Oregon Basketball Programs Scheduling To Navigate Through Pandemic
For both the Oregon Men’s and Women’s Basketball team, not seeing the court since March has been one thing, but now both programs are scheduling in a whole new world where there is still a lot to be determined.
The NCAA has given college basketball a date to return is November 25th. This is when teams can return to the practice floor. In past seasons, both programs have been headed to tournaments that weekend in places like Hawaii or the Bahamas. Not in 2020. It will be the first step not just for the Ducks, but for other teams across the country as well.
Oregon Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dana Altman is concerned about the shape of his team, “I’m really worried about our conditioning,. You start and chances for injuries go way up if you’re not in great shape, if you haven’t been doing a lot for six months. So we’re gonna take it really slow.”
On the women’s side, Head Coach Kelly Graves is facing a similar issue, but also has to build team chemistry in a short amount of time. Graves is replacing three key players and faces of his team the last three seasons. With the departure of Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard, and Satou Sabally, Graves has to find players who are willing to fill some big shoes. He certainly has the recruits in place to do it, but the big question for both teams is how much time will it take?
The non-conference schedule that typically prepares teams for the long haul of conference play is also getting a makeover. Rather than facing Michigan this season, Altman said the game for the Oregon Men has been moved to next year. The Oregon Men’s Basketball team also has a contract to finish with Houston that may be moved as well. For the Oregon Women’s Basketball team, Kelly Graves had games scheduled with South Carolina and Baylor in tournaments. The game vs the Gamecocks is postponed. As for the game with the Bears, it is still up in the air.
"I have no ideaKelly Graves(jokingly) when asked about the 2020-21 schedule."
Graves said he would like to see games played closer to home and is looking to Portland, Portland State, and Seattle University as potential opponents sometime this upcoming season.
As teams look to find the right opponents for the upcoming season, conference protocols as well as state protocols will have to be followed. We know that we will have college basketball this season, but right now we do not know what it will look lik