whatever reservations people may have about Altman, there is no doubt the hardnosed veteran from Crete, Nebraska can coach ad that he has an uncanny ability to get the best out of players, even if they haven’t played much together.
Since Altman arrived in Oregon, there’s been a consistent theme of overachieving. A theme of plugging in transfers or in this case, a young group that has been at the core of their success this season.
Altman was put on blast before the season with everything that went down with the investigation and I don’t blame anyone who advocated for this. I’m also skeptical about everything that transpired with the incident as well as the backstory to how Brandon Austin – a player that had a prior sexual assault incident at Providence before coming to Oregon – convinced an Oregon coaching staff member to give him a second chance. But until the conflict is resolved, skepticism is as far as this discussion is going to go, unfortunately.
If the Ducks get invited to the dance in March, it will be the first time in program history that they made it three consecutive years. And for now, that’s Altman’s main priority: to get the best out of his team and keep his mind off of everything that has been looming over his head since taking apart a talented team last season. In the meantime, Altman is here to coach basketball and he’s doing one hell of a job. He also deserves all the credit for quickly reviving a program that didn’t even know their starting lineup before the season.
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim