As the NCAA Tournament comes to a close, GMS likes to review some of the power conference or power program teams that made it to the Big Dance and ask whether or not they’ve got a shot to return to the show next season. We continue on with teams eliminated in the Elite Eight.
Recruit and Reload: Oregon Ducks
Key Losses: Dwayne Benjamin, Elgin Cook
Key Returners: Dillon Brooks (expected), Tyler Dorsey, Chris Boucher, Jordan Bell, Casey Benson
Key Newcomers: Payton Pritchard, M.J. Cage, Keith Smith, Kavell Bigby-Williams
Breakdown: As one of the surprise teams nationally last year, it took folks quite a while to buy-in to what Dana Altman and the Ducks were doing on the court. Once they made their run to the Elite Eight, however, it seemed like people were finally ready to legitimize the best team out of the Pac-12. Losing Elgin Cook and Dwayne Benjamin will be felt, sure, but Altman is bringing back as much as anyone else in the country.
We’re expecting Brooks to return for his junior year and be the preseason favorite for Pac-12 Player of the Year, while his surrounding cast simply has another season to become even more explosive than they were a year ago. Chris Boucher should be the preseason favorite for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, with Jordan Bell right behind him. Anchoring it all together is Benson, whose unwillingness to hunt his own shots and turn the ball over is the single least appreciated aspect to the whole group.
Of course, Altman has his mojo going on the recruiting trail too, adding four four-star prospects that all fit in perfectly with the system implemented in Eugene. As of right now, UO is the Pac-12 favorite and an early pick, for me at least, to reach the Final Four next season.
